Tuesday, October 20, 2009

My Other Half & The IV Drip

SJMC (now known as SDHC - Sime Darby Health Care) is practically my second home since I was 7 months pregnant. I had my monthly maternity checkup there, I delivered my baby there, and I still go there every month for Aydein's monthly checkup. Haish. Kaya SJMC dengan duit aku. :P

Last week's visit to SJMC however, was not very pleasant. It was the second time in 2 months that Aien, my other half, got admitted to a hospital for the same heath problem – the dreadful DKA. DKA which stands for diabetic ketoacidosis, is really one of the life-threatening illnesses.


I remember the first time it happened. It was last Ramadhan. He complained of feeling nauseated and could not accept anything into his tummy during breakfast. He took a bite of bread, he vomited. He drank a few gulps of water, he vomited. Suspecting it was just gastric, I brought him to a nearby clinic. Only then that we realized it was his sugar that was the culprit. It was 18! (In case you don't already know, normal sugar level in a normal individual is about 4 – 7)

Even after taking the insulin like he always does, the vomiting would not stop. In fact, it became even worse. He began to vomit excessively. I was beginning to get worried so I called my sister doctor. She suspected almost immediately that it was DKA and told me to admit Aien to the hospital asap or he could collapse. Aien was admitted to HDU (High Dependency Unit) in Sunway Medical Centre.


Last week, it all happened again when Aien missed his night (insulin) shot. I witnessed the same thing happening just 2 months back – the nausea, the loss of appetite, the vomiting and the weakening of the body. Without hesitating this time, I admitted him to SJMC.

Just as before, his ketone was 4+ and his blood was infected and acidic. It was very traumatizing for him to go through the dreadful experience of the needles pricking through his skins once again, so I stayed back to spend the night in the hospital with him just to boost his spirit. He was treated with loads of IV drip that kept him hydrated and antibiotic to fight off the infection.


And thanks to all the well wishes and prayers from friends and families,

Aien got discharged after 3 days of thorough monitoring from the healthcare professionals. Thanks all again for all your support. :)

9 comments:

RieNa said...

kasihan aien..

kuatkan diri tiqah..becos he needs u..

bintiegen said...

sbnrnye byk nk tane...tp sket2 dulu r

1. sakit ni bley bek x?
2. nape bley de penyakit ni erk, even x mkn mknan manis?

ish normal ppl 6 pon dh kene jg² ni lg r 18. gile r.
slalunye klu org yg skt kencing manis yg dh tinggi² tu, klu luka ssh nk sembuh, nnt kene potong etc sme tu klu x bek...klu kes cam aien tu...kene camtu gak ke?

HazriQ said...

Ermm, i think, what Aien had was Type I Diabetes, which is different to the common Diabetes that we usually encounters with ppl, which is the Type II Diabetes.

Type I Diabetes is a condition where our body cannot produce enough insulin (a hormone that regulates how our body use glucose) due to lack of beta cells activity of the pancreas.

Type I Diabetes as for now there are no treatment (as far as i know), it is usually inherited. And the person needs to take insulin injection throughout his life. And they need to regularly take their insulin, if they miss a dose for example, than many complications can occur. As in Hyperglycemia (high glucose level in blood), DKA etc.

p/s: Anyway glad to know that Aien's o.k now.. ^^

bintie said...

now i know. tq hazriq :)

Thara said...

@kak riena : insyaallah. i'll try to be strong for this little family selagi mampu :)

@hazriq : thanks doc for the brilliant explanation! :)

@bintie : hazriq is right. Aien is a type 1 diabetic. type 1 diabetis ni susah sket nak sembuh even if dia tak makan makanan manis, psl pancreas dia fail to produce insulin utk turunkan sugar level in our body.

unlike us, insulin akan keluar sendiriknya in order to bring down the sugar level in our body. so, since his pancreas failed to produce the insulin needed, he needs the insulin that is taken manually using the injection in order to bring down the sugar level in his body. btw, im not sure abt the hereditary part, but in aien's case, it is definitely not hereditary bcoz none of his family members are diabetic.

and yes, kalau aien tak control, and kalau dia luka terok and susah nak sembuh, he is also proned to get the wounded part cut off. but if his sugar level is normal and in control, luka dia tu nanti will heal normally. :) its all about controlling, so happy controlling ur sugar intake! tade mangga2 mlm2 dah tau haha.

HazriQ said...

As for the hereditary part, some studies shows that for Type I Diabetes there's some genetic factor involved, maybe not in Aien's case.

But Type I Diabetes may also occurs without any genetic factor, but its occurrence/prevalence is quite rare compared to Type II.

Unknown said...

hope he's well now. we can help him with our nutritional program. we've help our customer lower her blod sugar level from 11 to 5. and a friend's mother in law but off all her diabetes medication - saving over RM1000 per month from spending on medication. let us know, we can help you guys...

Anonymous said...

hi there,

i was blog hopping n came across ur blog.. juz tot of asking, do u by any chance hav any tips on how to heal diabetic wound? i would really appreciate it if u cud kindly share what kinda ointment/minyak u used.. thanks so much in advance.. and also, how long does it normally take for the wound to heal? thanks again

Thara said...

Jay :
thanks jay. i will definitely contact you should we need your assistance with your nutritional program. ;)

Anonymous :
hi, thanks for dropping by my blog. first and foremost, it's actually best for one to take extra care of one's sugar level. should there be any wounds, it's also best to let it heal by itself. of course, it is always important to get the advice from your doctor should u think is necessary.

fyi, my husband has never used any ointment should he injured himself. he just controls his sugar intake because from what we know, when the sugar is at normal level, the healing process will be like normal too, insyaallah. the use of any ointment, i am afraid will only let one's body to be dependant on something (to help) rather than to let it build its own immune system.