Drunken Behavior Could Actually be Diabetic's Hypoglycemia
A passenger was removed from an Amtrak train recently, after he allegedly became unruly. The 65-year-old man was found four days later, dazed and disoriented. The family of Roosevelt Sims claims he had experienced diabetic shock on the train, and that's why he appeared to be intoxicated.
As a former police officer, Las Vegas resident Bob Maxwell recalls the first time he encountered someone having a diabetic reaction. The person appeared to be intoxicated.
"She was on the side of the road, pulled over, and fortunately her car was off. My partner and I pulled up and her face was flushed, she couldn't talk. She just had that disoriented look on her face. And we finally got it out of her -- she said one word and that was diabetes," said Maxwell.
Las Vegas endocrinologist, Fred Toffel says hypoglycemia occurs when blood sugar levels drop below a certain point for a sustained period of time. It can happen suddenly or in phases.
"And part of those phases that people go through is confusion. And one can basically be acting drunk or appearing drunk to the lay public if one does not know that they in fact have diabetes and in fact, having a low blood sugar," said Toffel.
"We were right by a gas station," said Maxwell. "My partner ran in and got some orange juice, gave that to her slowly. And by the time EMS got there, her faculties started coming back. She could talk."
Symptoms of hypoglycemia are similar to someone who's been drinking. These may include: slurred speech, staggering, drowsiness, confusion, and ironically, the condition can also produce the smell of alcohol. At this point, a medical-alert bracelet would come in handy.
Usually, hypoglycemia is mild and easily treated by eating or drinking something with carbohydrate. But left untreated, it can be fatal.
Diabetic High School Girl Beaten by Police Officer and Arrested -- For Falling Asleep in Class
Ashlynn Avery, who was arrested and beaten for falling asleep at school, has filed a lawsuit for civil rights violations.
May 7, 2013 |
A student who was arrested and beaten for falling asleep at school is now suing an Alabama city, its police department and some school employees for civil rights violation, battery and negligent supervision and hiring. The Courthouse News Service reports that after the diabetic student fell asleep while in a room reserved for “in school suspensions,” a school police officer slammed her face into a cabinet and then arrested her. The incident occurred at a high school in Hoover, Alabama.
Ashlynn Avery, who has diabetes, asthma and sleep apnea, was suspended for cutting class, and had to sit in the in-school suspension room. While she was reading “Huckleberry Finn,” she dozed off. First, the in-school suspension supervisor walked over to her cubicle and struck it, which caused the cubicle to hit Avery’s head, according to the lawsuit. She woke up, but soon fell back asleep. The supervisor, Joshua Whited, then took the book from her and slammed it on on, which caused the book to hit the student in the chest.
Avery was then told to leave the room, according to the complaint, and police officer Christopher Bryant followed her. Bryant slapped her backpack, and then “proceeded to shove Ashlynn face first into a file cabinet and handcuff her,” the complaint states. While in the car, Avery vomited. She was taken to a hospital and had to wear a cast as a result of her injuries.