[Arienette]

Hello everyone. I am new to this forum, and am looking for advice. I have been dating someone who is hypoglycemic for about a year. He is very good about monitoring himself, and is usually fine. He has passed out twice since we have been dating. Once I he was out of town, but then recently we were together when it happened. It really scared me because I wasn't really sure what to do. he doesn't like to talk about it much so I've just decided to dive in to research on my own to be better prepared. Any advice anyone has on how I can help him would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[davef]

Welcome to the forums. It's both good and responsible of you to learn what to do in the case of an emergency. The common rule of thumb if some has gotten to the point of passing out is to call 911 and get professional attention. Most of us carry Glucose Tablets, which will raise our sugar levels when we go low, other "quick fixes" include drinking something like orange juice as sometimes people are too "out of it" to eat. It would help if you could tell us more about your boyfriend, how low do his levels go, how does he normally treat going low, how does he behave when he goes low -some people become "difficult" to handle when they are low. I would think that it would not be unreasonable to ask your boyfriend to show you how to use his meter and test him and then ask him how best to help him when he goes low. It would also be good for you to know what medication he uses so that if you call 911 you have that information for them.

[Arienette]

Thanks for your help. The passing out episode just happened last night, but I was planning on asking him to show me how to use his meter tonight and making a plan with him. He is not on medication, his doctor told him that if he is just careful with his diet, has regular check-ups, and monitors himself closely he will be fine for now. I know before when he passed out he just ate something and then was fine. I was scared last night because I wasn't sure exactly what I could give him to eat that would be most effective. I want to definitely start carrying things in my purse in case. He was not difficult during the episode, he passed out for around two minutes, then woke up and was able to talk some but was still very out of it. We were driving but were very close to his house, and as soon as we got him in the house I was scrounging for food. I had heard a sandwich was good for him, but all I could find was bread. He was with it enough to say that bread would help a little, and I gave him some nuts to go with it (again... living on his own his cupboards were very bare). He was very compliant during the episode, and alert enough to know what was going on and that he needed food, although not with it enough to say what kind he needed. I read somewhere today that lifesavers were good in that situation. Is that true? Again, thanks for your help and advice.

[davef]

Do talk to him, that should be your first course of action to plan. have some cartons of orange juice in the car/purse/house is useful. The glucose tablets are good (if he is able to chew). A rule of thumb for a diabetic is to consume 15g of carbohydrates, wait 15 minutes and test, if the levels have not started to rise, then you may need to treat with more carbs. The reason the bread works is becuase it is full of carbohydrates which convert to sugar fairly quickly (not sure about nuts, they are mostly protein and certainly don't raise my levels by much) but not as fast as juice/glucose tablets. If you do a search on the forums you will find lots of different things people use to correct a low. I'd suggest you keep it simple, something that you can easily carry or have on hand. But the golden rule is, if in doubt dial 911 at the very least they will be able to provide guidance.

[Arienette]

Ok, I will definetly do that. Thanks so much for your help!

[davef]

No problem, do let us know how you get on. Remember I'm not a doctor, which is why I stress the importance of not hesitating to dial 911.

Just wondering is your boyfriend diabetic?

[Arienette]

He said no he wasn't... We spoke briefly today and he said taht he can't have any sugar when he drops because he could easily spike and go into a coma (needless to say that sufficiently alarmed me). He said meat was the best thing for him to have, and that he isn't supposed to have bread of any kind when his sugar drops like that. I'm going to talk to him tonight about going to the doctor. One thing I was wondering about is that I get the very distinct vibe that he does not want to talk about it because he doesn't want me to worry about it. Living with it yourself, do you have any advice on how to handle the emotional side of it. Before now it has always been a short conversation between us because obviously he has downplayed this to me. Now that I'm aware that this is kind of a big deal, I'm not sure how to handle his lack of apparent concern. Thanks again... this has been extremely helpful.

[HollyB]

I don't know that much about hypoglycemia, but I'm a little surprised by what your boyfriend told you. I know hypoglycemics avoid sugar and fast carbs in their overall diet in order to prevent that spike and crash in their BG levels -- in other words to prevent a hypo episode. But I would have thought that once you are actually low and close to passing out, a SMALL amount of fast carbs like sugar, bread or juice would be needed to boost the BG up quickly, followed by a protein snack to stabilize the BG. I could be wrong though -- if the problem in the first place is that the body kicks out too much insulin in response to blood glucose, perhaps treating a low with sugar just exaggerates the initial response.

So maybe clarify with your boyfriend exactly what your instructions are if he loses consciousness. Meat and nuts are not exactly the easiest thing to manage when you're semi-with it -- perhaps you could get a list of recommended foods? Cheese? Cheese strings are fairly easy to pack along...

[beau91]

Arienette,Dave gave you some good advice specially the 911 .I'm copying a text from a medecine site .That says about the same thing as Dave

The acute management of hypoglycemia involves the rapid delivery of a source of easily absorbed sugar. Regular soda, juice, lifesavers, table sugar, and the like are good options. In general, 15 grams of glucose is the dose that is given, followed by an assessment of symptoms and a blood glucose check if possible. If after 10 minutes there is no improvement, another 10-15 grams should be given. This can be repeated up to three times. At that point, the patient should be considered as not responding to the therapy and an ambulance should be called.

The equivalency of 10-15 grams of glucose (approximate servings) are:

•Four lifesavers
•4 teaspoons of sugar
•1/2 can of regular soda or juice
Many people like the idea of treating hypoglycemia with cake, cookies, and brownies. However, sugar in the form of complex carbohydrates or sugar combined with fat and protein are much too slowly absorbed to be useful in the acute treatment of hypoglycemia.

Once the acute episode has been treated, a healthy, long-acting carbohydrate to maintain blood sugars in the appropriate range should be consumed. Half a sandwich is a reasonable option.

If the hypoglycemic episode has progressed to the point at which the patient cannot or will not take anything by mouth, more drastic measures will be needed. In many cases, a family member or roommate can be trained in the use of glucagon. Glucagon causes a rapid release of glucose stores from the liver. It is an injection given intramuscularly to a patient who cannot take glucose by mouth. A response is usually seen in minutes and lasts for about 90 minutes. Again, a long-acting source of glucose should thereafter be consumed to maintain blood sugar levels in the safe range. If glucagon is not available and the patient is not able to take anything by mouth, emergency services (for example 911) should be called immediately. An intravenous route of glucose administration should be established as soon as possible.
THere's a lot more on the site you can go and see it .But mostly what Dave told you is there
Hypoglycemia Causes, Diagnosis, Symptoms, and Treatment on MedicineNet.com
Good Luck Bye Ricky

[cyberus]

IMHO he needs a new doctor for starters, passing out from lows doesn't sound a lot like something that just diet can control for someone that doesn't seem to be taking it REAL seriously.
Which brings me to the second point, he needs to take this more seriously IMO, you seem to be taking it more seriously than he is by being here looking for advice (good for you BTW), again if he's passing out from lows and he or his doctor is fine with that something is wrong somewhere.

[Arienette]

Originally Posted by beau91

Arienette,Dave gave you some good advice specially the 911 .I'm copying a text from a medecine site .That says about the same thing as Dave

The acute management of hypoglycemia involves the rapid delivery of a source of easily absorbed sugar. Regular soda, juice, lifesavers, table sugar, and the like are good options. In general, 15 grams of glucose is the dose that is given, followed by an assessment of symptoms and a blood glucose check if possible. If after 10 minutes there is no improvement, another 10-15 grams should be given. This can be repeated up to three times. At that point, the patient should be considered as not responding to the therapy and an ambulance should be called.

The equivalency of 10-15 grams of glucose (approximate servings) are:

•Four lifesavers
•4 teaspoons of sugar
•1/2 can of regular soda or juice
Many people like the idea of treating hypoglycemia with cake, cookies, and brownies. However, sugar in the form of complex carbohydrates or sugar combined with fat and protein are much too slowly absorbed to be useful in the acute treatment of hypoglycemia.

Once the acute episode has been treated, a healthy, long-acting carbohydrate to maintain blood sugars in the appropriate range should be consumed. Half a sandwich is a reasonable option.

If the hypoglycemic episode has progressed to the point at which the patient cannot or will not take anything by mouth, more drastic measures will be needed. In many cases, a family member or roommate can be trained in the use of glucagon. Glucagon causes a rapid release of glucose stores from the liver. It is an injection given intramuscularly to a patient who cannot take glucose by mouth. A response is usually seen in minutes and lasts for about 90 minutes. Again, a long-acting source of glucose should thereafter be consumed to maintain blood sugar levels in the safe range. If glucagon is not available and the patient is not able to take anything by mouth, emergency services (for example 911) should be called immediately. An intravenous route of glucose administration should be established as soon as possible.
THere's a lot more on the site you can go and see it .But mostly what Dave told you is there
Hypoglycemia Causes, Diagnosis, Symptoms, and Treatment on MedicineNet.com
Good Luck Bye Ricky

Thanks for that link, that is actually the site I referred to earlier. I talked to him some more today and he said taht for most that would be the correct response but his doctor told him that it would spike him too high and it would cause a coma. His doctor said the way he needs to stabilize is protein.

[Arienette]

Originally Posted by cyberus

IMHO he needs a new doctor for starters, passing out from lows doesn't sound a lot like something that just diet can control for someone that doesn't seem to be taking it REAL seriously.
Which brings me to the second point, he needs to take this more seriously IMO, you seem to be taking it more seriously than he is by being here looking for advice (good for you BTW), again if he's passing out from lows and he or his doctor is fine with that something is wrong somewhere.

Thank you for your advice. I completely agree. The more I read and talk and realize that this whole time it was serious and downplayed so much, the more sure I am that he needs a new doctor. My goal tonight is to get him to open up and take this as seriously as I am. I want to be here to help him and take care of him, but I"m realizing it has to start with him caring for himself. Thanks for your help!

[Arienette]

Originally Posted by HollyB

I don't know that much about hypoglycemia, but I'm a little surprised by what your boyfriend told you. I know hypoglycemics avoid sugar and fast carbs in their overall diet in order to prevent that spike and crash in their BG levels -- in other words to prevent a hypo episode. But I would have thought that once you are actually low and close to passing out, a SMALL amount of fast carbs like sugar, bread or juice would be needed to boost the BG up quickly, followed by a protein snack to stabilize the BG. I could be wrong though -- if the problem in the first place is that the body kicks out too much insulin in response to blood glucose, perhaps treating a low with sugar just exaggerates the initial response.

So maybe clarify with your boyfriend exactly what your instructions are if he loses consciousness. Meat and nuts are not exactly the easiest thing to manage when you're semi-with it -- perhaps you could get a list of recommended foods? Cheese? Cheese strings are fairly easy to pack along...

Based on what he said his doctor said (although I am officially on the get-him-a-new-doctor bandwagon) I'm gonna go with a protein bar for now. Thanks for your advice.

[Evermont]

Originally Posted by HollyB

I don't know that much about hypoglycemia, but I'm a little surprised by what your boyfriend told you...

Yeah, me too. There are plenty of diabetics that don't really understand diabetes. It's not far fetched to imagine a hypoglycemic that doesn't really understand that condition well. Perhaps he doesn't like to talk about it because he knows that he doesn't really understand it all that well and is embarrassed to admit it.

[Arienette]

Originally Posted by Evermont

Yeah, me too. There are plenty of diabetics that don't really understand diabetes. It's not far fetched to imagine a hypoglycemic that doesn't really understand that condition well. Perhaps he doesn't like to talk about it because he knows that he doesn't really understand it all that well and is embarrassed to admit it.

Actually I never though about that. I get the feeling he is tapping into the whole macho show-no-weakness persona with this, so that makes sense. Thanks!