best ways to handle low levels

[puri6798]

what r some quick ways (eating wise) that r helpful in dealing with low glucose levels. for example is it best to eat something with sugar or something like cereal or pasta or peanut butter or what have you. im looking for things to help when my levels reach dangerous levels ( 20, 25, 30, 35, etc ). i usually have juice with sugar added, juice alone, or things of that nature. kindly advise as to various eats that r most to my advantage to deal with my circumstance. A Beforehand Thank You to all respondents.

[kgm0612]

Juice is always a good choice if it's readily available.

Although many here use Glucose tablets, I prefer using Starburst candies to treat a low. Each one has about 4g of carbs and raises my blood sugar about 20 points. So if I test at 50, I'll eat 2 of them which will get me to the 90 mark.

Good luck!

Karen

[Jan B]

Hi Puri,

If you are extremely low, definitely take some fast-acting carb/sugar like juice or glucose tabs. The standard taught when low (without regard to your actual bg) is to have 15 fast acting carbs and wait and recheck in 10-15 minutes. If not better, repeat the process. And repeat again if not better. I don't find this is the real world for me though. My DE (pump trainer) told me the new standard they are teaching is that if you are under 50, have 30 grams of fast acting carbs (wow). I tried it, and it's overkill for me.

My bg always comes up with glucose, and like Karen said -- if I'm at 50, and eat two 4g tabs (or candies), I'll be up enough that I'm fine (90 approx). However, if I don't take but 8carbs total, I'll usually be low again in a hour or so unless I'm about to eat anyway. And that low may happen 3 or more times! So, maybe add some protein and/or fat to keep from going low again soon if not taking 15 carbs?

It's a real good idea to add protein/fat (cheese or peanut butter & crackers) at night before bed, instead of just treating with glucose tabs, so you don't go low as quickly.

AND it would be nice if you had a plan to NEVER go so low! The pump did it for me.

[1type2go]

HI

I once (not to long ago) .....I hade posted Honey was my bedside cmpanion:D

But with a little advice from the threads here,It's been great and probably worth looking into..Nightime Lows!!~

[Dimes]

Hi Puri,

If you are extremely low, definitely take some fast-acting carb/sugar like juice or glucose tabs. The standard taught when low (without regard to your actual bg) is to have 15 fast acting carbs and wait and recheck in 10-15 minutes. If not better, repeat the process. And repeat again if not better. I don't find this is the real world for me though. My DE (pump trainer) told me the new standard they are teaching is that if you are under 50, have 30 grams of fast acting carbs (wow). I tried it, and it's overkill for me.



30g's is a lot.. 15-20g seems to be enough for me usually

juice, pop, honey, maple syrup, or straight sugar/sugar water were all suggested by my educator, in addition to tabs

[KCP]

I have some form of sweet like a tea with sugar, or juice, or jelly beans and a banana.. Usually just half tho, and that tends to do the trick :)

[stlduckhunter]

For me, glucose tablets do not act fast enough when I get really low. The best thing I have found is Capri Sun juice pacs. They easily raise me 50 points or so very quickly. If I am really, really low, two does the trick.

[Cyborg]

I always use glucose tabs to treat lows. Food and drink has to pass through your digestive system. If you know your bg:carb ratio, glucose tabs also help to prevent the roller coaster effect.

[Subby]

The glucose tabs sound like a good option, I havn't retried them at this stage as I associate them heavily with bad old early days of my diabetes life. Maybe I will give them another go soon.

I also commonly use juice, I find it very fast and convenient enough. I find mixes like breakfast juice or tropical juice the best - fast acting, but more predictable and not as likely to spike me as say apple or orange juice if I have too much.

The poppers brand small tropical juices are perfect for this - small, and 15g carbs. Will push me up into the good zone and not past, most times. Then I have 15g low GI like a couple arnotts ginger nut biscuits (these don't spike me at all, but sustain me. You need to test to find non-spiking foods for yourself). This will help prevent another bad drop in the short term, if things are still pushing downwards somewhat.

Fluctuations can cause bad sugar/carb addictions for me. I avoid extremely refined sugars (sweets, lollies, chocolate, etc) if I can, because these trigger extreme cravings. Then it is simply pure mental pain not to eat more. If you find this regularly of your hypo fixer - that it is hard to stop eating it - then you know you need to find a less addictive fixer.

[JediSurfer]

I prefere some kind of glucose product followed by something starchy. Orange juice seems to take forever to absorb in me. I think this is due to the high fibre content. Isotonic glucose drinks which atheletes use work quite effectively. I use Glucogels, they taste nasty, but then nothing about the big D is nice.

[Subby]

The variation betwen everyone's bodies is quite astounding. OJ shoots me up like a rocket!

It is both frustrating and facinating, this lack of consistency between our experiences.

[UpNorth]

Glucose tabs if i'm on the go and not having a shop nearby where i can just pop in and buy a juice pack... Feel it's easier to carry glucose tabs than juice :T But at home i prefer to use juice or syrup- the lightbrown kind. At night i mostly use glucose tabs too because it's handy to have around, and won't make my bed go all wet and/or sticky like juice and syrup can do...

[shiftzor]

A sip of Lucozade Sport followed by an apple, sorts me out in no time. Best bet is to stick to something you know and trust; refine the quantity of w/e it is until you have the perfect solution for when those evil lows come about without putting yourself high immediately after. ;)

[Gary_W]

Something that is easy to quantify so you don't overshoot and go high afterwards... That's another reason why glucose tabs are so good. It's unlikely that you'll enjoy them, and it's easy to take 15g of carbs which act really quickly. I nearly always have them about my person.

If I'm at home and drifting into a fairly gentle hypo, I enjoy tea with one sugar and a digestive biscuit. 15g of carbs but not quite as quick. I know you shouldn't exactly enjoy a hypo, but if it's one where you're just under a 4 and you know you still have insulin working so you eat to fend off the real boneshaker... Well, that snack can be a little more enjoyable than the glucose tabs; the complete urgency isn't there so I make the most of it in a 15-20g disciplined kind of way. Or more if I realise that I've got plenty of IoB still working its way in :)

Orange juice is nice and quick for me as well, so that's a frequent one at home.

I love 'real' Coke as well, but to get your 15g of carbs you only need 150ml, which is just under half a can. The difficulty is not drinking the lot. A cold 500ml bottle of real coke is a terrible thing to have in your hand when the mind is weak; 50g of carbs that whack in like a steam train and will have me in double figures inside 25 mins.

Gary