what to eat when I get low...

[willie4004]

Hey all, Just wanted to ask if anyone has suggestions to what to eat when I get low. For me when I hit a BG of 45 I get very shaky and have an overabundance of hunger. I will just keep eating until I am full. More times than not I will soar above 220 due to the food intake. I have tried peanuts, and fruit, etc. Anyone have an other suggestions of what to gorge myself on with hardly ant carbs?

Thanks

[Gary_W]

Don't gorge yourself at all. I did this for years, and all it does is give you a really bad rebound high. Welcome to the world of rollercoaster control. Just like a rollercoaster, it throws you about and makes you feel ill.... At a time of hypo you actually need carbs, so asking for things you can gorge on with no carbs is not really the right question IMO. Eating peanuts etc is just giving you calories but not rapid carbs.

The general rule is to have 15g of fast acting carbs and then wait 15 mins. Test again. Repeat if needed. It does need a fair amount of self control but I've done it both ways and you CAN convince yourself to do this on 99% of the time. Since doing it this way, I've only slipped once and overdone it and even then it was nowhere near as bad as the old days. Once you've done it the controlled way a few times, your brain learns that it saves you from passing out and it works. The temptation to empty the fridge will then subside in those circumstances.

The 15g of carbs should be as fast as possible. The best treatment really is glucose tablets. The ones I use are 4g of carbs each, so I eat 4 of these for 16g of carbs. Alternatively, a measured amount of orange juice or soft drinks. Make sure it's measured or you'll be hard pushed to resist having the whole bottle...

For treating hypos, avoid chocolate, fats, proteins etc. It takes too long to get in, so you eat too much of it as you still feel bad. If you feel you still have active insulin working then eat some longer acting carbs once the initial hypo is easing off (fruit, brown bread etc). Again, measure it against the active insulin you believe you have to avoid a post hypo spike.

Gary

[UpNorth]

I use glucose tabs or juice and recently tried some gel like thing called hypofit to treat the actual hypo. If i feel very hungry even when my sugar is back up, i just have a snack or a proper meal and inject insulin accordingly :) But for treating the hypo, i need some FAST carbs... Just starting to eat a regular meal won't bring me up fast enough. i need to get out of the hypo first, even if breakfast/lunch/dinner is already on the table...

[Jill-O]

If you are treating a low, you do not want any peanuts. There's not much carb there and the fat and fiber in them will slow the carbs you do take (and NEED) from bringing you out of the low.

I've only had two lows so far. I have glucose tablets at home, in my purse, in my office and in my vehicles. They are always handy. But, what I think I like best for treating the lows I've had is apple juice.

Basically, as I understand it, you want to take a fast acting carb (no fat / no protein) and then test again in about 20 minutes.

[ant hill]

I have some jelly beans with me most of the time like when I am physically working I have this beside me and that is just to get the glucose up and then test 15 min later and see that the level is on the improve and eat some more of something weather you are hungry or not. So the main thing is to have something to bolster the glucose from that crucial low and follow that up and see that the BG's is at a safe level. :)

[xMenace]

I assume you are wondering how to handle the hunger rather than the sugar to recover.

When I'm facing this, I take juice or glucose tabs to fix the hypo, then I bolus to cover the fridge I'm about to empty. I also monitor regularly afterwards for the probable rebound sugar and hormone dump which can send me high for hours. I will probably end up bolusing a bit for that too and setting a temp 125% or 150% basal for a few hours - guesswork.

[kgm0612]

I do my best to follow the "Rule of 15" but as we all know, most times that doesn't work! LOL

I try to go for a little OJ and/or a couple of Starburst candies first. They raise my BS the fastest, although they don't satisfy the hunger cravings!

Karen