Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Janet Fanning on January 26, 2011 at 9:20am

those glucose gels are a joke to me. Raise the sugar without any pleasure in raising it. What I use is the Banquet Apple Pot Pie. You heat it and put cinnamon on top. Between the apple sugars and the cinnamon bingo no low. Its about 350 calories with only 120 being fat. Its like a little pot pie that is an apple pie. Very good for me. The apple pie at McDonalds doesnt do the trick tho. There is of course the orange juice routine.
and..there is timing of insulin / amount of insulin. Maybe reduce the amt taken? or time shift the insulin? This is what works for me.

Permalink Reply by Stuart on January 26, 2011 at 9:51am

Hello Janet:

You lost me.

You have hand fulls of apple pie in your purse, your car, your pocket??? How's that work 8 O ?
Stuart

Permalink Reply by Emmy on January 26, 2011 at 1:45pm

You use PIE?!? ROTFLMBO!!!! Oh, thats a good one!

Permalink Reply by Janet Fanning on January 26, 2011 at 9:26am

the question 2: do you want primarily salt items when you are eating like a hippo? Or sugar? or starches which turn into sugar? When I go into a hippo mode, I have to watch salt because of kidney output. Maybe you need a CDE to analyze what you are eating in this hippo mode. It might suggest that there is a metabolic problem. or thyroid? I pack a coca-cola to drink a little at a time so I dont go low. One soda per day will not hurt If you live in a snow area, like I do, you may need food items like brown rice and eggs for protein. Walking in the snow is hard work. What do you think?

Permalink Reply by Stuart on January 26, 2011 at 9:45am

Cake Icing Tubes (big/small)

Half of a can/bottle of soda

Cheap, easy, nothing complex at all
. Over treating is primitive survival response. Sometimes you DONT think, you eat... alive is better 100% all of the time over gee should I have take more as the floor kisses our skull.
Stuart

Permalink Reply by LaGuitariste on January 26, 2011 at 12:34pm

I feel you, Stuart. I'm like FEED ME NOW after a bad low.

My inner tiger is ready to eat my own arm if I don't feed her. ;0)

(Hey how'd we get from hippos to tigers? We've got the whole zoo going here...)

I've heard other people mention the cake icing tubes. I'll check them out. Someone also mentioned the Mike and Ike candies. I don't like them so that might be a way to go. Someone else mentioned Sweet Tarts. I hate them, so that's another idea of something I won't be tempted to binge on. I want something that feels like "medicine", not "oh, my gosh, let me snack on 1,000 calories of that". As I'm writing this I'm thinking, "anything licorice" would be like medicine to me.

Thanks!

Permalink Reply by Gerri on January 26, 2011 at 12:31pm

Lows should be treated conservatively just to raise back to target level. What's needed is fast acting glucose, not carb laden pies or anything with fat that slow absorption. Pure glucose, that's all.

Glucose tabs taste terrible (probably intentionally), are expensive & bulky to carry around. I use jelly beans & have little baggies of them stashed everywhere--car, purse, desk & nightstand. Cheap & portable. One jelly bean has one gram of pure glucose. Easy to count for exactly what's needed. You can use any candy like Lifesavers, Skittles. Let the sugar dissolve in your mouth. With a little practice you'll learn how much 1 gram of glucose raises your BG.

We're told the 15/15 rule, but this isn't accurate. Fifteen grams may be too much for some people. One gram raises me 10 pts. I'd be flying high eating 15. It also takes longer than 15 minutes to know what's happening. The full effect can take up to an hour, so downing 15 carbs, testing & taking 15 more carbs can send BG too high.

After BG rises, eat a small amount of protein to help keep things level.

Permalink Reply by LaGuitariste on January 26, 2011 at 12:53pm

Thanks, Gerri. My last hypo I did a tube of gel (15 gm cho) and at five minutes I'd dropped one IU (from 53 to 52) -- I was too panicky to give it time and did another tube of gel at 7 minutes.

Then I just went bonkers and ate about a billion calories -- another gel, two Ensure, two power bars -- I felt like a ravenous, panicky animal -- it was way past my bedtime and I was still shaking, sweating, heart pounding (the whole adrenaline thing hits me very hard).

I just wanted to go to sleep but I was afraid to go to sleep while I was low -- and who can go to sleep, really, while they're having a hypo and counter-regulatory adrenaline attack?

The next morning my fasting was in the 300's of course, and I felt sick and exhausted. Gah.

I learned that I need to plan better -- and that I should have just sent my boss an e-mail telling her to expect me to be three hours late rather than trying to force myself to go to sleep when my low was still questionable and my heart was still pounding. That's why I overtreated rather than waiting it out.

I need to make my health come FIRST in these situations.

Permalink Reply by Gerri on January 26, 2011 at 1:05pm

Crappy feeling. I become instantly depressed & often have panic feelings. When you're dropping fast the feeling is more exaggerated. This is a good example of Dr. B's law of small numbers. Mistakes aren't as severe & easier to correct. As your BG comes into better range, the horrible feelings from lows aren't as acute, not that it's ever good. It's BG bouncing all over the place that makes it harder.

I have to tell myself "this will pass, this will pass, it's just a temporary low." Knowing how much glucose to take helps with the panicky feelings.

Permalink Reply by LaGuitariste on January 26, 2011 at 1:45pm

I like your mantra: this will pass...this will pass...

I think knowing that it will pass helps. I'm less scared with each one. Having a quick source of carbs at the ready seems to be the key to my happiness now. I have gels in the bedroom, on my desk, on the kitchen counter, in my car, in my backpack...

Permalink Reply by Chaplain ET on May 6, 2011 at 9:12pm

Gerri: When you say jelly beans, do you mean the fancy Jelly Bellies, or just regular types? I know that sounds like a silly question, but it could make a difference, if one or the other has more than one gram of sugar...
Chaplain ET

Permalink Reply by Gerri on May 6, 2011 at 9:15pm

Fancy or regular, they have 1 gram glucose per bean. Jelly Bellies have great flavors, but they sure are expensive.

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