bedtime lows

hello everyone we're new here ! my 12 yo daughter (type 1) had a low (70 -- but we know she needs to be around 100 when she goes to bed) at bedtime this evening and we had a discussion about what seems best to eat in that case & how much of it -- to keep you from another low until morning but avoid a very high during the night. i was wondering if any of you has one or several suggestions ? thank you !

Tags: 1, bedtime, carbs, children, counting, food, low, type

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Permalink Reply by MsShelly on October 27, 2011 at 5:33pm

Peanut butter crackers, milk, 1/2 a glucerna shake or bar.

Permalink Reply by ValerieE on October 27, 2011 at 5:37pm

thank you MsShelly. my daughter loves PB ! may I ask what a glucerna shake is ? (i'm not in the US and it sounds mysterious to me !)

Permalink Reply by MsShelly on October 27, 2011 at 5:52pm

Glucerna is a nutritional shake specifically for people with diabetes, they also have bars kind of like a granola or a meal replacement type bar. There are other brands as well such as boost, I am sure most any type of meal replacement or nutritional shake or bar would be about the same. Just look for something with longer acting protein to keep her blood glucose steady longer.

Permalink Reply by ValerieE on October 28, 2011 at 4:51am

thanks so much for the info ! i'll have to check if we have something similar here. i would bet i will have more luck with nutrional bars, because France is not the best place to be diabetic and i have doubts there is a specific line of food, other than maybe in large places like Paris... i'm gluten-free and the French are really bad about that too ! :(

Permalink Reply by Jodil on October 27, 2011 at 6:02pm

Normally, a slow acting carb and a protein is recommended. Like Ms. Shelly said, pb is good, crackers, bread, MILK is great, cheese, fruit, yogurt. As mentioned, a carb and a protein will help keep sugars stable but you should treat the low first and then give extra carbs. I know 70 is not technically a low (at least not here in Montreal, Canada), here a low is 66 but regardless I would maybe treat the low sugar and give a snack. I also recommend maybe checking her sugar at least once in the night to make sure all is well.

Good luck.

Permalink Reply by ValerieE on October 28, 2011 at 4:58am

Jodil -- thank you !
I agree 70 is not really a low (same here in France) but as I said for her + before the night, it is.
I usually give her a little piece of whole bread with a teaspoon of PB, nutella or butter, and she often have a mini homemade raspberry milkshake... so I guess we're not far from what people here kindly recommend. And she woke up at 90 today, so... :) !

Permalink Reply by Jodil on October 28, 2011 at 7:15am

Bonjour Valerie,

Parler vous francais?

Yes, you are on the same track as us Canadians (Quebecers) as far as snacks. I agree I WOULD NEVER put my son to bed with a blood sugar of 70 regardless of whether it is a true low without giving an extra snack first. My son LOVES nutella and peanut butter so that on bread with a glass of milk is said to be a good snack.

Bien a vous,

Jodi

Permalink Reply by daneenm on October 27, 2011 at 10:16pm

When DS was diagnosed, nine years ago now, his Dr. recommended ice cream. It works great for him. i know some people see spikes after it, but my son does not at all and he wakes up right in range. Also chocolate keeps him nice and flat. We only give about 15g of whatever he is eating for his nighttime snack and it serve as his dessert as well as keeping him even.

Permalink Reply by ValerieE on October 28, 2011 at 5:03am

oh my ! she certainly wouldn't say no to these treats ! i make our own icecream (with no white refined sugar but a friendlier option like agave syrup, whole sugar or coconut sugar) so i guess i will have to calculate how much of it, along with a little piece of bread or a cracker... i'm sure that would work, and probably without spiking too much. thank you for the suggestion ! ps : do you give your son any type of chocolate or do you stick to the dark type ?

Permalink Reply by daneenm on October 28, 2011 at 7:08am

He prefers dark, but really we use anything we have on hand. With Halloween coming, we will have mini chocolate bars that we will use for nighttime for a couple of weeks.

Permalink Reply by Jodil on October 28, 2011 at 7:18am

Hi daneenm,

We too will be stocking up on the mini chocolates. I think these are great for diabetic kids as they get to have a small treat so not to feel left out without having too big a sugar rush. I just opened a box of chocolates I bought for Halloween and took out all the mini smarties (m & m's) for my son as he loves these and I know each mini box is 8 carbs.

Happy Halloween.

PS...THis is my son's first Halloween as a diabetic...when first diagnosed he thought that was the end of Halloween so we are glad to see he got into the spirti (I think the initial diagnosis is so shocking it takes a child time to adjust).

Permalink Reply by daneenm on October 28, 2011 at 9:12am

I know what you mean. When my son was dx, it was September and we swung totally non-candy, for 'fear' of what it would do to him. In time, we adjusted and learned that we did not have to handle anything differently. We pretty much go with the approach of everything in moderation and that works for him too.

If this is your first Halloween, I will give you a word of caution...my son runs LOW every Halloween! My theory is the excitement and activity does it, but we actually have to have him dig into his candy while he is trick-or-treating to keep him up. Again, in moderation - he picks one or two while he is out. You may have a totally different experience, but this was so counter-intuitive for his the first time, i always mention it.