I feel like such a pig tonight! I just finished eating an ENTIRE King Size Kit Kat! Yes, the one that has like 8 very satisfying crunchy breaks. The yummy chocolaty goodness poured over the perfectly crisp wafers is hard to resist when my BS is good. But when it is low.... oh man, can't fight it. (Ha Ha)I am 21 and have been diabetic for 13 years. I have yet to find a good way to curb the cravings from being low. Has anybody out there found a good way to stop yourself before eating way too many carbs?
I use pre-measured 15g doses of carb. So for example, my fridge is filled with mini cans of Coke which come in at 15g carb. When I have a low, I down a can, go away and wait 15 minutes, and then come back and test.
BTW, Kit Kats are great but not really the best thing to use for a hypo. The fat in the chocolate will delay the absorption of the carbs so you won't see your blood sugar go up for a while, by which time you might have eaten enough to spike your blood sugar the other way.
Jessica, this has been the HARDEST THING for me!!! If I get low enough, I feel panicky AND hungry, and I'll eat anything that's not tied down-- especially in the middle of the night, and ALWAYS starting with the chocolate! (I used to go with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich; it seemed a good choice, because of the sugar AND the protein-- but I can "second" Lila's comment-- the fat prevents the sugar from being absorbed quickly).
I buy grape juice in the little bottles and keep them in the coldest part of my fridge, because I like them and can't otherwise drink grape juice without a resulting high. (My endo wants me to take glucose tabs-- they work, but ICK!-- or orange juice, so I'm trying to compromise!) I start with that, but keep my options open if it doesn't entirely solve my low. (I feel your pain on this!)
Hi Jessica,
I use glucose tabs, exclusively. I keep a roll of 10 tabs with me at all times. If I'm low and the brain is fuzzy, I can eat enough tabs to bring my blood glucose levels back up (2-4 tabs usually are enough to do the trick). And if I'm really fuzzy, I can always count my remaining tabs once I've gotten my BG levels up. For example, if I've got 3 tabs left in the roll, then I know I've eaten 7 tabs, or 28 g carbs (7 tabs * 4 g carb/tab).
Like Lila says, Kit Kats are a poor choice for treating a low. Chocolate sugars and fats will be slow to digest, so you'll stay low longer, and you'll want to keep eating b/c your blood is still craving sugars. Once the delayed sugar onset comes along, you'll likely have a ton of it coming down the pipeline. Glucose tabs, smarties, or skittles would all work better for treating lows. Faster sugar release/response to get your BG up quicker.
Cheers and good luck, Mike
Bolus for what you eat, correcting for the low blood sugar. That’s easy on a pump (I’m using the Omnipod). The sugar goes through faster than the insulin, but I still wait until my blood sugar is at least 70 (and clearly going up) before delivering the bolus. Glucose tablets will send my blood sugar up in a few minutes, but I hate them. Bread/bread products are very fast and more satisfying.
There’s nothing wrong with eating the food, just so long as it is possible to deliver a bolus for it. That gets difficult for a big sugar load. Berstein observes that bolusing more than 5IU at once seems not to work (the insulin is not adsorped in proportion to the dose), so boluses for large amounts of carbohydrate don’t work; this is my experience.
John Bowler
What I do often is, I bolus for the food but set the pump to "square bolus" so that insulin infuses slowly. I don't know how that would work if you're on MDI though. I think what you would have to do is eat your carbs and wait 15 min to 30 min and then give yourself a bolus, subtracting some of the insulin depending on how low you were.
Those of us with diabetes are just set up to have difficult relationships with food. Binging is something that I think many of us can relate to, and it doesn't just happen, it reflects our feelings about food and how messed up we can feel when it comes to good. I am right now reading a new book by
our fellow member Ginger Vieira entitled "Emotional Eating with Diabetes." You might find this book really helpful.
Thanks for all the great advice! I am on a pump and I do bolus for the extra carbs but I know that's way too many to eat at once. I keep juiceboxes that are 15-18 carbs on hand at all times, but when I am low treats sound so much more appetizing.
@Brian
Thanks for the info about the book! I am sure emotions have a lot to do with it. I have been having major problems with fatigue that none of the doctors can figure out :( Also it's finals week ...
Wow, 2 to 4 tabs?? Kit kats! I’m with Jenni. Depending on the severity of the hypo I ether take :
5 skittles
1 glucose tab (or a half if it’s not too bad)
8 measures oz of OJ
Yes, it’s hard to resist that “I must eat everything nom nom nom” feeling, but the highs afterwards aren’t worth it.
If I need a lift, or I’m having a bad day, I will totally skip a meal or snack and bolus for the 30 grams of cabs in a candy bar 
Only if I’m under 100 though, and I’m not like ravenously hungry.
Jessica, are you having lows only, or highs too? Because usually, stress brings on highs, and what may be happening is, you're over-correcting for the highs and winding up stacking yourself into a low.
Another possibility, if you're having fatigue + frequent lows without highs, is you may be developing adrenal insufficiency. Has anyone checked your ACTH/cortisol levels? If not, it's an idea to consider. Cortisol is one of those hormones that pushes BG higher, and if you're suffering from low cortisol output, it could explain the lows. Talk to your endo.
Hmm... Good idea Elizabeth :) I just had a huge panel of bloodwork done but I can't remember if they tested for that. I do have highs too, I had huge marriage issues a couple of months ago and am just finally getting them back close to normal as of about a month ago. But I have had the fatigue for about 13 years- ever since I got mono in the seventh grade. I have since been positive for mono- not just epstein's barr- six times! I appreciate any ideas!
Jessica, I totally understand your issue. I’ve been diabetic for 29 years and have always struggled with food so it doesn’t make the munches that come along with the lows any easier. I ALWAYS over treat. I can’t help it. I wish I could control it. I wish I were one of those people. All I can do is try try try. I hope you find resolve with this issue cause I know how emotional it can be and than you,mabove, for the book recommendation. I will be seeking that book! Best of luck to you… Also, for the low energy have your iron checked!
Probably won't surprise you to hear that frequent infections are also a common symptom of adrenal insufficiency. It's worth checking into, anyway ;)
Thanks guys! Indeed all the help I can get. I will definitely look into this.
I so hate eating so much when i get a low as trying to lose around 7kg but impossible when im eating so much when i get a low and i always over treat when this happens also, for ages I was so good at not eating choc etc since christmas i have been eating a crunchie bar at least 4-5 x week oh no. Im 39 my diabetes is very brittle and have a few complications nerve damage and blood clots still on blood thinners had a really bad year last year hopefully i have a better one this year. I do struggle everyday.