Correcting Lows Without Spikes!

I used to use juice boxes but they have leaked in my car, plus you can’t toss a box into your pockets. LOL! Small med bottles of Skittles, however, fit just fine.

Yeah, I don’t carry them around with me for all the reasons you listed. But they have a spot on my nightstand!

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BTW, how low were u getting when u tried using Skittles? Many years ago my lows were so severe I could hardly get my jaw to move, to eat anything. Thankfully, modern insulins, a pump, counting carbs, and finally, a CGM have reduced my lows to mild irritations.

I haven’t had any major debilitating lows since I got the cgm, though it has dropped into the 40’s before it’s gone up again. I usually don’t treat unless I’m less than 60 or doing something physically exerting, and otherwise wait to see if basal suspension will bring it around.

I don’t think it has anything to do functioning muscles. I just REALLY dislike Skittles in those moments.

I use glucose tablets most of the time, but must admit it’s hard to keep my hands out of the frig/pantry! I try to chew up the glucose tablets and down with a glass of water so the glucose gets to my intestines as quickly as possible.

I don’t have a rule on how much glucose I take for a correction. After all these years with diabetes I generally use my prior experience and what I observe on my CGM.

My issue is overcorrecting when I see my BG dropping quickly (like I see with Afrezza) or already at a dangerously low level. I have to keep reminding myself “more doesn’t mean faster”. Take what I think is reasonable, wait 10 minutes and then take more if necessary.

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Use something you won’t continue to eat because its nice, or something that’s hard to get down because its sickly, also use something quick acting. I follow Bernstein also. I disolve sucrose or glucose into a jug of water. 400ml to half a cup of sugar. 40ml equals 10 grams and 4 ml equals 1 gram.

I’m glad :slight_smile: … hope I can figure mine out soon lol.

Robyn_H, if you find 24 carbs in your juice is too much sometimes, try the 4.23 oz/125 ml boxes of JuicyJuice Apple juice. Those little boxes only have 15 carbs each, are juice so they absorb quickly, and are the most tolerable thing I have found to use in the middle of the night. I like the Skittles during the day, but I agree that eating Skittles or chomping on dry glucose tabs at 2:00 a.m. is not appealing.

If I need a fast adjustment I take a couple of swallows of pepsi, a slower adjustment and a few hot tamales.

Since adopting relatively tight control, I can correct for low with almost anything. My preferred choice is a teaspoon of ice cream. I usually don’t have carbs around and never liked the taste of glucose tablets, so it can be hard to convince my hypo brain to eat them. I’ve found, though, that a small glass of milk or even tossing down a handful of peanuts will push up my BG almost immediately, and hold it pretty steady.

As much as Skittles would be good for this, there is just no way I can do it…because I love them so much. My go to for out and about is natural fruit snacks; they’re sealed so they stay fresh pretty long and and I can have just one or two or the whole thing if needed. At home, a super small swig of grape juice hands it fine.