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!
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.
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 … 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.