I was told that if I went below 70 I should have some fast acting carb and then test 15 minutes later. If above 70 I should have a small snack that contained carb and protein (like half a sandwich). If still below 70, have more fast acting carb until and test again 15 minutes later. But not to eat anything until I got above 70.
For the snack part, I try to be sensible but sometimes I get a little excited and eat something I normally cannot have. Anyone else do this?
Hi Sweeter,
When I go low it’s usually in thew middle of the night and by the time I wake up and realize what’s happening I’m down around the 30’s or 40’s. I usually use a fruit juice or soda pop. I have a strong excuse to eat some chocolate (and have given in) but usually I try to stick with the beverages.
Pat
I use glucose tablets to treat lows. Usually 4 of them is enough. There is definitely a temptation to treat a low with a box of cookies (notice that I said “box”, not just a couple), but it is usually too slow to solve the low quickly and I will get very high later. If I am right around 70, I may have a small snack or some glucose tablets, depending on when my next meal is.
My husband usually drinks orange juice or glucose tablets. Sometimes (if we have some yummy treat at home, like cake) he will try something else, but then, it is not as easy to calculate the carbs.
So you guys don’t follow the glucose tabs/juice etc with a snack? I was told to follow with a snack but have been feeling like I’ve been overeating.
I eat glucose tablets. Yummy!!!
Hey, group: Isn’t the snack recommendation after a low an “old school” diabetes treatment? If you’re able to test at 15-minute intervals and have climbed above 70 because of 15 grams of fast-acting glucose (tabs, juice, Coke) at a time, then a snack–especially when it’s difficult to control how much one eats–may be too much.
Overtreating lows can lead to rollercoaster blood glucose and adds calories that many of us don’t need.
Speak up, is there any difference between type 1 and type 2 when it comes to this? What have your certified diabetes educators recommended?
For night time lows, I keep a pint of chocolate milk in the fridge. It’s 30 gms/cup so i have 1/2 cup and savor it. It’s hard not to eat everything in sight when i go low though. when I’m away from home and it happens, i suck on glucose tabs. I found some flavored like pina coladas and are 4 grams each. Depending on how low I’ll eat 1-3 of those then go find something more substantial to eat.
I second this, Jonathan. I’m amazed that just 2 or 3 glucose tabs can sometimes raise my sugars (while I’m watching my CGMS screen) back to normal. Makes me wonder what I was thinking when I used to binge to treat a low. Ugh!
My tummy usually gets nauseated when I am low so a juice is all that it will accept first. It is then ready to eat a little something else. So it will either be a glass of juice when at home downstairs or a juice box when I’m away from our house or upstairs beside my bed, just in case. I also have 1 or 2 mini chocolate bars(coffee crisp and aero bar) with the juice box to hold me. With a glass of juice at home, I usually have a cookie or piece of cheese or a teaspoon of regular jam with it.
I, too, like the coconut flavored glucose tablets, but have only been able to find them in a “mixed flavor” bottle (Kmart) that includes apple and cherry, too. Have you found a source of just pina colada flavor?
Hi Sweeter 
When I was younger, my Mom would always give me one gluco tab, and immediately follow with a cheese sandwich (not grilled, just plain cold cheese sandwich boo… this is why I really don’t like cold cheese sandwiches now!), and if it’s before bed time, a glass of milk.
Now that I’m older, I really really am not cool with the boring, predictable, routine of fixing my lows (I know… doctors or others more strict with their diets would probably frown on that…). I always have glucose tablets with me in my bag so having those when there’s nothing else in sight, will definitely work. I’m just not a big fan of glucose tablet flavors. I also buy boxes of Caprisun juice from Costco and keep a box in my car at all times.
At work, we have a fridge. I keep 1/2 gallon of regular milk, and a bottle of Hershey choco. syrup. I make my own choco milk when I’m really low (usually under 70). If I’m just a tad bit low at lunch time or snack time, I’ll have a glass of milk with my lunch or snack.
The reason I have milk instead of Caprisun is I want to start incorporating healthier stuff. Juice is ok but I want more calcium, and choco milk works for me when the circumstances allow for me to make or get some. Caprisun is great for the car because they don’t go bad.
I try to keep in mind that even though the sugar level is low enough that I can eat “whatever” I want, if I do that, I’m gonna end up paying for it later, which sucks even more. So… if I want chocolate and my sugar is quite low (or if it’s under 100 and before bed time), I’ll take a small piece of chocolate. Good thing is, the stores sell chocolate in smaller pieces now, not just as huge choco bars! I like Dove or Ghirardelli thin chocolates Just one is enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.
You were probably thinking must … feed … to … live. With the primitive part of your brain. Been there. Done that.
It takes soooooo much discipline during a low to be rational enough to allow a small amount of glucose to catch up with the dropping blood sugar (even now, when I no longer exhibit classic shakiness and sweating and may just feel tired or grow quiet). But the effort is worth it. Especially if, like me, a person wants to continue weight loss for optimum BMI and tighten the ol’ A1C.
So who else will join my vow: I will treat, but not overtreat, my lows?
When I was first diagnosed, back in the dark ages, I was told to treat a low with raisins and then to have a cheese sandwich. It wasn’t that there weren’t glucose tablets back then, but not every drugstore had them, and they came six to a pack.
Now, what I am told is that the glucose tablets provide a fast rise, but they are not going to keep BG up. So, if my next meal is not going to be for several hours, a snack is probably appropriate, but with a bolus to avoid going way too high.
I can’t make that vow. It is certainly something to which I aspire, but when the brain is only functioning on one cylinder, anything available looks good, and temptation is often overwhelming. Have to enjoy living, and, sometimes, that means treating a low with a brownie, regardless of the consequences.
Well this is very interesting news to me. When I was told to follow with the snack I was given the fire analogy about the body needing some sort of fuel to burn. I think I will ask about this again. I’m not sure who told me this – nurse or CDE.
I have treated some lows with milk and Hershey’s syrup too :). I feel the same way about getting more calcium.
I got some yummy dark chocolate squares from Costco. The bag says 8 squares are a serving (from 18-22g carb, there are diff cocoa levels) but 1-2 do the trick to satisfy a chocolate craving.
when i’m being a good girl- i treat with glucose tablets. grape- so yummy. when i’m being naughty or undisciplined (which is more often than not…) there is nothing better than a peanut butter and honey sandwich on white bread. the problem is that i can eat twelve of them before my stomach explodes and that ridiculous hunger low subsides. then i need to be rushed to the er to avoid a coma
I hear ya!
I definitely won’t. Often, when I tell myself I’ve had enough, the paramedics show up 30 minutes later, because I was nonresponsive and passed out. I have to down a lot of sugar to treat lows. (I really need to stop giving myself 50 units for a 180. Bad me. Bad.)