I just started using glucose tablets again recently. When I first tried them in 1989, I hated them…chalky, hard to get down, and terrible flavors. So for years I used things like butterscotch lifesavers, then hard candies. However, as someone with Binge Eating Disorder, I was getting frustrated by how a severe low would set me off to eating everything in sight, and then it would take weeks again to get control of the BED.
Since I’ve been using glucose tablets again, I haven’t had the problem.; The tabs work SO quickly…literally within a minute or two. So if I’m severely low, I can take a glucose tab or two, start feeling better quickly, and then have an appropriate snack to bring me up to normal and maintain. If it’s a mild low, one or two glucose tabs does it, and does not send me into a tailspin of BED. And the newer glucose tablets are palatable enough that I don’t have trouble getting them down, while they’re not candy-like enough to set me off.
For me, they work out to be about 15-20 mg/dL each. Usually carry 6-8 in my pocket unless I’m on a carb binge I stumbled across sour Starbursts recently… YUM!
Oh geez. I can’t imagine the faces I would be making to co workers and neighbors then. sounds delish. The spicy ones are surprisingly good too it shocked me.
@jc16 Do you carry the roll of Sweet Tarts, like the kind you’d get from the convenience store? I’ve thought about trying those but was wondering how quickly I could eat if I was in a rush.
I have used it all. I used to drink milk, or OJ, or eat a half bag of peanut M&Ms. All worked fast and relatively well, but sometimes especially with drinks my blood sugar climbs way higher than I intended it to. And then I’m on the roller coaster.
I prefer to use glucose tabs because I can adjust them, easily measure them, and they are the lowest in extra calories if you are trying to maintain or lose weight.
I use smarties. They taste ok, one tube is 6 carbs so I do one, two if I’m really low and bonus, they are cheap. I’ve tried doing healthier options but I end up coming up too slowly and then over-correcting or just going too high after prolonging the low feeling. I try to limit carbs to 70 per day so I really hate adding those useless carbs but not useless if I am low. If I know I am just heading low and not hypo I will eat a Bulletproof collagen bite or an epic protein bar: low carbs but enough.
I use all natural fruit strips, similar to the fruit roll ups of my childhood. They are all natural, each strip contains 15 grams of sugar, and are very portable and shelf stable. Yummy flavors include strawberry and raspberry. I purchase them at Aldi.
I stumbled across sour Starbursts recently… YUM!
sounds delish. The spicy ones are surprisingly good too it shocked me.