I was recently at the movies with my friends. The economy is bad on us so this friday my mom couldnt give me any money. I took my insulin and ate a little before I left, had a blood sugar of 300. I went, walked around, tested and I was 45. I had no money, my friend had mints so I ate a bunch of them and realized they were sugar free. I got someone to buy me an O.J and guzzled it down. Anyway to solve this irritating problem without having to borrow money?
Michael, dropping low in public like you did sucks; I have a suggestion. I don’t buy into the pay $5 for glucose ploy. I buy candy corns, then portion them appropriately. They cost so little and are so easy to carry in a sandwich bag that I always have them with me. Take care, Buddy, Virgil
You can go to a fast food place and get 3-4 little bags of sugar.
I use jelly beans. They’re cheap, easy to carry & taste better than glucose tabs. Each jelly bean has 1 gram of sugar. I have little plastic bags of different flavored jelly beans stashed in my purse, on my bedside table, in my car & desk.
I have a hard time with solids (candy, glucose tabs, etc.) when I’m low (I go really low). So, I carry little juice boxes with me everywhere. The small Juicy Juicy ones have 15 grams of carbs each, and they don’t have to be refrigerated. I just put one in a ziploc, throw it in my purse, and I’m good. I seem to rebound from lows quicker if I use liquids vs. solids (this could be all in my head, but whatever works, right?).
I believe that Danny, in the first response to this has one of the best ideas. You can get a large bag of skittles at Wal-Mart for under $5.00 and figure out how many you would need to eat to get your levels up and then divide them into baggies. What I do is put a bunch of skittles in an empty container of glucose tabs so they are easy to store and re-useable.
for me if I have any skittles it’s usually a handful to get my BG up. so I just get those mini packages of skittles or whatever I usually have and stick it either in my purse, or backpack. whatever it is im using while out and about.
Ooh, I like this idea, Marie!
It’s so much better to have the candy/glucose on you already than rely on having change, too, though. I used to just carry change with me, but once in college, I was with a group touring a palace in Europe and realized that all the change in the world wasn’t going to get me several floors down to a gift shop or the guest restaurant to get something when my sugar was in the 40s. That was a sucky day. Had to send a friend for candy and they brought me back marzipan - which I hate and had to eat anyway.
We’ve all been caught without though, Michael. Sounds like you handled it the best you could.
All good suggestions. I’m wondering though if you have been testing or not buying test strips? Do you do an insulin: carb ratio? You were 300 before your meal and then dropped to 45? Sounds like maybe all your basal and bolus doses need reevaluating? That’s really hard on your body.
I had the same reaction! “Ooh, great idea!”
I always have 1 or 2 of the Gerber baby apple juice they are perfect the 4oz are just 15g so it works great and fast. they have saved me a few times and they are easy to hide in your purse or bag even in your jacket or sweater pocket. I swear by them ive tried so many thing and have not had much luck they are the fastest and easiest for me. and since they are plastic bottles they don’t smash like juice box’s.
i do the same thing but i use Gerber juice bottles and i also recover faster with liquids its not in your head the doc told me they proses faster.
I went to Costco and bought a giant box of Welch’s fruit snacks. Each bag has 29 grams of carbs, good for treating lows (eat half if you’re not that low). I usually stuff a bunch in my purse, have some on my nightstand, have some at work, etc. Works well for me!
P.S. Stock up on Halloween candy! Lots of fun sized candies.
Stock up on sugar packages in your pockets , not your friends pockets …given free at restaurants , other food places .Lots of good free advise here on TU …make a pledge to pay attention .Thanks .
I like the suggestions here! By the way…sugar packets are also available free in Coffee shops
I use the sugar packets in the purse too (though being a girl i also carry a sugary drink in my bag, (lucozade is my drink of choice in the uk), because I have a horrible lack of will power and think I’d end up eating skittles/jelly beans oooh how I love them :(, where as I would never eat the sugar unless i had to, it should fit in your wallet/pocket easily too.
I also have a little thingy on my keyring which I keep a couple of coins in just in case.
Something like this http://www.sourcingplanet.co.uk/products/133408/WINSTED-KEYRING-in-Black-and-Silver.aspx
If you can swing it, get some after-Halloween Smarties in a big bag. Each roll has about 6 carbs and they’re easy to pop in your pocket or test kit. Much cheaper than Glucose Tabs.
Solution:
Never ever leave home without a “low pack”. This is one of the worst things Diabetics do. I always have three juice boxes, a roll of glucose tablets, and peanut butter crackers with me…NO exceptions! Now that isn’t to say I carry those in my pocket, but what I do carry in my pocket are the Glucose Tabs. Wal Mart sells them for under 2 bucks for a roll of ten. The brand is Reli-On. Those tablets are very taste tolerable and are nothing compared to the DEX brand of glucose tablets that are manufactured under the DEX brand name or under the brand name of the store (ie> Rite Aid, CVS…etc…) Now the ones that were very good were the BD ones, but they don’t make them any loner which peeves me off.
invest in kid’s juice boxes and keep them in your bag or hard candies that won’t melt in your pocket