I’ve seen references to this in some other discussions, so I’ll ask the question. Would you rather have a low blood sugar and have to eat something to correct it, or have a high blood sugar and need insulin to correct it?
Personally, I’d rather be low. First off, because I like to eat and it gives me an excuse to do so! :). Second, because I can get myself back to normal relatively quickly. I can’t stand waiting for a correction bolus to bring me down from 240 to 110 (and often times it doesn’t, so I keep bolusing more, and more…)
My doctor always ask why I override the “recommended” correction factor and ignore much of the insulin-on-board. That is why. I feel like crap when my blood sugar is in the 200s (or higher!) and want it back to normal as fast as possible.
i’ll try and be objective here; i would rather treat a high blood sugar because it has less immediate danger, but there is something to be said about the odd quasi semi state of a low blood sugar that leaves at least myself with a sort of euphoric feeling, unless that is if it is a hard low that comes on fast than the panic survival mode kicks in and that kind of panic isn’t really enjoyable…
I’m taking the high b/c I am hypo unaware and usually I start seizing or black out b/f I know it and the highs I know what to do but being 32 when you check your bs and not feeling it at all and knowing if I hadn’t made myself check it at that time I could wake up in the ER is much worse for me.
I’d still choose low… even with a look at the more extreme events.
During the last 2 days, I went through a series of lows with the result that I didn’t sleep for a good 30 hours, missed out on a practical course and now, the day after, am struggling to get my feeling for bg levels back. I still notice real lows but for the rest of the day, I have no idea where I’m standing.
Though, as much as it bothered me, as much as I craved for sleep: I still kind of felt like being able to keep control and kind of aware of what I was doing, and that it helped (until my bg dropped again, that was).
One more day and I would get myself help but I think I’m back to normal… and can go on with everything.
But the few times I ran very high were horrible and one time I was actually scared that things were gliding off my hands. It was way more difficult to handle than a low. There is not much to decide at a very low bg, there is just one option: eat. But a higher high bg? More insulin? If so, how much? More water? Where am I supposed to store that amount in my (not empty) stomach? What if this feeling of dizziness doesn’t go away? What if I actually start throwing up?
As much as I hate hypos and as dangerous they are, I, personally, feel more helpless while being in the high’s
And the more reasonable ranges - no extremes? Low anyway. A mild low won’t hold me off for too long and won’t influence the rest of the day too much while a bg of 200 does.
Also, I’d have to keep checking my bg after treating a high since it depends very much on what I did/ate before or after, so it’s not always easy to predict where I’m going to end up this time. It might work out well. But it happened that I later found myself at 50. Or still at 200.
It’s not that I overcorrect. It’s more the fact that, depending on the cercumstances, sometimes 1 unit will drop my bg 30 points, the other time it’s 60 for 1/2 unit and I can’t always tell before… that’s why I dislike it more in comparison with a low.
I’ll have 20 times as many highs that won’t budge than lows that won’t budge. The only exceptions are when I didn’t believe in following the “net carbs” rule and OD’d on insulin; and the time when I bolused for a big Thanksgiving dinner, then got a nasty stomach bug and couldn’t keep any of the food down.
Yep. That is my mantra. When I am low (which unfortunately I frequently am), I say to myself, and whoever else is around criticising me - and believe me, there are those general busy bodies who like to think they know everything about diabetes - because their aunt 3 times removed 2 centuries ago had it! I just say to myself, “At least I know the insulin is working, and I quite like this condition. At least the treatment can be quite pleasant!”, so yep, I would definitely go with the low. Insulin takes time to work!
What I do not like though is the lack of warnings I get! I can be functioning one minute and a melting puddle of human tissue the next. Once I start perspiring I am usually way down near the cellar as far as blood sugars are concerned and heading for the core of the earth! We have a saying in the UK, “Four’s the floor, 9’s the sky!” (We test in mmols here).
I would MUCH rather treat a high than a low, unless it’s an extreme high, say over 300. I don’t feel bad with highs over 200 (although I very rarely get them now that I MOSTLY low-carb), and it’s easy enough to bolus for them with the pump.
Lows, on the other hand wipe me out, and I feel really awful for a lot longer than the lows last. I feel like I am going to pass out, even though I never have, and I feel almost paralyzed and unable to move. There is NO euphoria, or “buzz” and I would do almost anything to avoid lows!
Hate the low feeling (who doesn’t?), but I prefer treating lows because they’re more accurate, easier & faster to correct. I bounce back within 30 minutes. Takes hours for me to bring highs into range.
I’ll take being HIGH with no hesitation. Lows will kill instantly. Highs do not.
I can screw up, make a mistake with NOT enough insulin and have no problem,. Simply hit it again, or again, or again if necessary.
Screw up treating while having a low, and my ability to treat it in any way goes quickly bye-bye. YUMMY FLOWERS… owwwwwww warrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrm kitty… .(THUNK)
Given the magical ability to guarantee having one or the other, I demand a HIGH with no hesitation.
Definitely low. In my case, it will take minutes to return to normal bg’s after treating a low, and sometimes hours and several boluses to return to normal after a high.
Cannot begin to count them, know intimately CAN is definitely correct ; ) … even so, I’ll stick with “will” for purposes of forcing this choice. (Looking for a larger bag of salt to throw…)
Stuart
Low! I can pop some jelly beans or drink some juice and I know I’ll be ok. With a high…I can correct, but I become even more insulin resistant if I’m above 200 and my correction is often not enough - but there’s no pattern so it’s hard to figure out what correction factor to consistently use when I’m above 200. In addition, I don’t have a CGM…so if I was 225 and holding steady, my correction is going to work a lot better than if I’m 225 but going up VERY FAST. Then my correction is going to do little or nothing. Highs are extremely frustrating for me. Like I said…lows are so much easier.
From a technical standpoint correcting with fast carbs is superior to correcting with insulin. Compared to insulin both latency and duration of fast carbs are much shorter. This is why I overbolus a little so that I can correct with carbs instead of running the risk of having to correct with insulin.
Honey, yummy.