Treating extreme lows

Interesting, I could imagine that the glucagon might shed some interesting light on other hormones, though the nuances are beyond my ken.

And there are also those of us who live alone and so glucagon kits are useless. I just try and test frequently, treat promptly and hope I can dial 911 as I collapse or my liver kicks in if I lose consciousness (as it did the one time this happened to me). When you refer to gel tubes, guitarnut, do you mean glucose gel or cake icing? I should probably invest in some glucose gel if there is such a thing and use it in an emergency.

I'm pretty sure glucose gel and cake icing work equally as well, except the former is more expensive. Also, glucose gel tastes really nasty to me. My mom used to use it when I was a kid and teenager and was so out of it she couldn't get me to eat, and I'd always try and spit the stuff out. I think cake icing would taste way better!

I have a glucagon kit even though I live alone, but I have always had family or close friends who live in the same building or a block or two away who know how to use glucagon. I also carry one in my bag occasionally, and have shown friends how to use it. I think glucagon will be FAR more useful when it comes out in an auto-injector that you'd be able to use even if you were near passing out. I've had a few times where I was alone and very low and almost passed out, and I think if glucagon were available in an auto-injector I'd have used it in those situations.

Level Life makes a fast acting glucose gel Zoe. They have lots of flavors and taste good. You just tear off the top and squirt it in your mouth, they have 15 grams of carbs and claim to work twice as fast as juice. I like that they kind of “dissolve” in your mouth quickly so if your stomach is upset, or if you feel you’re on the verge of passing out, you can get the sugar in quickly and easily. I get them at CVS.

Do have these "things" and hate the way my body reacts - my husband has used syrup. The best for me are HiC juice boxes with the straw already attached. It can be squeezed into your mouth - I carry one in my car at all times. Have one in my bag when going to the gym. That corn syrup - which is decreasing in beverages - has always been my friend but finding it is becoming more difficult. Low sugars - for me - react very quickly to corn syrup. Hope this helps

Technically carbs start to be digested in the mouth by enzymes in your saliva, but it's extremely dangerous to put anything in the mouth of an unconscious person. The choking is almost a bigger hazard. All ambulances are stocked with a glucagon kit but it's good to have one just in case. A bunch of my friends are EMT's and know where to find mine and how to use it if I pass out.

Of course, you are correct, maybe I am not unconscious as I am able to suck from the straw, the syrup was recommended by a doctor as it would just go down the throat. I sincerely apologize if my advice was in any way life threatening.

Hello Mee:

Can't speak to the cat aspect, BUT, you do not need to massage anything. Just squeeze whatever the gel it might be into the side of the mouth, and it dissolves without any help from us... SMall squeezes until empty.

The second you start prying open the mouth, human/animal you get severe problems in terms of safety. Bad idea.

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You ever used glucagon on yourself???

It is NOT like lovenox, glucagon is/was stupidly a multi step process. Given the ridicilous shelf life. Perhaps there are now itty bitty syringes of the stuff, but unless it happened very recently, the syringes/kits were all BIG ones. Much
too scary for children, far too scary for those phobic about shrp & point things. In severe panic, myself require a delivery device that NOBODY will ever balk at using. Icing... sure. Needles.... too spooky for all but the most grim, IMHE.

Icing/gel tubes float, are easily carried, won't easily freeze, always OTC easily gotten lots of places, storable almost anyplace with nearly complete impunity. Naaaah, prefer the gel... never scary stuff for anybody.

Merely my opinion, I could surely be mistaken...

Hello RogerAlyn:

We are in the same neighborhood in terms of decades riding this dragon we share. Adele said clearly, she/he has a kit. The question was an important one of philosophy & practices re: glucagon.

Glucagon, though widely proscribed, there are a meaningful number of folks who having had the stuff, would severely argue the point of its "merits" and vigorously argue in preference for (sic. almost) anything else in place of it.

I understand the position intimately. What I propose, and I think adele was wondering about, was re: whether other measures, other far less invasive tools (eg gel, icing, etc.) were viable alternatives.

The answer is yes, though the debate remains.

Hello Angivan:

Dr. Cox out of U.VA. did some very interesting work about B.G.A.T. (Blood Glucose Awareness Training) re: symptoms, their loss, and yes the misperception of their loss too.

Unconscious, gel/icing works easily. open squeeze into the side of the mouth and it dissolves just like cotton candy would. Several small squeezes are easier. Other things when literally unconscious, not a great idea. Prying the mouth/teeth open... NO WAY.

All we are talking about is if someone is unable to do it for themselves, its very easy to get the gel/icing into them, and begin to "open the parachute", slowing any continued drop by doing so.

A point anyway.

PS having had the stuff (glucagon) used on me.... no thanks, far, far far, far prefer the hospital to it. Side effects are that bad. The new stuff, not sure. The stuff that's been around for decades, you can have mine. (: s

Hello Zoe:

Don't know all the products obviously, but the Glucose Gels tend, tend to have a bit more sugar in them than icing typically does. But given the cost of the stuff, and the availability issues, icing is still easier to find & get. (Gotta be careful of the generic icing tubes though, some require cutting of the tips rather than the easy twist off tip, and as such should not be used (ie cut off variety) for our needs.

How many friends, family, people you intimately trust would you give one of the old glucagon kits, and say use it on me if I'm lying there? For me, because they are/were not one step (like epipens) press into the thigh kind of deal... no they gotta be assembled, then mixed, then used.... [8 O

Too difficult for normal folks, once they redesign the G kits, make em "friendly", maybe. But I can get total strangers to use icing tubes on someone with no hesitation. Syringes... that list is real small.

Birthdays can make for some awkward flashbacks -wg- sometimes, but tubed icing has been used for decades as a quick, stop gap measure. Buys time, hits the proverbial brakes for a bit

Just for clarification -
Glycogen and Glucagon are two VERY DIFFERENT things.

Glycogen is one way your body stores excess glucose. Up to 8% of your liver's weight can be glycogen stored in its cells. Your liver breaks it down and releases it into the bloodstream when you need more glucose. Muscle cells also contain glycogen to store energy.

Glucagon is a hormone that is produced in the alpha cells of the pancreas and has the opposite effect of insulin. It raises blood sugar. One way it does so is by commanding the liver cells to break down glycogen into glucose. Glucagon is what is in the emergency kits for hypoglycemia, not glycogen. It is also used in some bi-hormonal artificial pancreas trials to both push and pull your blood sugar up and down, just as your own body does with insulin and glucagon.

Hi Stuart,

That's what happened to me, I used a gel in a gel pack for a sinking fast low when I was out last month and it just seemed to evaporate. They're much easier to carry around than the drinks because they're small and weigh less. I'm not sure about the honey technique for cats- my cats don't have diabetes- I have never done that but I think you could slip your finger in their mouth gently and do that without doing harm maybe. I will ask their dvm about that on the next checkup. One of my hospital cellmate's cats had diabetes- she said she gave her an injection 1/2 hour after meals.

I haven't used glucagon yet fortunately but I had one low that wouldn't come back up for 2 hours where it would probably have been a good idea, a small amount in a smaller syringe. I agree it is too complicated for a stressful event and I hope the pens Terry mentioned will be available asap. I guess many people may have an issue with it, doing the injection you're right, but my brother injected me with lovenox when I couldn't do it the first time and I'm sure he could do the glucagon no problem if needed, I have gone over the directions with my family too. I have the gels also and all my instructions have been it is ok to use them if you are still conscious but too out of it to drink/eat. Have you ever had people give you the icing when you were unconscious- did it work? It would be good to know if you ever need something rapid and don't have glucagon with you. I checked out some icing tubes yesterday I think and they seemed to have mostly corn syrup in them, but maybe some have dextrose? I remember seeing some that do. I pretty much hate the way all this stuff tastes! Even the icing because I used to make my own butter cream icing for cakes with butter and confectioners sugar. Next time I will buy some icing tubes instead of gels, I still haven't used the ones I bought after my diagnosis, lol.

Here's a link... I got these at Target.

http://levelfoods.com/products/glucose-gels