I normally have at lease 1 or 2 glucose low per day. If I am at home during the day, I drink 8 oz of normal cramberry juice. During the night at 4 am when are mostly my lows, I reduce my basal 80% for 2 hours or drink a juice pouch that I always have next to my pillow. Las night I have to drink 2 of them because my glocose was 54 by my dexcom but when I checked with the glucometer, it said 38. I always carry in my purse one juice pouch and 2 bars. In my car I always have 2 juice pouch. Sometimes one is enough because they have at least 25 carbs but now they are hard to find since they are reducing the sugar on it. I have tried the glucose tables and I don't see they work.
Bella, I have the junior juice boxes in my car and by my bed. The apple juice is 15 carbs which is plenty for me. I also carry skittles which are 1 carb each.
I use jelly beans because they're pure sugar & easy to stash everywhere. Each is 1 gram glucose & easy to count when low & not thinking clearly. I'm really carb sensitive, so juice is too much for me & I end up high. I follow a correction with a small amount of protein to stay level. Works for me.
1 cup of cranberry juice is like 32G of carbs, maybe too much? I prefer jelly beans too. Small denominations are useful. Even at 38, if there’s not too much IOB, 20G of carbs might fix it?
I'm not sure what you mean about glucose tablets that you "don't see they work". You need to determine the right amount of carbs for you to raise the blood sugar without going high. Glucose tabs are the most rapid means of doing that and you won't be tempted to overdo them like you might with something "yummy". For me, two tabs (8 grams) are good if I'm in the 50s. If I'm lower I take 3. (12 grams).
I'm wondering if you have one or 2 lows per day, if you need to do some basal testing or just tweak your basal rates for those periods when you usually go low. (the time two hours before usually works best)
I use Dex4 ...besides sensitive to insulin also sensitive to treatment ...before supper tonight I tested at 3.7 ( x 18 ) took 3/4 Dex pill , next test before supper 4.5 ( x 18 )...followed by supper . Zoe hits it right on ?? ... basal settings need tweaking ?? ...this darn complex disease ... hang in :)
I find that orange juice is very effective in raising my blood glucose when it's low. I drink 4 ounces of orange juice (no pulp, because I don't like pulp). In the middle of the night I follow the OJ with a handful of nuts to keep my BG up for the duration. Works like a charm, as my grandfather would say. When I'm not at home I use jelly beans (Brachs jellybird eggs - one jelly bean raises my blood glucose ten points - no joke), glucose tablets or candy corn (8 if they are Brachs), depending on the season.
If I'm just low-ish and dropping (e.g. 70 and starting to feel shaky) I will eat fruit or drink 1% milk and then follow-up with a handful of almonds.
If I'm low-low (e.g. 30's to 50's) I eat glucose tabs or gel and then fight the urge to dump the entire refrigerator into my mouth. Going hypo makes me SO hungry. Yow. Something with protein/fat will settle me down after the glucose tabs, but it's hard to not eat too much.
Bella, Your basals are set too high. Maybe it's your boluses that are too high.
If you can drink 1 cup cranberry juice and not go sky high, your basals are WAY HIGH!
I'm trying to be funny and serious at the same time!
Fixing a low with 42 grams of carbohydrate is FAR too much.
I think that maybe your need for insulin has decreased while you're pumping. Could be? Try smaller amounts of food while you set your boluses. Try testing your basal round the clock. Skip one meal one day, the next meal the next day, and skip the evening meal the third day. Look at your dexcom and write down what it says for each hour during the fasting time. (I know you don't have to write it down, that it will print it out for you, but sometimes you need time for thinking about it, and writing it down gives you that time to think.) If your blood glucose over the periods during the 3 days does not fall or rise more than 15 each direction, your basals are set right. If they are falling more, please ask a CDE or someone to help you set them close so they don't create lows for you. Take them your write up or print out. And know my best wishes and hugs are with you. This is a continuing problem in life!
For me, glucose tablets don't work fast enough. The tablets eventually work but I find that liquids work faster for me. Of course, it depends too on how low I am. I prefer jelly beans if I'm just trying to bump up a little bit. For me, Coke or gatorade for a low in the 30's or 40's.
Bella, I agree with Zoe that you need to test your basals.
I woke up at 4 am because mu pump run out of insuline, and it was 119, then the alarm sound at 4:30am and it was 86 and I reduced my basal 80% and about 5am was 53, so I have to get up to drink somthing. Last night I could't sleep trying to keep it between 90-180. But my doctor told me to set my basal at 0.9 during the night and I think it is too much. I am trying to set a basal for the nights that let me sleep.
I try to have something with fat in it. I've used fruit juice in the past to combat lows, but for me it seems much better to have something longer acting in there too, fat is easiest. So recently I've been eating biscuits that have carbs and are pretty fast acting, but still some fat.
I've also moved from a target of 80mg/dl to 100mg/dl, which, obviously reduces the number of BS's below 60. (I don't get much concerned about anything down to 60, after all, I'm a diabetic ;-)
I use juice boxes of OJ. I have a hard time w/ the tablets as they take forever to raise me.Someone on here talked about Skittles candy and i try to have those at work or in the car in the winter. Testing your basal sounds like a good idea.At home OJ works alone unless I have active insulin the I need nuts but only after I take the OJ. I used to suspend but then 12 hours later i would be high.Jelly beans have worked. The dextrose stuff also works and isnt sensitive to temperature. I love your dog.
