I saw this on another discussion - and didn’t want to ruin the punchline… But…
Why would you eat cool whip or drink milk before going to bed?
Also, if 70 is at the high end of ‘low’ and 45 is seriously low… How quickly can your BG go from 70 to 45? (I know it’s different for everyone… But, I’m the one in charge of the GlucoKit - and I’m a worrier…)
For this hypothetical, let’s assume the 70 came 2 hours after eating.
Lastly, thank you all for all the great answers to my other questions. I’ve been spouting off so much great info he joined, also.
I don’t know that I understand what you’re asking about the cool whip or milk. For me, if I’m low before bed, I have a tendency to drop slowly through the night, so I most certainly need to treat the low - with whatever seems like the best choice. Right now, milk is a great option for me because I’m trying to get more calcium in my diet.
As far as how fast one can drop, that varies not only from diabetic to diabetic but situation to situation. There is NO answer for you. If I have insulin on board, I could see that drop in 15 minutes or I could hold at 70 all evening. If it’s two hours after eating, depending on how early you took your insulin before the meal (I do mine 20 minutes early, usually), that insulin is in your system for at LEAST another hour after that reading of 70. (Fast-acting, depending on the insulin, can stay in your system anywhere from 3-8 hours, with the average being 4-6). Makes sense that the sugar would continue to drop. My endo expects me to be at 120 two hours after a meal and near 100 (my optimum target) after another hour.
(Lastly, and this one TICKS ME OFF, did you know that the first ingredient in SUGAR FREE cool whip is corn syrup???)
I saw the remark about cool whip in the ‘You know you’re a diabetic when…’ discussion.
We are learning about the sugar-free bit on food… And that’s it’s usually not. I’m so disappointed…
If it’s any consolation, the problem is the same here in France… Sugar-free means ‘table sugar - free’
Thanks for trying to give me an answer - I know there isn’t a neat one (drives me crazy, that bit) but I’m just trying to get some ideas…
Of course, today, to confuse things more, V went down after breakfast, like he should… then UP before lunch for no apparent reason.
I can think of two things that are most likely to blame for that pre-lunch rise. If his breakfast was high in fat or protein, both convert to glucose more slowly than carb and could cause a rise hours later. Second, natural fluctuations in hormones can cause insulin resistance throughout the morning - whether due to stress, adrenaline, or just morning hormonal surges. So it’s possible the insulin from breakfast brought his sugar down only to see it continue to rise once the insulin had covered the food on board.
Yeah - that’s why I only use the sugar free whipped cream (in the can) - it’s made from real cream. My favorite is the Land o Lakes SF brand - very good!
Im a pumper and typically if my Insulin on board is 1.20 and my BG is 70 and I ate 2 hours ago, that means I need to eat something because I know my BG will be somewhere in the 30’s if I don’t have something quick.
The speed of your crash is a function of how much insulin you have taken, whether there is any food making it go up, and if the insulin is at its peak (usually 1-1.5 hours after injection). So if you haven’t taken a bolus in a while, but you’re at 70, you shouldn’t worry too much. If you took a bolus one hour ago, and you’re at 70 in spite of this, you should worry. If the 70 is 2 hours after eating, you should be pretty worried, depending on when you ate food. If you haven’t eaten anything in an hour and forty five minutes, you’re probably going down quickly. If you ate forty five minutes ago, you’re probably going down slowly.
Complicated, yes, but you just eliminated some of the mystery for me and gave me some logic to use to try to figure it out. Yes, I know, it will still only be a good guess and the body does strange things… But it’s a start Thank you so much!
The mixed insulins that your husband is currently on may peak at various times. This could mean that he would drop faster when the insulin is peaking and more slowly when it is not.
Usually the times when insulin “peaks” is when the doctors told him to eat. That’s why the mixed insulins demand a fixed schedule.
