So, now that my BG/s are lower, I'm going too low at least once a week. Often happens when I'm out of the house. Gets as low as 50.
I'm taking in 5 g of carbs at a time.
Have used glucotabs, gel, nutrition bars with protein and fiber, fruit juice... and on. Getting inconsistent results. Sometimes the BG settles into a comfortable range. But often enough, I get a blast and shoot over 250 -- even over 300 in less than an hour. This roller-coaster is crazy.
The best way to treat lows is to learn how much 1 gram of glucose raises your BG. Like everything else, everyone reacts differently. I’m super sugar sensitive. One gram of glucose raises my BG 10 pts. Start with 1 gram of glucose & test. Though we’re told to wait 15 minutes, test & take more if needed, the full effect can take up to an hour. I think this is why we end up over-correcting & going high. Once you know how much you need to get to your target, it’s easy.
I use Jelly Belly jelly beans becase they’ve got great flavors & are small, cheap & easy to carry. Each jelly bean is 1 glucose gram, so also easy to count how many I need. Skittles also work fast. Whatever you use, let the sugar slowly dissolve in your mouth, don’t just swallow.
Most nutrition bars are around 25-40 carbs, so that’s a lot to treat a low. Fiber slows down digestion, so not the best choice to raise a low fast. Fast acting glucose is better.
Juice is good because liquid works fast, but again you need to know how much to take. Just downing juice can send you high. You may only need a 1/4 cup, not 8 oz.
After I correct a bad low, I eat a small amount of protein, usually cheese, to keep from bottoming out again.
This could be a digestion problem. Maybe your absobtion of carbs is slower than the fast acting insulin is dragging you down. The result would be to go low first and then go high later.
Another possibility is that you are more active out of the house. Activity can amplify the insulin reaction. Thus one unit will bring you lower than usual.
In both cases you could give the meal a head start. So you inject after the meal. This could bring absorbtion and insulin reaction more in sync. In contrast I prefer just to reduce my dosage for being more active. You will find out which approach is better for you.
Your body will release glucagon to counter a low sugar. The longer it is low the more glucagon is released, so even if you treat, the rebound high is, for me at least, is an unknown. Best to limit the rebound high is to treat as soon as possible.
