Tuesday 5/11 ? Making the low go. Tell us about your favorite way to treat a low. Juice? Glucose tabs? Secret candy stash? What?s your favorite thing to indulge in when you are low? What do you find brings your blood sugar up fast without spiking it too high?
I have a lot of trouble with lows. No, that’s not exactly accurate. I have a lot of trouble with over treating lows. I have always been amazed by those of you strong-willed enough to control your eating/drinking while low. I remember Kerri talking about her “Eight Sips” being her key mental thing to treat her lows without going crazy on it. I thought to myself “man – I’d drain the whole bottle!”
I’ve talked about this a bunch before, and have gotten a TON of great comments, suggestions, and experiences from many of you. But I still struggle with it.
Depending on my day, if I can stick to fast acting glucose, specifically glucose tabs, I do a lot better (duh!). But there are many days where I choose other ways to treat my lows, and it almost always backfires. Why do I put myself through it, you ask? Well, because eating other stuff to treat a low is more short-term fun.
It’s pretty silly, because when I do that, I usually eat more than I need, then end up taking insulin to offset a rebound high. But because I pigged out when I was low, and didn’t count my carbs, I can only guess how much insulin to take. And what do we know about guessing insulin doses? We know good blood sugars DON’T often follow. It is usually an express ticket for the blood glucose roller coaster.
I hate the blood glucose roller coaster. But apparently I don’t hate it enough to grind GLUCOSE TABS through my thick skull.
And if you haven’t already, check out Sara’s post about a funny story from when she came to Minnesota for a visit…
Getting over this problem took some very concerted practice on my part, though of course I still sometimes give in. 🙂 I agree that planning is really the key: you need to make it as easy/brainless as possible to eat only exactly what you need. My solution: tootsie rolls. They’re perfect for me for many reasons: they’re cheap and can be bought in massive quantities, the regular-sized candies are 5 carbs each, so I only need 3 (which is about as much low counting as I can manage), if I eat an extra 2 or something it’s not too much… Read more »
Hi, Your MIL might be experiencing something called hypoglycemic unawareness. It is a very scary thing where someone can’t feel their low blood sugars happening anymore. It is a fairly common thing, and it scares the heck out of all of us living with diabetes. I wouldn’t say it is normal to have so many episodes so frequently, but we’re all different. Does she see an endocrinologist and/or CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator)? They might be able to help her figure out ways to prevent many of these reactions, and also talk with her about options for her. There have been… Read more »
I just came across this blog while searching for information.. I’m not sure of proper blog etiquette but, I have a question I’m hoping someone can help me with. Please. I’m trying to understand low blood sugar episodes.. My mother-in-law is a type 1 diabetic and is on a pump. However, she has SEVERAL low blood sugar episodes a week. Sometimes 2-3 a day. We have to call her every few hours to check on her…. we can immediately tell if she’s having a low blood sugar episode and have to drop everything and run to her house to make… Read more »
Oh yes, I’m often totally guilty of that too. Because hey, my 13g juice box is not as much fun as jelly beans or chocolate frosting!! And then I try to SWAG bolus to cover all the junk I ate. Yup, and end up low again. I’m right there with you, my friend.
I have to agree with Wishing Mama, although I can’t say I always do it. I try to use Glucose Tabs “medicinally” and therefore have a limit and don’t over treat. However, when I head for the junk food — cookies, candy, candy, candy — well, you can see the pattern. I am a compulsive overeater and sugar is my problem. Any excuse will do. It’s tough. Then factor in the panicky feeling of a low and staying in control (of self) is very, very hard. I do a lot of praying.