Rule of 15, my ****.

[phoenix]

Same 15g rule here, I often don't use that much even at quite low levels, I also don't aim for the level that the 15gm is aiming for (ie given 1g of glucose theoretically causes a rise of about 0.2 mmol/l (4gm/dl) for a person of my size, 15g would often take me too high)

It must vary though according to the reason you're hypo . If you have tons of insulin in your system for some reason (overdose or maybe an absorption problem with the same effect of a sudden surge of insulin, then you might need a lot more.
I've only had a few hypos that have taken longer or more carbs to respond and again only a few when I've had a symptom of being really hungry.

Ensuite, il faut se resucrer mais pas trop ! 15 grammes de glucides suffisent : 3 morceaux de sucre, par exemple, ou un verre de jus de fruit, un verre de soda non light, 1 cuillère à soupe de confiture ou de miel. (A éviter : le chocolat ou les fruits, dont l’effet hyperglycémiant est plus lent).
http://www.afd.asso.fr/diabetique/glycemie/hypo
If you can manage it there is a quiz, an interesting question is about what level constitutes a severe hypo (won't tell you the answer they give!)

 

[DunePlodder]

Normally 15g is about right for me, but I've had sessions similar to Spiker where I just couldn't believe how much I needed to eat - usually at about 2:00am. Horrible. My CGM is great but it seems to take for ever to register a pick up from a low.

 

[noblehead]

@noblehead and DD, I am glad that the hypos you have are comparatively mild / shallow. I agree I now need to understand what caused such a steep and aggressive hypo.

Noblehead I think your experience proves that the Rule of 15 is just as likely to be wrong in the other direction - too many carbs rather than too few.

It's ridiculous really that they make these simplistic rules and try to apply them to an entire population that is so diverse.

I think we have both been diabetic a similar length of time Spiker, the advise I was given from the start (and was often mentioned in the diabetes literature) was to treat a hypo with 10-20g of fast acting carbs.

Not sure if you did the course, but on the day where family and friends come in to discuss illness (Sick Day Rules) and hypo's they do say there's some flexibility on how much glucose someone needs depending on factors like IOB and exercise, so the 15g rule isn't set in stone by any means and it certainly does vary going by all our experiences.

Anyway, hope you find what caused your hypo from hell.

 

[Jaylee]

@noblehead and DD, I am glad that the hypos you have are comparatively mild / shallow. I agree I now need to understand what caused such a steep and aggressive hypo.

Noblehead I think your experience proves that the Rule of 15 is just as likely to be wrong in the other direction - too many carbs rather than too few.

It's ridiculous really that they make these simplistic rules and try to apply them to an entire population that is so diverse.

Mars bars. I apreciate a lot of people think they work a little too slow..
Funny enough I woke with a hypo This morning around 4.10am.
The cause must have been basal, though I'm still on the slack dose for summer & tested well to bed down on after my previous post on this thread.
So, tucking into a Mars bar & for some reason remembering Spiker's thread....
Plus testing on a hand not handling said food stuff.
Looking again at meter records, 4.20am I was rising within 5mins at 2.3, 4.40am 6.6, 4.48am 7.3... Happy with this I ******** of back to bed.
Pretty shot from the gig last night. Lol you really don't wanna know the figure that read just now though......!

Agreed, we are all different..

 

[Seriously_Sax1989]

Hmm seems were all told different things... I was told to test, take 4 dextrose/glucotabs, wait 15 mins then check again, eat something with 20g or less carbs then check an hour later

 

[Spiker]

Well 4 glucotabs is 16 gCH, so same thing really.

 

[Ambersilva]

Mars bars. I apreciate a lot of people think they work a little too slow..
Funny enough I woke with a hypo This morning around 4.10am.
The cause must have been basal, though I'm still on the slack dose for summer & tested well to bed down on after my previous post on this thread.
So, tucking into a Mars bar & for some reason remembering Spiker's thread....
Plus testing on a hand not handling said food stuff.
Looking again at meter records, 4.20am I was rising within 5mins at 2.3, 4.40am 6.6, 4.48am 7.3... Happy with this I ******** of back to bed.
Pretty shot from the gig last night. Lol you really don't wanna know the figure that read just now though......!

Agreed, we are all different..

Hi Jaylee,

Do you find that during the gig your BS rises because of the adrenalin rush? And drops when the gig is over?

 

[Jaylee]

Hi Jaylee,

Do you find that during the gig your BS rises because of the adrenalin rush? And drops when the gig is over?

Hello,

Unfortunately I can't be that "scientific" regarding BS levels during the actual gigs...
I tend not to eat prior to shows. I may have lunch as late as 2pm & that's it till after a gig which could be over by 1am..? (I like the feeling of singing for supper.)
I have dropped low after, at a straight set festival..
But have experienced a drop ten minutes into a second "pub gig" set. After a 20 minute break?
I try to keep levels for gigs around 7 or 8 at the start for optimum vocal performance..
Any hypo treatment at these sort of events are always sugary drinks..

 

[malky39]

I think in this case its just that fact that different things work for different people and you need to experiment to see what best for yourself

 

[Spiker]

I think in this case its just that fact that different things work for different people and you need to experiment to see what best for yourself

Indeed. And not to prescribe one-size-fits-all policies for treating life-threatening emergencies. ^_^

 

[andreco]

I drink lucosade as it works quicker than anything you eat...

 

[tim2000s]

I think the difficulty with telling people that they should work it out for themselves what works is that a significant proportion would end up in the back of an ambulance on multiple occasions. By providing a guideline, you can at least reduce this risk.

Remember, 90% of people act stupidly in stressful situations, so giving them an easy way to do something is better than nothing.

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

 

[crystal]

I did a BERTIE course, which seems to be better than DAFNE in some respects. I was told to treat hypos preferably with a glucose drink, like Lucozade, then wait 10 mins before eating something solid like a plain biscuit or bread . This is because eating too soon will slow the absorption of glucose from the drink, and delay the rise in BG. In practice, my brain doesn't work when I'm hypo, so all advice just goes out of the window and I just grab whatever is available. Have had to give up glucose tablets as I now have a reaction to one of the ingredients ie. an intense throat irritation. Also react to sweets like Lovehearts. DSN thinks it might be a preservative, but I haven't been able to find out what it is. I never leave the house without sweets like fruit pastilles, a small plastic tub of shortbread fingers and a Yorkie bar with biscuit and raisins. A piece of Yorkie is just right for when I'm walking about and my BG is low normal. Experience shows that I will go hypo without extra CHO, but easy to overdo it, so a Yorkie allows portion control!

 

[phoenix]

A piece of Yorkie is just right for when I'm walking about and my BG is low normal. Experience shows that I will go hypo without extra CHO, but easy to overdo it, so a Yorkie allows portion control!

When I'm in the UK, I've been known to use a small bit of a peppermint aero when out for a walk. It works well and I quite like it. Tried bringing some back here (to France) but when I went for a walk with it, it melted all over the pocket of my daysac; back to the glucose tabs"

 

[andreco]

Try kendels mint cake...it doesnt melt and is great for a spurt of sugar

 

[andreco]

http://www.kendal.mintcake.co.uk... I have used this many times in hot weather when on a long ramble...

 

[Flakey Bake]

DAFNE HYPO CORRECTION:

NON DAFNE< REAL LIFE HYPO CORRECTION :

Oh Lordy, that touch a nerve. He he. I never learn.

 

[alaska]

Usually 15g is too much for me and causes me to say hello to results around 12 mmol/l within 15 mins or so.

However, sometimes, such as if having done very intense physical work earlier in the day, I may need to eat a veritable meal's worth of carbs to get sugars back up following a hypo if I haven't adequately accounted for the exercise when taking the next meal's insulin dose.

 

[LucySW]

16.7, 4 hrs later, since you asked. Yes, the purpose of the Rule of 15 is to prevent rebound highs. I try to stick to 12-16 gCH to treat hypos, but if the situation is worsening rather than stabilising after 5+ minutes then I treat it aggressively. Because I know from bitter experience that I can go from fine to unconscious in that time frame. And I would rather have 100 bad rebounds than one coma.

Ow. So scary, Spiker. Does this happen often? Have you passed out before? And are you all right now?

Lucy

 

[LucySW]

In practice, my brain doesn't work when I'm hypo, so all advice just goes out of the window and I just grab whatever is available.

That sounds like the point to me. Ow.