Hypos

Juju13

Well-Known Member
Messages
91
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi my mum is type 2 and is having hypos the care home where she is are treating this with 1 glucose ( I have told them several times how to do this they don't listen) aa cup of sweet coffee and biscuits is this OK are is it too much sugar??
 

Freema

Expert
Messages
7,346
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
both ways are good I believe...
how much one needs depends on how low one is .. and how soon it raises her blood glucose... glucose is an okay remedy to raise blood glucose
 
D

Deleted Account

Guest
The affect of treating hypo with sweet coffee depends on how much milk is in the coffee and how much fat is in the milk.
Fat slows down the absorption of sugar which is why (unfortunately) chocolate is not a very good hypo treatment.

Likewise, the fat in biscuits can slow down the sugar absorption and prolong a hypo.

As others have mentioned, the impact of this depends on how long your mother's BG is.

The glucose is definitely good.
 

Juju13

Well-Known Member
Messages
91
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Her level has been down to 3.4 senior said she's only just hypo but she was shaking and clammy they then gave her all three of the above and checked her blood which was then 7.8 then left her alone
 

Freema

Expert
Messages
7,346
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
that is not bad... 7.8 is a bit high but okay safe also when just having treated her for a hypo, it is difficult to hit like right between 5 and 6 mmol .. many times it is safer to be a bit too high if one easily hypos, I think is not a worrying number right after a hypo, as it is better to be a few mmol´s too high than the opposite..
yes there is not enough people in such places to really sit beside a worried person for longer hours .. many times there are only a few 2-3 persons to take care of like 20 people and the others still needs to get new diapers on and come on the loo and be helped to eat and lots of others stuff it is difficult to be one to one person for more than a few quarters of an hour once in a while, that's why family is actually still very important in the old days, I have tried the same with my father if more people are critically ill at the same time the people working there need to run from one person to the other all the time
 
Last edited:

Juju13

Well-Known Member
Messages
91
Type of diabetes
Type 2
The one to one doesn't worry me it's the I was under the impression that you treat a hypo with 15g of carbs and test then if still low repeat not just straight go in with sugar overload
 

Lamont D

Oracle
Messages
15,793
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Hi, Juju13 you mentioned the drug Glicizide.
This is what is causing the hypos.
Have they adjusted her dose, if not speak to her medical practitioner to reduce her dosage or come off the drug altogether.
You have to be careful with treating hypos depending on the reaction of the treatment, but using some form of sugar or carbs to raise her blood levels is important as is monitoring her after the treatment.
 

Juju13

Well-Known Member
Messages
91
Type of diabetes
Type 2
She is due to have bloods soon they haven't been managing her diabetes very well I just wanted clarification or not whether giving her coffee with sugar in several biscuits and dextrose tablets is the correct way of treating it from what I thought I understood one of these would be enough initially not jump in with all three
 

lou258

Well-Known Member
Messages
73
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I’m t1 so not sure if it’s different but I was told some fast acting glucose (like jelly babies or glucose tabs) and follow up (if you’re not near a planned meal) with some slower release carbs like a digestive or piece of bread. Hope this helps
 

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi. Yes, it sounds like the Gliclazide dosage may be too high. See if the GP will reduce it.
 

pawelwolf

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 1
If Blood glucose level is below 4mmol treat it with 15g fast acting glucoze than check BG if ok have 15-20g low act carbs like biscuit or cake or sandwich. its important to do it always with fast act glucoze at first otherwise you risk further droping BG level or delay effect high BG as pancracea will release glucagon when BG below 3.5mmol which will release glucose stored in lever and rise BG very high level. longer hypoglicemia more glucagon release 15g fast act carbs are 3 jelly babies, 3 tea spoon sugar solved with little water. regular orange juice 250ml etc may you buy in farmacy hypo treatment are cheap and easy to store.
 

SimonCrox

Well-Known Member
Messages
317
I would totally agree with the above comments.
An older person in a care home is likely to eat little, lose weight and have other problems like impaired renal function that all contribute to hypos with gliclazide.
It may be that she does not need any tablet to control her glucose levels, or a gliptin might be a far more sensible choice.
Checking an armful of bloods for renal function and blood count and glucose level etc is useful, but an HbA1c can be falsely elevated if your Mum is anaemic, be all over the place if her kidney function eGFR is under 20 (and the path lab sums for eGFR are inaccurate in frail elderly) and the HbA1c is just an average, not reflecting the variation from high to low which can be quite marked.
Finally, one would use an individualised HbA1c target in all people, balancing risks and benefits - this might be a bit higher in a care home resident than in a young otherwise healthy person (I would never be ageist, but one must first do no harm)
best wishes