Hi
@Westley, Have you considered the effect of sugary drinks on your teeth long term ? And in the heat of the moment spilling the drink is a possibility, with you ending up with the stickiness over face, clothes and little going to your bloodstream.etc.
The Glucose jels are the way to go. but it is any form of glucose or similar sugar in a storm if you are none left.
Also if and when the next hypo occurs see if you or someone else can regularly check your BSL say every 10 minutes.
BSLs might rise from the effect of one's own Glucagon and Adrenaline on the liver, and 'pouring in' heaps of sugar from a sweet drink etc on top may raise the BSLs way too high.
The main questions are: as an individual
1)
are you able to swallow well enough not to choke, for things to not good 'down the wrong way' ?
If not - Is a Glucagon injection available and can someone give it? OR
if alcohol has been taken and you cannot swallow
how quickly can ambulance or other health professional help be summoned? And what is the
best position for you to be placed in if you are becoming
drowsy, heading towards unconsciousness?
What needs to be done if you start fitting?
2) if swallowing OK,
how much glucose/other sugar do you usually need to raise BSL sufficiently when symptoms and signs of a hypo occur ?
3)
what to do you or others helping you do when 2) does not appear to be working ? And BSLS are still less than say 5 mmol/l. Or BSLS are > 5 mmol/l ? see 4) for why I am using BSL of 5 mmol/l.
4)
once the glucose meter or whatever monitoring is in place records several results (allowing at least 15% for error range)
above say, 5 mmol/l, is putting in more oral sugar at that time helpful? - given that signs and symptoms might last past the time when BSLs are back in normal or above normal range ?
5) or do you need to then
add in a slower-acting form of carbohydrate ?
6)
what is to be done with a high blood sugar overshoot and how can it be prevented or minimised in future?
7)
what caused the hypo in the first place and how can a recurrence be prevented or minimised.?
Sure, it depends to a degree on what is the cause of the hypo and what insulin (or other medication) is acting but dealing with hypos is more complex than we would like to think.
As answers to a number of the above questions are in Health Professional territory I cannot answer them directly.
