Other than Lucozade

[stoney]

Hi All

What can James have instead of Lucozade to give a quick boost to a low BG. He seems to be running low quite often now and the lucozade is giving him bad stomachs (also would have to be gluten free) also it is not a good thing as far as his teeth/brace are concerned either as the orthodontist said he should not have too many fizzy drinks aaaaaaargh.

Can't wait to see Dietitian and stand-in DSN on Tuesday 19th to sort his Novorapid and Lantus out. He is very often low in the afternoon, so I think it's back to tighter carb counting and half units.

 

[cugila]

Anything that is fast acting carbs would be suitable. Most people use GlucoTabs or Dextrose tablets available in different flavours available from virtually anywhere nowadays, chemists, sweet shops, supermarkets would give about 12-15g of fast acting carbs, then when the level is more normal a small carby snack to keep the levels stable......same way that you would treat a hypo.

As for drinks, pure Orange juice, any sugary drinks will do. Despite what the Dentist says a Diabetic sometimes has to consider other things. Depends really what he likes to drink which is suitable for the conditions he has. Hopefully that isn't full sugar drinks all the time......that isn't good for ANY Diabetic. As with everything....moderation is the key word......

 

[iHs]

Hi

Because of the coeliac problem James is a bit limited as to what he can eat or drink that doesn't contain gluten, lactose, modified starch etc (my other half is also coeliac but not diabetic (as yet) so what might be better is to use bottled sparkling water with some icing sugar mixed in with it. That should do the trick. Another is to use icing sugar, condensed milk and desiccated coconut and make up mini bite size cakes.

 

[Jen&Khaleb]

I am trying Khaleb out on Sustagen (says it is gluten free-not sure if available in the UK) tonight but I also buy Glucodin powder and you can also get glucose tablets. If I was getting a lot of hypos I'd be reducing Khaleb's insulin also - parents here don't consult with their doctors much about doses. There is also the good old jelly bean and I've heard mentos are good because they travel well. Any high sugar source usually works well. Having a mouthful of water swished in the mouth after hypo treatment is a good way to help protect teeth without brushing many times a day.

 

[leggott]

I use red grape juice as it has a higher carb content around 16/17 g per 100ml, compared to say orange / apple juice which contains around 10/11g carb per 100 ml, therefore he would need less to resolve the hypo. We normally use Jelly babies when out but I'm not sure if they're gluten free. You could also use the small tins of coke / fanta to take when out, this may be a nice alternative to the lucozade.

 

[leggott]

Fogot to say to carry some straws with you as it's better for the teeth.

 

[annettekp]

We use apple juice or jelly babies. The cartons of full sugar Ribena are high in carbs but they only come in 200ml cartons which is too much for us.

 

[noblehead]

Stoney,

As far as I am aware jelly babies are gluten free and fast acting, like most sweet things its advisable to brush the teeth or swill with a mouthwash afterwards. To avoid the afternoon lows give James a extra 10-20g of carbs with his lunch until you see his DSN on the 19th, hopefully then they will advise on adjusting his insulin ratio.

Nigel

 

[goji]

I'm gluten free and I use M&S foam shrimps and bananas when I am having a hypo. They come in little packets (3 packets for £1) so perfect for carrying around in your bag and they are gluten free. They taste a lot nicer than glucotabs too!

I think your dentist will have to understand that hypos take precedence over dental health. When you are hypo you need something that is sugary to get you out of the hypo - there isn't an alternative.

 

[leggott]

Teeth are a concern for us too, but as other posts have mentioned the priority is to treat the hypo as quickly as possible.

We have been referred to the hospital dentist and my daughter is about to have a coating put on her back molars which helps prevent against decay and also provides a flatter surface on the tooth which in turn makes it easier to keep clean. We also get on prescription a very strong fluroride toothpaste to help make the teeth stronger. These are all preventative measures which might help to prevent tooth decay.

Speak to the dentist about tips for helping to keep the teeth clean - one simple one being is to get your son to just rinse his mouth out with water after he has eaten a sweet or lucozade, of course mouth wash or brushing is ideal, but not always easy to do when out and about.

 

[stoney]

Thanks for all the replies. Went out looking for some alternatives to lucozade.
Got some original fuit shoots, dextrose tablets and Morrison's own Jelly Babies. James had a BG of 3.8 before tea so he had 6 jelly babies (yes 6) result 20 minutes later 9.7. Now I know that 6 is definitely too much but good for rising the sugar. Will try 3 next time and see results (trial and error I suppose).

Off to see Dietitian and stand-in DSN tomorrow morning hoping she will do his HbA1c as it will be interesting to see what it has come down to, at least I hope it has come down from the last reading of 8 after being on this regime for 2 months.

The negative things James says about this regime is more Bg testing, more injections and the number of low BG's he's having (but likes the treats for raising his Bg's).

It's the same for me too but we still seem to keep the same times for meals so I just don't get the flexibility of it yet. :roll:

 

[stoney]

Hi Again

Well went to see stand in DSN today but Dietitian was off ill. Did not do HbA1c as machine was not there. Have another appointment with new DSN and dietitian on 24th May and HbA1c will be done then.

She went through our records and noticed the lows that I was talking about so have adjusted his carbs to 1:10 breakfast 1:15 lunch and back to 1:10 for tea, no insulin for carbs for supper and kept Lantus at 15. Also adjusted the Accu Chek meter accordingly so we will see how we get on. I just hope we can get a bit more of an even plateau.

She said the flexibility is in the amount of food he eats and not really the timings :roll:

 

[annettekp]

Glad you got some advice today. Hopefully adjusting the carb ratio will help.

We give 3 jelly babies which I think is about 10g or just over of carbs. I weighed them to check a while ago and I can't remember now. 13 smarties is 10g but they take longer to kick in.

Annette

 

[jonesy]

we use Glucojuice, which comes in very handy 15g bottles. just right for a hypo we've found.


jonesy

 

[stoney]

we use Glucojuice, which comes in very handy 15g bottles. just right for a hypo we've found.


jonesy

Never heard of Glucojuice where can you get this from

 

[jonesy]

i buy the glucojuice from the medical shop on this very site.

go to the home page and at the top there is a link for 'products', click on this and scroll down. there you will find a link to the medical shop.

we also use the glucotabs from there. they are marked clearly as 4g each. just saves any thought process!

we give 15g per hypo as a norm, so one glucojuice or 4 glucotabs (16g) always works perfect!

jonesy

 

[stoney]

i buy the glucojuice from the medical shop on this very site.

go to the home page and at the top there is a link for 'products', click on this and scroll down. there you will find a link to the medical shop.

we also use the glucotabs from there. they are marked clearly as 4g each. just saves any thought process!

we give 15g per hypo as a norm, so one glucojuice or 4 glucotabs (16g) always works perfect!

jonesy

thanks Jonesy I will definitely get the glucojuice, James has tried the glucotabs before and did not like them.

 

[cleo82]

Hi Stoney - quick warning about jelly babies... bassets "may contain wheat"

Are you registered with coeliac uk? they send you a wee book every year that lists safe products, and includes a section on confectionery.

 

[iHs]

Another hypo remedy which someone on the forum mentioned a while ago is Hypo-fit. This comes in foil sachets and in different flavours. I got some sent to me as free samples. It's gluten free. You get it online or by prescription.

 

[jamesgmulroy]

milk or a banana raise my blood sugar as swiftly as lucozade but i leave the lid off my bedside lucozade bottle and find it far easier to drink