Mild Hypos & Jelly Babies

[LooperCat]

Another thing some may need to consider: JBs are not vegetarian.
May not be an issue for many people but important for some.

It’s an issue for me - I’m allergic to gelatin!

 

[WuTwo]

It's an issue for me. I use Glucotabs. Not nice but I don't want 'em to be nice; I want 'em to be carb counted and fast acting and they're both of those things.

Very old thread but worth the rejuvenation - the matter of treating hypos is important to all of us, all of the time.

 

[Brunneria]

Newbie to the forum! Severe Acute Pancreatitis last year with Necrosis, Pseudocyst, blood transfusions, sepsis and other lovely Hospital bugs all thrown in for good measure! 2 weeks in ICU and not far short of 6 months in hospital! Anyway was on metaform for a month in hospital and then my pancreas seemed to sort itself out and no diabeties!? Regular HB1c checks and 4 weeks ago and all not good! Was back on metaform 2 then 4 a day, which did touch the high blood sugar levels! Some readings 26+ Anyway, now on mixed insulin 2x a day. Started at 6, the. 9 and stabling out at 11 units twice a day! Feeling great that now seems under control and celebrated with a brisk 45 mins walk tonight and got back feeling a little out of breath! Thought I’d check my blood sugars and eeek at 3.8! Quick read on here and 5 Bassets Jelly Babies later, writing this! Long way of saying, a big thanks. The forum is a great resource for me in these early days!

Hi and welcome @MushroomGaz

You have really been through the ringer!

Have you been given a clear diagnosis of which type of diabetes you have? 1, 2, 3c?

This is an old thread, about jelly babies, but I can move your post to its own new thread in the appropriate section of the forum, if you like, then it won't get swamped under jelly baby posts

Glad that you have found the forum, and are finding it useful. I think we all like hearing that.

 

[kitedoc]

Dextrose tabs have the following advantages over jelly babies and others:
The taste means that one does not so easily scoff down more than is needed and as you have noted high bsls after jbs etc is an issue
The idea of using glucose is to combat low bsls not to get a taste hit
Dextrose tablets give you a quantifiable amount of glucose, not as easily estimated in jbs, drinks etc
Glucose is less ruinous to teeth than jbs etc (which usually have table sugar or sucrose as it is called, in them).
Some sweets/foods may contain fat which may slow absorption of the sugar.
In contrast, to the glucose in Dextro tabs etc, fruit juices may contain fructose which is a type of sugar which may contribute to the formation of fatty liver

 

[Fairygodmother]

But jelly babies don’t need water to wash them down when the powder catches the back of the throat @kitedoc, often a problem for me. Dentist this afternoon, but not for jelly baby caries thank goodness.

 

[evilclive]

Dextrose tabs have the following advantages over jelly babies and others:
The taste means that one does not so easily scoff down more than is needed and as you have noted high bsls after jbs etc is an issue
The idea of using glucose is to combat low bsls not to get a taste hit
Dextrose tablets give you a quantifiable amount of glucose, not as easily estimated in jbs, drinks etc
Glucose is less ruinous to teeth than jbs etc (which usually have table sugar or sucrose as it is called, in them).
Some sweets/foods may contain fat which may slow absorption of the sugar.
In contrast, to the glucose in Dextro tabs etc, fruit juices may contain fructose which is a type of sugar which may contribute to the formation of fatty liver

It may be worth noting that some of those advantages aren't universally agreed

Re the scoffing - if you need help to avoid scoffing, then yes, the less nice taste of tabs might be worth it, but if you can manage your hypo treats, no reason to not have something nice. See also Jaffa cakes etc.
Re the idea that it's not to get a taste hit - if you can manage it sensibly (ie previous point), there's no need to be puritan about this. It's recommended to not give small children the idea that they get something nice for hypo, because it's quite common to learn to fake it or worse deliberately induce it, but if you're capable of only treating when you need to and in an appropriate quantity, getting something nice isn't a bad thing. (personally I have slightly the opposite problem, I need to encourage myself to treat hypos, and having something nice helps.)
Re quantifiable amount of glucose - so do jelly babies, so long as you stick to one brand, and since there's only one decent brand, this isn't hard Ditto jelly beans, jaffa cakes, sugary drinks, etc - this stuff is all measurable and controllable.
Re teeth - there is a bit more truth here, but no matter what you eat, good dental hygiene is important. So long as you keep on top of that, then eat what you want.
Re fat - if it works, it works. JBs are often recommended because they're high glucose. They also have hardly any fat in them at all. Jaffa cakes probably have a bit more, but if works for the hypo, who cares?
Re the fatty liver - the amount of fruit juice in a jelly baby is tiny. A 5 JB hit (my portion size when I need it while out exercising) contains the equivalent of 2ml of fruit juice. If anybody is going to say that's enough to cause a fatty liver, I'm going to raise a few eyebrows at them. Sure, there may be problems with excessive fructose in diet. Maybe drinking litres of juice, or of course the US favourite sweetener, high fructose corn syrup. But as is repeatedly said, eating things in moderation will be fine

 

[Gaffer type 1]

Easier to carry I use fruit pastilles 1 or 2 do the trick but for quick acting I buy the small cartons of orange juice or apple juice I also use lotus biscuits u can get them in packs of 2 I had hypo 2 nights ago at my sons school concert I had couple of lotus 20 mins later feeling OK ish again..

Hi,

I always carry Dextro energy tablets with me in case of hypos but as these are pretty unpleasant I've noticed that if I'm at home I'll often drink fruit juice or eat something sweet to raise my blood sugars. That makes the rise in blood sugar harder to control and so is probably not best practice really. Especially as when having a hypo I still get pretty hungry.

I noticed other Type 1's talking about jelly babies; do many people use them as their standard response to mild hypos? If so am I right in thinking that 1 jelly baby is about 5 carbs? How do you carry them around with you? Would you recommend? I need to tighten up my response to hypos and this seems like quite a controlled and palatable way of doing it.

Thanks

Dillinger

 

[Scott-C]

Very old thread but worth the rejuvenation

Lol, 7 yr old thread - they told me 7 yrs ago there'd be a cure by now!

 

[Gaffer type 1]

Haha didn't see 2012

 

[Jaylee]

Lol, 7 yr old thread - they told me 7 yrs ago there'd be a cure by now!

I was told that in 1982. Till then we do what we do & pack baby shaped sweets..

I keep waiting for that "future." But till then.... You never know "who" might need them.

 

[Scott-C]

You never know "who" might need them.

Deary me, Jay, that intergalactic chav who swept the JBs out of the doc's hand needs a stern talking to...

 

[Jaylee]

Deary me, Jay, that intergalactic chav who swept the JBs out of the doc's hand needs a stern talking to...

That's why personal experience shows when trying to help a fellow hypoing D. place the carbs in front, say nothing & stand well back...

 

[Scott-C]

That's why personal experience shows when trying to help a fellow hypoing D. place the carbs in front, say nothing & stand well back...

The narky chav in the clip was having a hypo? Nah, not convinced, will have to look at that again tomorrow when I'm not in a pub and can listen to the sound...

 

[becca59]

 

[Robinredbreast]

I do like jelly babies very much so, I use Shrimps and Banana's sweets ( it says sharing bag) mainly from Morrisons, but other supermarkets sell similar, normally 50p a bag. The only thing I object to is Lucazade, it's

 

[becca59]

I agree Lucazade reminds me of being pregnant. My mother-in-law swore by it and bought me some to help with my sickness. I couldn’t drink it, indeed I couldn’t even drink water and required hospitalisation. The very smell of it makes me retch.