Low blood sugar treatment.

[lisacp]

Yesterday I checked my bg and it was 4.2 as it was getting on the low side but not near meal time I ate 1 chocolate digestive. I did not inject as it would have been a small amount and I was going out for a walk.
After the walk which was about 20 minutes I checked my bg and it had gone up to 12.
What do people eat when on the low side that just raises your bg to normal levels?
Thanks.

 

[Mrsass]

Sometimes my bg rises when I've been for a walk, annoying innit.. I find best thing to eat is a couple of j babies but it's very hard just to eat a couple lol

 

[Heathenlass]

Jelly babies for me too! I don't really like them so see them as " medicinal" . Also controllable. One and a half works well for me , with the added bonus of choosing whether to bite off their heads ( useful, depending on mood ! )

Signy

 

[Robinredbreast]

I have done the same as you lisacp and my BS has shot up, (but not with digestive biscuits) I can't eat foods without Insulin unless it's a low BS ( hypo) so I know it is difficult.

Best wishes RRB

 

[noblehead]

If I have IOB and going for a walk then I'd have done the same as you lisacp but probably would have had something like a banana or oat bar to keep my levels up, if its near to my next meal and my previous insulin dose is all but exhausted then I'd just maybe have 1 jelly baby or take a little less insulin with my meal to compensate.

All depends on whether you know your basal insulin is right, if the dose is too high then you can still drop further even if you have no IOB from your previous meal.

 

[smidge]

At 4.2 half a jelly baby would get me to the mid 5s. Sometimes at that level I'll use one square of Dairy Milk chocolate - but you have to stop at one square!

This whole 15g carb thing the medics have going on to correct hypos or low BGs is absolute nonsense for many of us - that chocolate digestive would have sent my BG into orbit - you probably only got away with the 12 because you were out walking.

Tesco do packs of Rich Tea finger biscuits at 3.4g carb per biscuit. Depending how low I am and how much IOB I have, half to one of those seems to work pretty well.

Smidge

 

[tim2000s]

At 4.2 I'd use the libre to check my bg direction. Trending flat, maybe one dextrosol tab. Trending up, nothing and Trending down a dark two finger kitkat.

 

[GJ300]

I swear by choc digestives - 3 usually takes me straight out of a hypo (good if need to drive a while later as almost guarantees a safe / standard level for me). wife buys jelly babies as an 'emergency' but think she's the only one uses them.lol. Walking should be ok,but in terms of the libre that's where the advantage is in knowing what your sugars are doing ie going up or going down.

 

[JanieMc]

Blood sugar rises as you exercise then it drops.
If you'd have just had the biscuit you would probably have got a lower reading.
As for people eating biscuits for a hypo, it's not ideal because the fat slows down the absorption of the sugar. Orange juice is good ( without bits is quicker but I prefer the bits) but jelly babies, jelly beans, skittles- all better than chocolate stuff. The other stuff will do the trick but a couple of times over the past 40 years, I've got to the sugar but passed out before it's got through to my system.
For me, five jelly babies takes me from about 2 or 3 to about 8.
The only problem with rapid fixes is that you will need a little something for longevity- some kind of carb rather than just the sugar.
I took part in a CGM study a couple of years ago, monitoring my sugars at the gym. Everyone is different of course, but it did prove to me that blood sugar doesn't just drop when you exercise. If you haven't enough insulin in your system, it will rise because glucose is released by the body ( the liver I think)

 

[Spencer67]

Fresh orange juice 100ml shot is an easy one for me as its about 10g carb, takes me up about 1-2 mmol/l, if i'm out and about i take my homemade uber-flapjack, bananas too. Apple in a blender with spring water is great 14-20g carb nice and gentle. Glass of milk and a biscuit maybe if forced. I never touch the lucozade or coke anymore too harsh a carb and its easy to over compensate.

 

[LucySW]

1 or max 2 Dextrosols for me from 3.0, because that takes me to 5.0 mmol. One Dextro is 3g carb. One finger of Kitkat is 7g carb and rather nice.

That's me though - my hypos have all been slow and gentle. If you've got a lot of IOB or it's dropping fast, you'll need a bit more. But try not to over-carb.

 

[nigelho]

Yesterday I checked my bg and it was 4.2 as it was getting on the low side but not near meal time I ate 1 chocolate digestive. I did not inject as it would have been a small amount and I was going out for a walk.
After the walk which was about 20 minutes I checked my bg and it had gone up to 12.
What do people eat when on the low side that just raises your bg to normal levels?
Thanks.

There is a fair chance that liver dump may have occurred with your 20 minute walk, even though you ate the choc digestive.

 

[jaywak]

For a quick fix I always have a spoonful of glucose powder.