I've looked all over the Internet and haven't really been able to find much information on this. First and foremost I understand the dangers of drinking for diabetics, however I was very curious if anyone else has dealt with this or has ever had an episode of what I like to call a 'Paradoxial Low Blood Sugar Episode'. This doesn't necessarily have to do with drinking and having low blood sugar, but in my case, it just so happens that in both cases that I've experienced this phenomenon, I've been uncomfortably hungover. So I'm sure anyone who's had low blood sugar while hungover knows from experience that it is much more dramatic and unpleasent than a regular low blood sugar episode. Keeping that in mind I now want to describe the paradox I was talking about earlier. In this situation, hungover or not, you begin to experience a low blood sugar episode. However in addition, you feel extremely nauseous, and in addition possibly haven't eaten for longer than you should have, again possibly due to the reasons that are causing you to feel nauseous in the first place which is then amplified, very dramatically, by the low blood sugar. Now I've been in this situation twice, and you are faced with a very serious dilemma. If you eat somethin that further upsets your stomach, it would result in you throwing up. Now, in any other persons case, this seem like a logical option (throw up whatever's causing the nausea in order to eat more food to solve the problem). However we all know that throwing up causes an additional drop in blood sugar, sometimes a very dramatic one, and in that condition that could be fatal (leading to you passing out due to low blood sugar), and if no ones around, well it will not end well. On the other hand if you don't eat anything, your blood sugar is low, which amplifies the original problem making you feel horrible, and resulting in, again, seemingly no solution the the problem. The first time I experienced this, and it didn't really causally creep up on me, I was very preoccupied dealing with my nausea/stomach, so when it hit, it came out of nowhere and it was dramatic enough that I noticed, I was scared half to death. The entire paradoxical situation passed through my head and I thought I was going to die. It has got to be one of the most unpleasant feelings I've ever experienced in my life. My solution was one that was partially thanks to my surroundings and partially due to acting very fast. Two things helped me get through it, and I still to this day make sure they're always around: 1) a food, very high in sugar, that you believe is least likely to make you throw up in that state (keep around at all times in my house), and 2) turning the a/c on full blast (60 degrees) and aiming it in my face while I was forcing the food down my throat. The cold seems to help numb, to some degree, the nausea, as you try, as fast as possible, to eat/drink the sugar. Anyways I just really wanted to share that in case anyone else ever ends up in a similar situation and needs advice, and to anyone who's ever found themselves in a similar situation, if you could share what you did to solve it, that would be very appreciated.
Paradoxial Low Blood Sugar, Has This Ever Happend to You??
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Sibyl
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Jeesh! Nightmare scenario! How about something like ginger in syrup - very sweet but ginger acts as a stomach settler. An Emergency only bottle kept somewhere handy perahps? Or full sugar gingerale? You get the idea. Good luck in avoiding the next hangover!!
That's actually a really good idea, and with the amount of sugar they put in soda nowadays, it's bound to work. Just to clarify though, even though in my case it so happened that both occasions were 'hangover-related', I can very much imagine a similar scenario occurring if suffering from food poisoning, stomach distress, etc. I was honestly just really curious if anyone else has experienced this because the first time it happened I was, as previously mentioned, scared to death, and tried googling my situation to no avail! So I really hope that this post can be used and found by others if they ever find themselves in a similar situation
I actually seemed to have misspelled it the first time, looks like autocorrect didn't work again (what a surprise): Paradoxical*. Again, just to clarify, even though the hangover will undoubtably make the experience extremely more painful and unpleasant, the same scenario can apply to anyone suffering from Lowe blood sugar and a stomach virus/general nausea/stomach pains/etc. Sounds like a good idea for the name, but I'm not sure how 'ebb' applies.
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Ebb or ebbing? Decreasing, receding, weakening, dwindling.. That sort of reference to the BS...
Though, most times (in my case) a virus or infection tends to cause higher than usual blood sugar levels.
I hope yer feeling better after your ordeal?
and that's why it's a paradox haha, I like it.
Ya a lot better, that's the only upside of it, once something that bad is over, feeling normal feels amazing.
My son uses lolly pops which do not need to be eaten for the sugar to get into your bloodstream as it is absorbed through the mouth. We used them when he was sick when younger & could not hold down food & now after alcohol (Frequently from the street Angels team who conveniently hand them out in the town centre after midnight to drunk looking young men).
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Sibyl
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Nice idea from Street Angels! Hard to tell a drunk from a hypo sometimes and a lollipop is a good catchall option. Respect!
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jeb
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I having been a type 1 for nearly 61 years I have always been told to drink whether hung over or not with a stomach upset drink plenty of water and orange juice as the latter replaces the electrolytes and gives digestible sugar at the same time. That way you don't get hypo
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Erm, if you throw up on the morning after with a hangover, it isn't going to make your blood glucose levels any lower as you haven't eaten anything and don't have IOB (other than basal) that will cause an issue.
I'd just go for the glucogel and rub it in to my cheek. Then I don't have to worry about anything hitting my stomach.
I'd just go for the glucogel and rub it in to my cheek. Then I don't have to worry about anything hitting my stomach.
I've sometimes felt nausea from low blood sugar even when I haven't touched alcohol.
I've also been hungover and had nausea that's been brought on by a hypo rather than strictly just the alcohol.
In such cases, I've just eaten glucose tablets or any other sweet. I've never had a problem was being sick as a result. It's such a small amount of food and by the time it gets to the stomach it's pretty much fully broken down by the saliva anyway.
All hypos should be treated with very fast acting sugar like glucose tablets or sweets anyway.
I've also been hungover and had nausea that's been brought on by a hypo rather than strictly just the alcohol.
In such cases, I've just eaten glucose tablets or any other sweet. I've never had a problem was being sick as a result. It's such a small amount of food and by the time it gets to the stomach it's pretty much fully broken down by the saliva anyway.
All hypos should be treated with very fast acting sugar like glucose tablets or sweets anyway.
