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After hypo snack

Dan6

Well-Known Member
I currently have a biscuit after i have my hypo back under control. Reason being is that i can carry them around in my diabetic bag and they have a long use by date.

Looking for something a bit healthier thats about 10g and is small and fits in my bag. I did look at an apple however the diabetic specialist said thats not enough or long lasting.

Any suggestions?
 

Hi, I understand fully about not wanting to stuff your face with high carbs, because of the possible big spike later on, but tbh, if you need to eat for a hypo, then you need to eat what you can to get your blood sugar up. An apple is about 10 carbs anyway, what about a small carton of children's lunch box raisins/sultana's, or some dried fruit in a bag, a small can of pepsi or cola. Normally a quick acting food first, then a longer lasting carb food.
Glucose tablets edited.
 
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Yes i always have lucozade or tablets first just looking for a healthy snack after. small box of raisins is a good idea
 
I have just carried quick acting carbs and long acting carbs with me. But for me I'm restricted with what I can eat for other health conditions. So my go to is I look for either fruit free muesli bars I can carry with me or small packs of plain biscuits. But I try and get something that has oats or something in it so I know it's GI is better and will keep my sugar level up longer. But for you, you probably have more options like carrying small packs of fruit & nuts or just nuts. I was doing that myself until I found I choke on them too easily (my throat doesn't move too well). But I found that was a good option when out and about and you've just had your quick acting carb.... usually the packs aren't very big and it's not going to spike your sugars too much. I hope that helps.
 
How about a small plastic sealable container with some dried apricots? I had a small container of apricots and and another of walnuts in my bag for such times, or if I was going to be late for a meal, driving etc. Worked well for me
 
After you have treated the hypo with quick acting carbs there is no reason to add any extra carbs. Someone brought this idea in a couple of decades ago for some reason and it's now been proved unnecessary for follow up. I was diagnosed almost 52 years ago and have never followed up with extra carbs.
 
My favourite for treating both a hypo and sustaining carbs is a small ripe banana, only discovered this when out walking and foolishly didn't take my jelly babies with me, so ate the only thing we had in the rucksack which bought me up nicely to 7.5mmol/l.
 
Reactions: Mep

that's interesting.... because I've used quick acting carbs before and carried on without eating something long acting and had another hypo about an hour or so later. I've had this happen a few times on me. So I think that eating long acting definitely works for me. If I just do quick acting and continue on with what I'm doing I quickly drop again.
 
Would the drop be due to to much basal or the fact you are type2 so your pancreas works or doesn't as the case may be in a different way to someone's with type1? Just a thought as have no idea.
 
I have the same problem if i dont have a long term snack i will have another hypo in a few hours
 
Robinredbreast said:
Glucose tablets are used by a few on here and they work quickly too.
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Not for when you have your blood sugar under control which the original poster states!

If you can tolerate oats then try carrying some oatcakes. Nairns ones come in individual packets of 5 or 7 in the box depending on flavour. Nice too too crunch them with a cappuccino whilst you are out and about!
 
CarbsRok said:
Would the drop be due to to much basal or the fact you are type2 so your pancreas works or doesn't as the case may be in a different way to someone's with type1? Just a thought as have no idea.
Click to expand...

I'm T2 with insulin deficiency so I take both basal and bolus insulins. I don't take too much basal. I have never got away with treating a hypo with just quick acting carbs without having another hypo. My understanding is quick acting carbs spike your sugar and don't stay in your system as long as long acting does... I'd say that is why that happens to me. I'm not sure how you don't have to have any long acting carbs? You must retain sugar in your blood for quite a while more than usual perhaps. Then again I'm also usually doing something when it happens so my body is using energy. Maybe you're not doing anything? We're all different I suppose.
 
Dan6 said:
I have the same problem if i dont have a long term snack i will have another hypo in a few hours
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If you still have active insulin on board from a previous bolus then a snack is often necessary, especially if the hypo occurs within 1-2 hours proceeding the bolus dose.

My preferred snack is a small fun-size banana or some Nairne's oatcakes.
 
[With using both Lantus and Levemir, I found the easier way to control my bg levels to be ok with Novorapid, was to eat a small snack after eating 1 or 2 J babies if my bg levels dropped down to 3mmol 2.5hrs after the bolus. I usually eat a biscuit at home or bought something at the shops if I was out and it was nice to be able to eat food without using a pen
 
Reactions: Mep

I would agree with you regarding physical activity hypos using a langer acting followup carb source to prevent a hypoglycemic recurrence along side a quick acting sugar source..
Sometimes, even with the basal rate bang on, other factors come into play. One I can think of is manually handling goods, unloading a shipping container with a crew for 3 or 4 hours solid on a hot day, without time to really stop..
 

Yes, exactly. When I hypo it's usually when I'm doing something that I haven't planned for. Either that or I've just forgotten to take less insulin or eat more carbs to factor my activity in. For some reason I hypo the most when I'm shopping... and that's when I tend to have a quick acting carb and an hour later or less I'm having another hypo and having to treat again... of course I've been walking around thinking about what I need to get rather than thinking about what my sugar levels are doing. When I do things correctly I have less insulin with my lunch then go shopping and avoid a hypo that way. Although even with my best plans sometimes it doesn't work either when there are other factors at play like pain and illnesses.
 

Exactly! None of us are "Mystic Meg."
 

I can't eat oats and I don't touch cappuccino coffee.
 
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