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How do you avoid over treating hypos?

shivles

Well-Known Member
Messages
311
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
LO had lunch, checked her at 1hr she was 3.3mmol, give one midget gem, checked after 15 minutes, 3.1mmol, give another gem, half an hour later 4.5mmol, another half hour passes and she's 7.9mmol! I knew she should have been fine off one sweet but the second reading showed she was still dropping... If I'd have left her though she would have come up to a nice level.

Just wondering if you do something different or this kind of thing is inevitable
 
Glucose tablets are the most scientific thing to use as they can be carefully measured. If you're wondering whether a toddler would eat them, I can confirm that they will : D

In such a little person, I'd start with half a tablet and test to see how that goes. You'll then get an idea of how many you need to bring her up a certain number of mmols.
 
With them I worry about the accuracy of me breaking up tablets! To be fair though I have never tried. .. off to go play in the medicine box
 
shivles said:
With them I worry about the accuracy of me breaking up tablets! To be fair though I have never tried. .. off to go play in the medicine box
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I use the Dextro ones as they're fairly solid and break into halves quite easily. I just snap them in half - trying to cut them makes them crumble a bit.

They work quicker than sweets, I've found, so it's easier not to overcorrect.
 
azure said:
I use the Dextro ones as they're fairly solid and break into halves quite easily. I just snap them in half - trying to cut them makes them crumble a bit.

They work quicker than sweets, I've found, so it's easier not to overcorrect.
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Yeah that's what we have, it's a bit hit and miss getting the halves the same size but I'll try one next hypo and see how it goes.

The midget gems were good size wise, found a jelly baby is usually too much for her
 
I wouldn't worry too much about it not being exactly a half. Just getting a rough idea of how much to take is helpful. Remember that how quickly her BS comes up will also depend on how much insulin she has active, so giving a slightly off half of Dextro won't be too bad.

I was advised to have between 1 - 3, depending on how low I was. You may even find a quarter works.
 
Thanks, will definitely try giving the dextrose as I want to avoid her enjoying her hypo treatments too much, I've heard all about her Daddy sending himself low on purpose when he was little so he could have jelly babies
 
Ribena. Works so well for me. Instantly snap out of panic mood. Sugar and coke does not have the same reassurance.
And it's really tasty. Read the label for exact dosage. Good luck. Love.
 
shivles said:
Yeah that's what we have, it's a bit hit and miss getting the halves the same size but I'll try one next hypo and see how it goes.

The midget gems were good size wise, found a jelly baby is usually too much for her
Click to expand...
Try using a knife to score a line across the tablet and/or make a slight bevel "V" it just might snap cleanly in half then especially if you place the tablet on something slightly raised holding it down at one end and pressing on the raised end. Never needed to do that but it should work.

Regards

Martin

Oops quoted the wrong post
 
Hi @shivles. Think all advice so far is great way to go.
One thing to remember though is the accuracy of the test machine.
Not sure what you use to monitor LO's sugars but if you factor in the inaccuracies of test machines your 2nd 3.1 could quite easily have been 3.8 and your final reading 7.9 could in reality have been 7.1.
It's just something to consider.
 

Hi,

Do bare in mind the blood test is like a "snap shot" in time of up to 20 minutes a go? Due to how the blood circulate round the body.)
The 3.1 may have been the lowest yer kid dipped on the test, even though she'd already taken treatment onboard..??
So. It can be easy to panic, thinking the treatment doesn't work fast enough..

In some respect? A bit like taking painkillers.. Give it twenty!

shivles said:
Thanks, will definitely try giving the dextrose as I want to avoid her enjoying her hypo treatments too much, I've heard all about her Daddy sending himself low on purpose when he was little so he could have jelly babies
Click to expand...

I'll level with you. The only time I'm likely to over indulge is at night waking from a hypo..? I always have woken as a kid & treated myself.. (Hand on heart. In 40 years, I've never needed "3rd party" assistance.)

But the point is.. It's not disimalar to the "munchies" while being "stoned"..

But hell. I can feel like **** in the morning from going too far.

Disclaimer: This is from personal experience. Others may vary!
 
Thanks, I was told 15minutes then check again but looks like I should wait a little longer
 
shivles said:
Thanks, I was told 15minutes then check again but looks like I should wait a little longer
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I appreciate its dificult with a child. But if you think about it logically? Providing carbs are taken onboard a BS increase will happen.
Some Ds have been known to test every five minutes during a hypo, then panic as the "backlog" of data contradicts the recovery??

15/20 minutes... I don't wanna stick my neck out too far.? This is your kid.!
 
shivles said:
Thanks, I was told 15minutes then check again but looks like I should wait a little longer
Click to expand...

I think the 15 mins is for glucose tablets. Other sweet treatments can take longer, depending on what they contain.

Not that I've in any way experimented with sweeties
 
azure said:
I think the 15 mins is for glucose tablets. Other sweet treatments can take longer, depending on what they contain.

Not that I've in any way experimented with sweeties
Click to expand...

When you think about it. 15/20 mins tends to be the "rule of thumb" with the metabolism on any medication or carbs when it starts working...

Difficult with insulin to accurately gauge, I would imagine if hooked up to a pump.. With the constant "drip feed". .??

Correction. Out of respect for my pumping "brethren". "Art form"...
 
15 mins is rarely enough for me if hypo. 20-30 more like.
 

Pumps have features to check how much insulin you've had and how much insulin you have active

I don't use any of those as I got used to using my memory when on injections and find it quicker and just as accurate, but the features are there for those who want them With only fast acting insulin, I find it easier to judge compared to a long acting basal.

And yes, 15 or 20 mins seems to be a common time. I think for the glucose tablets it's both to give them a chance to work and to help avoid overtreating. In reality, I find they work in about 10 mins normally, but, as you say, it varies depending on other factors
 
Have to say that i know that i over treat hypo's, this is mainly due to ease of administration. I use Orange Lucozade and i drink down to between the C and the O of lucozade this works out to be exactly half the bottle and 29g of carbs. And this normally takes me up to 8.5 mmol/L after 15 mins.

Regards

Martin
 
I would use the Dextrose tablets. Each one is quite low-carb and having an 'overdose' won't do any harm as long as you don't start 'stacking' the insulin.
 
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