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Hypo treatment | Sick of dextrose tablets

HomerSimpson

Active Member
Messages
39
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi all

At the moment, I treat my hypos using either blackcurrant or lemon dextrose tablets, which I buy in bulk. Sadly, I’m beginning to get sick of the taste, and am wanting to switch to a different hypo treatment.

Can anybody suggest a good hypo treatment other than dextrose tablets and juice and coke?
 
I use Haribo sweets, the ones I have (that Asda no longer stock) are 5 carbs each (I weighed a couple) so its easy to work out how many I'll need.
I've never been a big sweets person though so I can easily leave them alone apart from when I need them to raise my sugar levels.
There are also nigh on indestructible unless you eat them so they don't crumble to dust or melt when in my pockets with various other things like keys
 

Jelly babies or banana and shrimp sweets ( normally from Morrison's) when opened, I normally put the packet in a food bag to keep them reasonably fresh.
 

Do you use a particular Haribo sweet? Can I just eat any type as long as it is Haribo?
 
Robinredbreast said:
Jelly babies or banana and shrimp sweets ( normally from Morrison's) when opened, I normally put the packet in a food bag to keep them reasonably fresh.
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I know that the recommendation is 15g of fast carbs in 15 minutes. How many jelly babies are 15g of fast carbs equivalent to?
 
HomerSimpson said:
Do you use a particular Haribo sweet? Can I just eat any type as long as it is Haribo?
Click to expand...
I have the squishy strawbs because I like the flavour/texture of those ones, any sort of sugar filled sweet will do, but for me if I don't like the taste I just wont eat it even if I need to (I become even more picky than normal about tastes/textures when I'm going hypo)
 
HomerSimpson said:
I know that the recommendation is 15g of fast carbs in 15 minutes. How many jelly babies are 15g of fast carbs equivalent to?
Click to expand...

Tbh, it depends on the hypo number and the person needs. I would probably have two jelly babies and keep testing.
 
One of the little "treat" size haribo bags (I've got the tangfastic version in front of me ) works out to 12.8g carbs
 
I don't like the glucose tablets either but I use them when I am really low and need to get it up fast (usually at work). If it's in the 3s for example then sweets every time, might as well enjoy the procedure. x
 
Liquid is more quick acting than solids for hypo treatment, fizzy liquid even more so.

I haven't had dextrose tablets in decades, but always have a multipack of Lucozade in the house. They reduced the sugar content a while ago, but it's still 9g per 100ml so only slightly less sugary than coke.
 
In my time I've used Jelly Babies, it depends on brand but Bassatt's ones 3 is 15g carbs but although most are relatively similar in carb values they don't all weigh the same per jelly baby so you'd need to weigh and work out how much was in one if you bought a different brand, mini bags of Drumstick Squashies were a favourite of mine for a while, I now use Lift raspberry glucose tabs, I've seen others use skittles, fruit pastilles etc but as everything ever is with diabetes its all individual, what works well for one won't work the same for the next so its a case of trial things and see xx
 
I use jelly babies most of the time, or small cartons of apple juice. I bought a 3kg bag of jelly babies online and then decanted them into jars for at home and into small resealable bags for in my handbag.
I find most other jelly sweets (like haribo) take too much chewing
 
At home and if out and about I tend to use Bassets Jelly Babies @ 3.25 g per sweet. If in need of a very quick fix I'll use Lift Juice @ 15 g per bottle. I also keep a tube of Lift fast acting glucose chews @ 3.7 g each in the car as they don't dry out over time like jelly babies.
The one good thing about seeing an approaching hypo is that I have an excuse to scoff a jelly baby or three!
 
Jelly babies are one of the best things to have.
I have a cupboard full of sweet and a shelf in the fridge is full of the small cans of pop you can get. Appletiser/sprite/Fanta/dr pepper.

I was always told either 4 jelly babies or a small can. Either will raise bloods around 1mmol.

I woke last night and had dipped just to around 3.5 so had 2 jelly babies. Checked this morning and they raised me to around 4 for the rest of the night
 
If I’m low dextrose tabs are only a last resort. I’d prefer to eat anything else (anything more delicious) than eat a glucose tablet.

If you eat and correct with enough glucose tablets enough times it might drive you to not have soo many low numbers. There’s a bizarre thought...
 
I use GlucoTabs (now rebranded to Lift). They taste a little better than Dextrose but not much. I have considered alternatives but they are convenient and, unlike sweets, they are clearly not a treat for others to help themselves to or sulk when you don't offer them one.
 
May i ask, what you have after the sweets? Couple of nights ago ate 3 strawberry bonbons, owned by my youngest who luckily left them in the kitchen, but it is hard to not overshoot and be 18 all night if i eat bread etc but the sweets are not long lasting enough.
 
Did you check that you were hypo with a blood test, as this could be a compression low, caused by lying on the sensor if it's a Libre you use. Do you know how many carbs were in the bonbons?
If it was a hypo, I'd check 15 minutes after initial hypo treatment, and depending on the level maybe have half a tea biscuit, but we're all different, so the best way is to try different things and see what works best for you most of the time. If night time hypo's are frequent, I'd consider reducing insulin a little bit.
 
Mini cans of Coke Cola are exactly 15 g of carbs , and it’s quick, they are probably the only company that hasn’t reduced the sugar content of their drinks. Jelly babies are good too, the health authority I’m under uses a 15, 15, 15 regime for hypos its 15 g of rapid acting carbs ie mini can of cola wait 15 mins then 15 g of long acting carbs ie banana etc , sounds good in a perfect world but as we all know the worlds not perfect, I could eat the @#£& off a rhino when I have a hypo sometimes so trying to keep to it can prove testing shall we say , but it does work for me at times.
 
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