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Hypo treatments

K

karlos0383

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi, my wife has had diabetes type 1 for 30 years, weirdly since she was a child she has never liked sugary things like cakes, sweets, fuzzy drinks, etc as they make her sick. When she does have a hypo drinking coke or some similar makes her sick. Over the years the only thing she can just about stomach and keep down is Lucozade, but since they have reduced the amount of sugar in Lucozade it means she has to drink quite a bit more to sort her hypo out, again this now makes her physically sick. Does any body have any alternative suggestions that she could try? Many thanks Karl
 
I treat with glucose tabs, but if on long walks and I can feel myself going low I take ripe bananas and find they work quite quickly, if it's a slow low then even drinking a glass of milk will raise glucose levels but not a good way to treat an urgent low however.
 
karlos0383 said:
Do you know roughly how many tablets stop a hypo ?
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It depends ...
- how much insulin does she have on board?
- how low is she when she takes them?
- how sensitive is her body to sugar?

The usual advice when hypo is to eat 15g fast acting carbs (like fruit juice, dextrose, jelly babies, etc.). Wait 15 minutes and test again. If still low, repeat until no longer hypo. If she is on a MDI regime, the advice is then eat 15g slow acting carbs to maintain the level.

However, some people now take 5g carbs when their CGM alarm goes off before a hypo.
Would this approach help your wife? Assuming she has a CGM like LIbre, set the alarm to go off at 5 mmol/l and treat with a small amount of sugar to avoid the hypo rather than waiting until she is hypo and needing more sugar.
 
I have 3 tabs then wait 10 mins, test if low then take another 3 until above 4 mmol/l - but this is when I need to urgently treat a low. They come in different flavours so orange, raspberry, blueberry and lemon/lime.

If your wife is struggling with sugar could she try dextrose gel which has no taste, you simply swallow as there is nothing to chew ? You can buy it in large bottles or one dose tubes so just break off the end and swallow, also available on prescription too.
 
I don't have a sweet tooth, but found Jelly Babies work well (I have at least two hypos a day, work quickly and not sickly)
 
karlos0383 said:
Hi, my wife has had diabetes type 1 for 30 years, weirdly since she was a child she has never liked sugary things like cakes, sweets, fuzzy drinks, etc as they make her sick. When she does have a hypo drinking coke or some similar makes her sick. Over the years the only thing she can just about stomach and keep down is Lucozade, but since they have reduced the amount of sugar in Lucozade it means she has to drink quite a bit more to sort her hypo out, again this now makes her physically sick. Does any body have any alternative suggestions that she could try? Many thanks Karl
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I’m very much a beginner but my specialist nurse at the hospital told me to either eat 3 or 4 dextrose glucose/sugar tablets or 5 - 6 jelly babies - honestly.

I carry both of these in my bumbag all the time now.

I’ve only been officially diagnosed this past months, others with more experience can either validate or not what I was told.

Kind regards, john (and Marian)

She also said wait 10 minutes, do test and if still low repeat once more and test again when levels should be up above 4 (I am type 2 btw)
 
JohnJ said:
I don't have a sweet tooth, but found Jelly Babies work well (I have at least two hypos a day, work quickly and not sickly)
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Two hypos a day is not good.
It suggests your insulin dose is too high.
I recommend reviewing your dose and maybe reducing your insulin.
 
Kendal mintcake perhaps? Doesn't taste particularly sweet (masked by the peppermint) but is almost completely sugar - I can stomach this at the end of a long day on the bike when I really couldn't face any food let alone something sweet
 
I feel for safety everyone should have a Glucagon Injection Kit for emergencies. Some severe hypos simply cannot be reversed without these injections.
 
I eat fruit if my blood sugar is 3.5 mmol/l or above. I take dextro and coffee with cream if they are below 3.5 mmol/l.
 
Baggie79 said:
I feel for safety everyone should have a Glucagon Injection Kit for emergencies. Some severe hypos simply cannot be reversed without these injections.
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My blood sugars are stable and I have never had a hypo I could not treat so do not need an injection kit. It helps with technology as my Dexcom alarms when my blood sugars are going down at a faster rate or when they are below 4 mmol/l so I have time and knowledge to treat them.
 
all of the previous suggestions for sugar contents will successfully treat a hypo, I remember when I was first diagnosed they use to recommend glass of milk with about three teaspoons of sugar in it , I suppose the secret we all try to find is not getting into a hypo situation in the first place , and I know after over 40 years of diabetes , it’s far easier said than done, what I will say is if you are using the Libre system or similar the low alarm can help greatly ,
the libre reads low so setting the alarm a little above your hypo threshold can give you a bit longer time to treat a hypo , giving more time for a longer acting carb ( which isn’t so sweet) to act , sounds confusing but it isn’t really ,
 
ert said:
My blood sugars are stable and I have never had a hypo I could not treat so do not need an injection kit
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What would you do if you'd given insulin for a meal, and immediately after the meal been violently sick and unable to keep anything down, including liquids, or honey or glucose gel?

It can happen to anyone, so my endo team write that it must be available on repeat prescription, at the end of every clinic letter to the gp, to everyone they see.
 
karlos0383 said:
Hi, my wife has had diabetes type 1 for 30 years, weirdly since she was a child she has never liked sugary things like cakes, sweets, fuzzy drinks, etc as they make her sick. When she does have a hypo drinking coke or some similar makes her sick. Over the years the only thing she can just about stomach and keep down is Lucozade, but since they have reduced the amount of sugar in Lucozade it means she has to drink quite a bit more to sort her hypo out, again this now makes her physically sick. Does any body have any alternative suggestions that she could try? Many thanks Karl
Click to expand...

I always have Dextrose with me to use when I leave the house, but I do not like the sweet taste.

I cannot tolerate Lucozade because the artificial colouring makes my tongue swell. My preference is to drink a 150ml can of Fever-Tree Premium Indian Tonic Water. I swirl it around in my mouth before I swallow so that the sugar is absorbed by my gums, so it works quicker. Sometimes 100ml is enough. Normally I wait for 10/15 minutes to see if glucose has gone up. In the very unusual situation that my reading has dropped down 2.5 then I may need two 150ml cans. I always carry a can in a bag if I'm out for a walk.

One bit of advice I wish I had had, though, is the need to rinse my mouth with water once the hypo treatment has worked. This is because tonic water contains citric acid that can damage tooth enamel if I do not rinse soon enough. I just rinse the same way that I rinse my mouth after using asthma inhalers.

Your wife just may like Fever-Tree tonic. It has no artificial colours or sweeteners.
 
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I’ve
Hopeful34 said:
What would you do if you'd given insulin for a meal, and immediately after the meal been violently sick and unable to keep anything down, including liquids, or honey or glucose gel?

It can happen to anyone, so my endo team write that it must be available on repeat prescription, at the end of every clinic letter to the gp, to everyone they see.
Click to expand...
i had exactly that experience twice in fact 1 st time I was in hospital and was on a drip I call3d the nurse and told her to put glucose in my drip after some faffing about she did , the 2 nd time I was at home , I always keep a glucogen injection in the fridge good job cos I was sick for ages couldn’t even keep water down! Just because it’s never happened doesn’t mean it won’t , I ve had diabetes 42 years and for 40 of them it had never happened. Best to act like the old Boy Scout “ be prepared “
 
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