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Mild Hypos & Jelly Babies

Dillinger

Well-Known Member
Hi,

I always carry Dextro energy tablets with me in case of hypos but as these are pretty unpleasant I've noticed that if I'm at home I'll often drink fruit juice or eat something sweet to raise my blood sugars. That makes the rise in blood sugar harder to control and so is probably not best practice really. Especially as when having a hypo I still get pretty hungry.

I noticed other Type 1's talking about jelly babies; do many people use them as their standard response to mild hypos? If so am I right in thinking that 1 jelly baby is about 5 carbs? How do you carry them around with you? Would you recommend? I need to tighten up my response to hypos and this seems like quite a controlled and palatable way of doing it.

Thanks

Dillinger
 
Hi Dillinger,

I use the glucose tabs then have something more substantial. Apple glass of milk, peice of toast. I was told that glucose tabs are good because they give about the same amount of sugar as an apple but instead of taking a long time to boost you they only take 3 minuets. It is difficult as I somethimes find I get ravenous when having a hypo and it is tempting to keep eating as it takes a while to feel OK!. I havent tried the jelly babies but may try and see!

Lucy.
 
I find JB's very effective at treating hypo's and keep mine in an old Glucotab tube which fits 4 JB's comfortably, if I'm in the low 4's I tend to eat just one to stop my bg falling further depending how long it is since I last injected, the reason why I switched to JB's was because Glucotabs for some strange reason became unpalatable around 2 years ago....they are really chalky now and taste disgusting
 
Dillinger.
Try the BLACKCURRANT flavour of the dextros to me these only taste the best!
My great chemist orders these in for me .
Morrisons do kiddies size packets of mini jelly babies ideal for popping in your pocket [as you
wont have an handbag!]
According to my carb counting companion booklet, 3 jelly babies = 14 carbs. [trouble is there are
adult size n mini jelly babies varying sizes!] Dont know which they used to calculate ????
I use the kiddies mini sized ones...
 
Ah Jelly Babies! My bestest friends in the world. There's 4.78g carb in a regular size (original) JB. I use them for exercising and have found them to be excellent and reliable, which is good as I am now sick of them.

What I have found is that they do not rapidly increase by BG when not exercising so I do not use them for hypo's. I would go for fruit juice. One JB will raise my BG by 2-3 units but this can take anywhere from 30-45 mins. I have heard others say they get a similar rise but in minutes..... trial and error.

As for carrying - hot JB's lose that sugary coating and are slimy and feel horrible to eat. Avoid carrying in pockets as this heats them up. Cold JB's go hard, during the winter I can guess how cold it is by how the hard the JB's I'm eating are when running.
 
In the past I've used all manner of sweets to raise my bg levels including RT fruit pastels (3g carb per sweet), midget gums (2g carb) and chocolate too. I gave up using Dextro and Lucozade tabs back in the 90's as it was costing me too much money and Lucozade tabs took too long to disolve which defeats the object of using them.

At the moment I am using dolly mixtures (1.5g carb) as they survive all weather temperatures and can eaten fairly quickly.
 
Dextro orange for me - each tab raises my BS by one mmol/l. 3 double packs for the price of 2 in Sainsbury's.
 
Hi Dillinger!

I use jelly babies. I carry them around in a small clip-top plastic food container (like a 3 inch sandwich box) - you can get those in Tesco or Dunelm.

The jelly babies are 5ish grams of pure glucose and hit my BG within minutes. The BG rise is fairly predictable. If I'm at low 4s and think I have too much active insulin I'll take 1 jelly baby to stop falling any further. If I'm in mid to high 3s I'll take 1 or 2 depending on the time of day, active insulin etc. If I'm low 3s, I'd probably have orange juice. I find the jelly babies are ideal for dealing with hypos in meetings etc at work without causing a fuss and interrupting the meeting. I used to use those LoveHeart sweets, but they are a bit crunchy! To be fair, if I'm at home and drop to the mid 3s, I'll often have a single finger of dark chocolate kit kat with a cup of tea (6 or 7g carb), but the jelly babies definitely work faster for me.

Smidge
 
Thanks all - I think I'll give them a whirl, I do need an alternative to the chalky dextro tablets.

I just need to figure out a way of keeping them in my pocket and hiding them from my children! And the wife come to think of it...

Smidge - can those little Tupperware type things fit in your pocket?

Best

Dillinger
 
Does anyone know if jelly babies come in funsize packs? I am looking for damage limitation as when I go hypo I tend to eat the whole packet of whatever i have opened, I can't control myself and stop at just 4
 
xAoifex said:
Does anyone know if jelly babies come in funsize packs? I am looking for damage limitation as when I go hypo I tend to eat the whole packet of whatever i have opened, I can't control myself and stop at just 4
Click to expand...


Read Anna29's post above.
 
Hi Dillinger!

The little tub I've got is 9cm square and 6cm deep including the lid. It fits in a jacket pocket (would easily fit in a man's jacket pocket I think), but I doubt it would fit in trouser or jeans pockets. These were the smallest Tescos sell. They come in packs of 4. I'm not sure if you can get smaller ones anywhere.

Smidge
 
You all seem so well controlled. If and I mean if my bloods were to fall I dont think twice about having a coffee with 5+ sugars and a few chocolate bars or a bag of sweets. How do people stay so controlled and just manage 1 or 2 jelly babies The bag is gone if I get my hands on them. Have you always been so controlled or does it take years of practice.
 
I've got little stashes of jelly babies all over the place. I keep them in little sandwich bags in my coat pockets, I find them easier than the small plastic boxes. I only keep 3 or 4 in each bag so they are pretty small to tuck into pockets.

I like these little resealable snack bags http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/ ... =261846515

I do find jelly babies go hard after a while, and do get rather squashed, espeically in a jeans pocket but 1 or 2 do seem to work for me.

I like the looks of the keyring, might have to get one of those.
 
JB's don't fair well in hot cars either, I still keep a tube of Glucotabs in the car for emergencies as they remain unaltered by the cold and heat.
 
leggott said:
What about a pill holder keyring?
Click to expand...

That's a great idea - thank you - I've just ordered one from Amazon now.

I think I'll keep dextro tablets about the place, but it would be great to have an alternative to them.

Best

Dillinger
 
Jelly babies are my friend. I woke last night in the middle of a crashing low (had been running, almost expected it which is just madness in itself) was alone so I managed to get up, grab my jelly babies from inside the drawer next to the bed and within seconds (no exageration!) I felt them hit and work. I was ravenous for more but I have learned to just take 3 at a time! incidentally, I also managed to pull the whole drawer out and it fell and hit my leg and now I have a big cut/bruise. Oh well, another day, onwards and upwards.....
 
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