• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Need advice with treating Hypos

M

mkzp123

Active Member
Messages
37
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi guys,

My son is now 11 & roughly weighs around 45 kg. He has had type one diabetes for over five years.
He is having issues with regards to when he is having hypos, previously he use to have jelly sweets however this has stopped working for him. Glucotabs use to be a excellent hypo treatment however this is not working as good as it use as he is still saying low after having the glucotabs and a biscuit more often now. Not sure if anyone has had the same issues or if anyone could recommend any other hypo treatment they use apart frm fizzy drinks.

Also he will be starting secondary school in September and we are thinking of what snacks would be best for him to have during break time, preferably looking for just suggestions with regards to snacks that he can have relatively quickly in between classes or breaks.

Any help all suggestions will be highly appreciated.

Thanks
 
Hello chocolate is not advised to be used as a hypo treatment because of the fat content. There’s gluco juice - small containers of fast acting carbs. Small cans of cokes, people might need two because mixer cans contain 9g of carbs or so. Orange/apple juice cartona no bits. Theres glucose powder sachets that you can buy online, either mix or eat out of the packet. All of this can be followed up with biscuits of his choice.
 
Fruit shots work well for me. They're around 17g CHO per pack, light, and don't crumble in a bag or pocket. There are several flavours so he can vary them, or just stick with his favourite.
 
Hi the health authority in the area I use recommend. A 15; 15; 15 rule 15 g of fast acting sugar ( a small can of real coke is exact amount , wait 15 mins then 15g of long acting carbs , apparently it works, myself my hypo is a case of get as much chocolate in me as I can , I don’t worry about fat content . As it’s not like I’m having a hypo 24/7 ,my first worry about a hypo is to get rid of it as consequences of not are worse than results of taking chocolate. Glycogel is available on prescription it’s good too. ive had diabetes 40 years and have heard numerous ideas from health officials to get rid of hypos, back in the 1980s if you had a hypo in hospital they use to give us a glass of milk with 3 teaspoons of sugar in it! It worked as did a mars bar, however some “ bright spark” decided that we should take too much sugar so they decided to give us a sandwich instead of the milk and sugar well needless to say sometime later we were back to the sweets and sugar. I think the main point of a hypo is to get rid of it and quick. whatever works for you is fine just hope it does vary from person to person , guess that is true about a lot of treatment for us.
 
I have Naked bars when I'm low as well as Graze bars, they taste good and you can eat them quickly. Good luck x
 
My son (now 20) always preferred lucozade as it worked very fast. Otherwise glucotabs and then cereal bars maybe try the more sugary ones to assist fast recovery. I always found it difficult to get him to wait for it to take effect, he just wanted to eat and eat and eat, especially if it was a night time hypo. Your son may be going through a growth spurt in which case he'll probably be needing more insulin and, just my personal opinion but, maybe also needs extra sugar to treat hypos.
 
If your son tried chocolate to treat a hypo, it may be worth checking how quickly chocolate brings up his blood sugar as, containing fats, may not be the best remedy. In case, you're not aware, fats tend to delay absorption of glucose which can be very useful in other circumstances.

My personal experience is that chocolate has a slow effect on my glucose levels but certainly tries to reach the sky!!!
 
Lift fast acting juice shot each bottle contains 15g glucose recommended by my diabetes nurse. Your diabetes clinic should provide some help with hypo booklets following low sugars. Novo Nordisk do one.
 
Hi
The advice for a hypo is:
15g fast acting carbs (just glucose or just sugar e.g. as mentioned full sugar pop, jelly babies (about 4), glucotabs etc.). Chocolate, biscuits, milk etc. will work but will take longer due to teh fat and protein content.
Then (as above) wait 15 minutes. This part you have to trust. If (as I used to) you continue eating until you feel better your will masssively overtreat the hypo and end up with a sky high blood glucose.
After 15 minutes (just sit down while waiting) you need to retest BEFORE having slower release carbs. If sttill below 4mmol/l (3.5 for DAFNE), then you need to retreat. It sounds as if your son's blood glucose levels are ending up lower and so the usual amount of fast acting carbs isn't bringing him back into normal range. Is he more actice? He may jsut be more insulin sensitive now and need an adjustment to his insulin doses/ratios if having more frequent/severe hypos.
You keep repeating this - treat with 15g fast acting carbs, wait 15 mins, retest...until blood glucose is back in normal range. Then follow up with something a bit slower realease carbs which is where the biscuit etc. could come in, or just have your next meal if it's due.
Hope that helps
 
I've tried most things to treat a hypo. A small can of real coke works for me. If it is late at night I usually have a slice of toast as well. Then worry all night about wwhat my reading will be like in the morning !!!
 
@AliB73 . I’m slightly confused. You are listed as an HCP, but also reference over treating hypos.
Are you an insulin independent diabetic?
Sorry to ask and obviously you do not have to answer.
 
Hello, what are the frequency of these hypo's he is having? On top of all the good advice people have provided above, perhaps you need to consider trying to get him a continuous glucose monitor which will give him advance warning of a hypo coming on. best to avoid completely rather than treat, in my opinion. Many of these also have an option to text a parent / guardian if there is an alarm going off. Perhaps also an idea to get in to see your consultant / endocrinologist and see if his insulin doses need adjusting - regular hypo's are obviously not good and can lead to their own set of issues. I know with a younger diabetic, especially if they are active it can be more difficult to manage, but technology has a lot to offer with helping us preempt what is going to happen.
 
I use True Plus glucose gel. It's available in Boots and works very quickly. My GP prescribes Rapilose or Glucogel. I've found Rapilose doesn't work for me and I try to keep the Glucogel for very low hypos
 
I use Dextro tablets, quick reaction and cheap. I always carry half a tube in my pocket.
 
Hi
I agree that sweets like haribo take too long to work. I put that down to the fact they are not solely sugar. Glucotabs are OK but can take a little long, I put that down to the fact they start off as a solid so take longer to break down. So for me it's always a small carton of juice. For me personally liquids work faster than solids.
Good luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…