Hi,
I'm writing this recovering from a low of 2.9 mmol/l and I have so far eaten 1 bag of jelly beans, 1 SiS Energy Bar, 2 Rounds of toast, 2 packets of crisps, more jelly beans and a scotch egg oh and 4 pepperami sticks. My question really is, is there really anyone that can truely control what they eat when having a hypo ? If so how ? And, if you can, you have my absolute respect....Best wishes....Mark
Jesus Christ almighty Mark! That is a lot of sugar even for a hypo! Overcorrection much?
I say this, but I do the same, its irrational when I don't start feeling better within 10 minutes.
Some people find a set amount (not quite a pack and a half mind) of jelly babies/jelly beans helps. I use Lucozade, or a similar sugary drink. Although they have recently reduced the sugar in lucozade it still works!
It's hard to control yourself, because while you're essentially self-medicating on sweets and crisps, you're hypo, and dizzy, it feels like blood is rushing to your head, starting to get a bit shaky, you're subconsciously thinking "oh my god I need to eat sugar, eat toast, eat whatever I can get my hands on", it's only really when you come round that you start thinking "wait, maybe I went a BIT too overboard".
Best way to control it is to tell someone you live/work with how to deal with your hypos. Tell them that the best thing for you to eat when you're hypo is 1 SLICE OF TOAST or 1 BAG OF CRISPS (1 because you will likely have to correct with insulin otherwise!) . You need fast acting carbs (sugar) to get your readings up, and slow acting carbs to keep 'em up. Carry a sugary drink with you at all times, so that if you go hypo at work (or whatever you do) you can have some and wait until you're feeling a bit better to start thinking beyond getting the sugar into your system.
Hope this helps!
Shannon