what do you use?

Ive been through the same as you lol tried every single thing going. I know have to use Lucozade but my DN said that or jelly babies, but she strongly advised against mil as it takes to long to release the sugar

I used to use Irn Bru or a chocolate bar when I took medication that occasionally caused hypos. I figured, if I have to have something it may as well be something that I really like but can no longer eat regularly

I give my son Lucozade if we are at home. He doesn't like many of the flavours, but he says the Apple one is okay. He only needs about 60ml which is only a couple of cm's poured into a cup or glass. If he's very out of it, I can give it with a straw.

The problem for us is what hypo treatment to carry when out - needs to be something small, light and doesn't crumble, leak, squash or melt - but at the same time needs to work as quickly as glucose does.

At the moment, I am buying some tiny packs of sweets (can't remember what they're called) but the pack is the size of a pack of chewing gum, has about 6 sweets in and fits into his BG meter case. I reckon its much harder for a boy/man to carry hypo kit because they don't have handbags! (Or at least, my son doesn't!).

We've tried glucose tabs - he doesn't like them and they get damp easily, crumble etc and get on fingers causing the next BG test to be contaminated.
We've tried those little bottles of Glucojuice - very expensive, doesn't like them much
We've tried jelly babies - difficult to put a few in pocket/bag
We've tried sports beans - expensive and once opened, the rest of the packet spill out
We've tried fruit pastilles - too tempting to each the whole tube!

I can't believe people use things like chocolate or milk - they must take ages to work?

When I'm out, there's always a tube of wine gums in my bag...or part of a tube at least. At home, a bottle of squeezy honey is my go-to hypo treatment.
xx

I quite like multi-pack Haribo; unfortunately none of the supermarkets in the area seem to regularly carry them (only seasonal like the Halloween pack). Obviously, buying the regular size packs isn't going to work since I can't actually eat the stuff.
Thus I settled for Glucojuice for emergencies (price is not a concern since I don't plan to frequently require hypo treatment; taste is... well, 60ml isn't really enough to make out any taste; and they can be carried in back trouser pocket with my keys)

Other than that I've found quite a few promising items in the baking aisle (individually packaged 10g servings of dried fruit, kids' lunch box treats, etc) for less urgent corrections.

The best for me is lucozade drink as it works the best/fastest but a bit akward to carry around sometimes.

Best "in the pocket" treatment are the glucose tablets as they are not very nice to eat so there is no chance of me snacking on them as i know if i had jelly babies/fruit pastils would eat them "willy nillie: lol

(These are not all in one go LOL)
Examples of 20g fast I take:

4 Jelly Babies / Wine Gums
5 lucozade tablets
5 glucotabs (4g per tablet!)
200ml fruit juice
200ml Shloer (this is a rare treat one - anything liquid often is a hassle for me when hypo because you rarely need more than 20g of fast carbs)

Examples 20g slow I take:

2 biscuits (I make sure they're 10g carbs per biscuit)

...struggling to think of more examples of slow because I find most of my hypos are before mealtimes when they do occur so I take the fast only and then eat my meal (taking only insulin for meal).

SandraR said:

I can't believe people use things like chocolate or milk - they must take ages to work?

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Yes this is correct (for chocolate anyway)! It's something like the fat content makes it slower for your body to get into your blood stream. It is a myth that chocolate is a great (fast acting) hypo treatment - it's much better for eating as slow acting carbs after taking the fast.

Fallenstar said:

Otenba, I use fruit juice aswell, which works well for me. I keep telling my kids off for guzzling Tropicana like it's water. and I try to get them to have water instead. I think I've more chance of taking a poo in Kate Middleton's handbag, Water :mrgreen: Yeh,right :lol: ..but I keep trying. A small 200 ml glass of Tropicana gives you a quarter of your daily guideline of sugar :shock:

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I've not tried Tropicana, but I do know the typical fruit juice cartons can be great for hypos (often they are about 200ml)!

If I ever do drink it for enjoyment ,it is just too sweet for me now so I dilute it like squash. I have so lost my sweet tooth since being Diabetic. Has anyone else found this?? Things like Coke just blow my taste buds now...sensory sugar overload :lol:

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Yes! I think coke is a great example to give as a source of put off! I can't stand coke now - after drinking loads of diet coke as a kid, it's just gross for me now. Avoid most fizzy drinks as a result these days (it's not really a great loss though if you asked me).

Fallenstar said:

I'm interested to know what you peeps use to treat your Hypo's . Over the years various things have gone in and out of favour with me.
I used to hate glucose tablets and never found them "enough", recently though I've gone full circle and gone back to them with great success and find a couple deal with it fine.

I used to be a nightmare when I first had Diabetes for ramming a load of coco pops down my neck...Ooo but they were tasty! I know now that the rebound for that would probably put me in a coma, how things change with this disease :roll:

I hate lucozade, a friend of mine uses milk :shock: I could never get that one.I used to love the taste of Lucozade before Diabetes..the look of it makes me feel a bit :mrgreen: now

Peanut brittle ,was a good one for me , and I loved a nice bar of chocolate..but during the panic of my old Hypos I'd get through a small newsagents stand :lol: Now chocolate make me want to gag a bit when I'm hypo as I now feel a bit sick when hypo...a new symptom :roll:

so what do you use to treat your Hypo?

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Hi
I have been a type 1 diabetic for 50 years, and I can understand what you are saying, I have been round the clock with taking different things for hypos and then going off them, what my wife buys me is jelly babies and milk buttons / chocolate buttons, I can,t drink tea with sugar in it, it makes me feel sick but coffee is OK with sugar. I was forced to eat glucose tablets when I lived in a diabetic hostel but if I was forced to take them now I would be sick, I have hypo stop which I get on repeat prescription that isnt too bad, but I think it is suck and see whats best for you. Hope you can find something to suit you.
regards
Kev

Those little Love Heart sweets work really well. You only need one or two. I've just raided the kids' Haloween tin for them - they can have the sherbert dips, lolipops and stuff - I've nicked the tubes of Love Hearts!

Smidge

My son uses glucose tablets and finds a couple of those usually does the trick. They are easy to keep in his trouser pocket at all times, so if he off round the farm or something, he has always got his hypo stuff with him.

Slower carbs are usually a biscuit or a cereal bar.

Yes, they do get mangled in the pocket, and there is a degree of wastage, but it works for him.

I use lucozade or the mini cans of coke if it really low!!!!!!! I love the glucotabs as they are 4g of carbs and I only need about 4 to get me started in the right direction. If i am out and I feel one coming on then ill use that as excuse to stop for tea and cake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe I missed off eating two level teaspoons of sugar for another fast releasing hypo treat! That's the "hard stuff", that is LOL! XD

I am struggling to know what to have when my sugars go low....

A few marshmallows used to be a winner, but its amazing how quickly you can go off these. The same with jelly babies.

Hmmm, I might have to have a root around the shops for a little inspiration.

oooh interesting thread to see what people use..

I use glucose tablets, I hated the taste at first but gradually got used to them (orange ones) easy to stash around the house, easy to carry..

I used to use lucozade drink but one I hypo'd not long after a meal and used it and was physically sick because i'd just eaten so i haven't touched it since!!

the WORST hypo treatment i ever tried was hypo stop, my god is that gloopy and horrible. Oh and i've resorted to sugar water too and that isn't how i remembered it from when i was little. YAK!

I suppose if you use marsh mellows/jelly babies etc ur mind will be set that when ur eating them = ur not well thus you may be put off by them and become to dislike them. I suppose it could happen with any food?

I use either GlucoTabs if I'm out and about or 200ml of Fanta Tropical if I'm at home. It's strange how since becoming diabetic I really can't stand anything too sweet, so as the hypos are rare I don't mind having to have a fizzy drink in an emergency.

Possible, yes, but unlikely given that backward conditioning (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_ ... nditioning) is not very effective