Where have you had a hypo?

anna29 said:

I have heard that some people experience a 'hypo' in supermarkets :shock:
Am wondering how and why this is ... ?

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Good question although I don't know the answer Anna, a possible explanation is the exercise involved.... especially if you leave the car at home and walk or cycle a fair distance, I've never ever needed assistance with a hypo but remember having a bad one in Morrison's a few years ago that came close.

Mine as usually in a supermarket I have no idea why I have even been to a cafe had a coffee and something to eat and still had a hypo by the time I got out its bizarre


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Not long after I was first diagnosed with Type 2 I went to the local Asda. An hour before my BG was about 10. Suddenly, in the middle of an aisle I had the worst hypo ever. I went out like a light. Of course everyone thought I was drunk, except one chap who got me some coke. Luckily for me the First Aider was familiar with diabetes as one of the staff was diabetic and took me to the first aid room until I recovered. Not a nice feeling and nothing you can do about it, I think it is to do with the lights and the different temperatures in the aisles.

I have picked up a bottle of coke or some fruit buns before now, in the Supermarket, to stop me having a bad hypo. I do take the empty packet to the checkout and pay for it though.

Not eating when I should and stress will tend to cause a hypo for me without fail. The fight or flight response is a difinite trigger. Bad combination really, especially in a world where eating on time and keeping calm can sometimes be difficult.

Meetings and day trips are always a special challenge, given that they often run long and can be busy, disorganised, and tense and you never know just when you'll be fed and watered or what will be served. I plan my day so that I can have a snack before a long meeting and always take a few sugar sweets with me just in case. If I'm at a roadshow or day long seminar, I bring my own sugar free soda or water and enough portable food to make it through the day. I've had people make comments, like "they'll have lunch in half an hour can't you wait?" I'm more than happy to point out to them that sometimes people can't wait. And if someone has an issue with me eating in their auditorium or doing a blood test I'll happily step outside to take care of my needs. They're ignorance is not worth the risk of a hypo. That doesn't mean I won't stop and educate them on my way back in though.

Grocery shopping when hungry is a real problem. If I must then I'll have a sensible snack before I shop just to be safe. I suspect that same instinct that makes normal people buy more when they are hungry can cause low blood sugar for those of us who tend to have hypos.

I've long been in the habit of carrying granola bars or breakfast bars, and glucose tablets in my rucksack just in case. And I always have a meter with me. Better they are handy and not needed than needed and not handy, especially when I'm off wandering about in the countryside miles from anywhere. More than once I've handed out glucose tablets or a snack to someone else who was having a hypo.

I usually have them at home, but that might be because I don't often leave the house. :roll:

Other places I've had them are while out shopping on the highstreet, getting blood taken for my biannual clinic appointment and once during a therapy session (my therapist wondered what on earth was going on!!) :lol:

Many, many years ago ... John Lewis.

My mum was with me and I'd said to her I wasnt right and had glucotabs from bag.
Mum knew I was sliding further down and asked assistant for milk n sugar, as she knew this was my favourite hypo stopper.
Was ok, but the lovely staff in John Lewis told me and mum to go up to restaurant and have a free meal and coffee for both of us!!!
John Lewis deserves 3 cheers for the help they gave me.

Exciting/embarrassing ones:
During a concert performance
Doing a TV interview
Giving a lecture
Crossing the street

Boring ones:
Supermarket
Gardening
Simply sitting down at the computer

I now mostly manage to avoid them -- the meds and diet balance seems to be right (for the time being -- touch wood)

Ive had hypos out n bout but the funniest one has to be whilst I was staying at a good friends house and was told once I'd come round that I went to have a ciggy and her pet dog at the time was outside too and I was having a conversation with the dog and tried lighting the dog a ciggy and lighting mine with something other than a lighter, once my friend got me inside (after trying for ages apparently lol) I was then fed spoons n spoons of sugar till I was back to normal (if you can call me normal that is) lol

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I once jad a really bad hypo while in my gp's waiting room. I took a whole packet of Lucozade sweets and bs wouldn't come up. My partner was with me so he ran next door to shop for bottle of Lucozade. Ended up drinking all of it and still hypoing amd getting worse so he went to reception to have doctor notified. Dr gave me Glucagon injection and still hypoing. Doctor started to panic (very reassuring!) and eventually called am ambulance. I didn't lose consciousness but was low enough not to remember the journey. Another Glucagon shot and soon after bs started to rise. They checked again after 1 hour and I was at 14ish so went home. Later that night bs at 38. No idea to this day what happened and doctors couldn't explain.

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The mind is a peculiar place at best and I suspect that vestigal instinct from our hunter/gatherer past is probably much to blame for reactions in the presence of food that we cannot otherwise explain.

I find that I rarely have hypos when I'm shopping for shoes or clothes and yet the amount of physical activity is similar. I think that the presence of all the food in the gorcery store causes the body to believe that it will soon be fed and so it tries to trigger a normal response to prepare for the consumption of food, and when it isn't fed a hypo happens because a diabetic body cannot respond in a normal way.

Geo omg that makes so much sense lol although I hypo what ever im shoppin for lol

The bath! More than once...

In "Think Like a Pancreas", the author Gary Scheiner reckons people have hypos in supermarkets because your brain is getting a lot more stimulation than in everyday life (lots of things going on around you, lots of products to look at, lots of decisions to be made about what to buy, etc.). Since the brain needs a lot of glucose to work, you're more likely to have a hypo when its working overtime.

Hi all,
Forgive me I am very new in this complex condition i have been recently diagnosed with type 2 my Habc1 was 6.9.
I want to ask what is Hypo nobody has explained this to me, am I expecting one of these???
hope you are all well

A hypo is where your blood sugar goes to low, as described here http://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-a-hypo.html

There is also the opposite where your blood sugar goes to high http://www.diabetes.co.uk/Diabetes-and- ... aemia.html

If you are likely to get a hypo this can depend on what meds you are on, if using metformin or diet alone, you would not normally experience a hypo as metformin is not like other meds.

If you are on insulin or meds like gliclazide these can cause you to go hypo.

I've had hypo's in supermarkets, what used to set me off was the ulra violet lights, I still won't go into the refrigerator parts in Macro as they still effect me. Also had a coma at the hospital just before appointment with consultant and had another in carpark just after a visit with the consultant. Ended up in casualty then. Not funny. :roll:

Generally my hypos come on around 2pm on a Sunday if I've had a drinking session on a Friday night and a Saturday night and I've been out shopping on a Sunday morning. Been as low as 1.5 and wondered how I've still been wandering about- must be the BG meter I think, but jam on toast does the trick. The worst time was out on a bike ride with my mate on a canal in the middle of nowhere; fortunately he'd listened to the advice I'd given as to where my glucogel was and to rub it into my gums- just wish he'd washed his hands first. lol.

At age 14 I had 1 hypo whilst walking into town. My legs gave way and I fell flat on my face. Stil got the scar on my chin. Lucky for me several us army personnel where just leaving a hotel where I collapsed. They recognised my. SOS TALISMAN opened it and found I was diabetic they took me into the hotel ordered the staff to give me coke & called my mum. Ended up at. A&E for my cut chin but alright on the end thanks to the US ARMY. !!


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