A fun few days!

[Radders]

Survived my first weekend on call as a diabetic. Had a low of 3.9 yesterday afternoon - happy that I recognised the signs, I was a bit worried I wouldn't but it was fairly obvious. 2 Dextrose tabs (never had them before - revolting, aren't they!!?) and a couple of digestives later I was up to 19 and my blood glucose is still a bit elevated at 8.6. Time for a couple of hours kip then "test, inject, breakfast!"

Congratulations on successfully heading off that hypo. It sounds as if you didn't need the second digestive!

 

[New-journey]

Survived my first weekend on call as a diabetic. Had a low of 3.9 yesterday afternoon - happy that I recognised the signs, I was a bit worried I wouldn't but it was fairly obvious. 2 Dextrose tabs (never had them before - revolting, aren't they!!?) and a couple of digestives later I was up to 19 and my blood glucose is still a bit elevated at 8.6. Time for a couple of hours kip then "test, inject, breakfast!"

It is so difficult to not over treat a type in my experience especially when the hunger arrives. I also hate dextrose and just break of a tiny bit which is enough followed by a biscuit. Or I eat one jelly baby, or one date or half a banana, not what I was told but it works. When the hypo is much lower then I go straight to dextrose or jelly baby. Great you survived your first weekend on call and you recognised the signs. I remember my first 3.9, I was alone in a hotel room, it was night time and I got so scared. I ate two dextrose plus five oat cakes with nut butter and felt dreadful the next day!

 

[Storm]

Thank you Copepod - I'm still looking for veggie jelly babies. I have seen them in a health food store in town so next time I make that trek I'll grab a couple of bags unless I find some elsewhere before hand. I have a teeny tiny plastic food box I'm going to try for dextrose/jelly babies 🙂

I guess, like with everything diabetes, the best treatment for a hypo is a personal thing. I definitely didn't need all I had yesterday and I was told to take 5-6 dextrose tablets and I only had 2! Next time I will see how one digestive works, test and see if I need the second.

Good thing I'm a scientist and like experimenting!

 

[Radders]

Thank you Copepod - I'm still looking for veggie jelly babies. I have seen them in a health food store in town so next time I make that trek I'll grab a couple of bags unless I find some elsewhere before hand. I have a teeny tiny plastic food box I'm going to try for dextrose/jelly babies 🙂

I guess, like with everything diabetes, the best treatment for a hypo is a personal thing. I definitely didn't need all I had yesterday and I was told to take 5-6 dextrose tablets and I only had 2! Next time I will see how one digestive works, test and see if I need the second.

Good thing I'm a scientist and like experimenting!

Hi Storm
I'm sure you know this but just in case, as the digestive is relatively slow acting it's usually recommended to treat the hypo with the fast acting first until levels are normal otherwise the slower acting can slow down the recovery. I personally only follow up with a slow acting carb if I know that my most recent bolus is still active or I am going to exercise.
Maybe your basal dose isn't quite right for you yet so perhaps that's why the slower acting treatment has been recommended as a follow up for you- did they tell you the reason for it?

 

[New-journey]

Thank you Copepod - I'm still looking for veggie jelly babies. I have seen them in a health food store in town so next time I make that trek I'll grab a couple of bags unless I find some elsewhere before hand. I have a teeny tiny plastic food box I'm going to try for dextrose/jelly babies 🙂

I guess, like with everything diabetes, the best treatment for a hypo is a personal thing. I definitely didn't need all I had yesterday and I was told to take 5-6 dextrose tablets and I only had 2! Next time I will see how one digestive works, test and see if I need the second.

Good thing I'm a scientist and like experimenting!

I think I found veggie jelly babies or something similar in Sainsbury's, I am a vegetarian too.

 

[Radders]

I think I found veggie jelly babies or something similar in Sainsbury's, I am a vegetarian too.

I am veggie too but having tried various hypo fixes, have decided dextrosol is my best bet. I don't like them, which means I'm never tempted to eat them when I don't need to or to eat too many, and I find the packets very easy to fit in a pocket or bag. I tried skittles once and they just got stuck to my teeth, and the sweets my Husband keeps in the glove box of the car never seem to survive very long especially if it's hot!

 

[Matt Cycle]

Hi Storm

There are a few veggie sweets - Veggie Percy Pigs from M&S - bit pricey but nice enough. Haribo giant strawberries (79p from Aldi) or Haribo jelly beans. The own brand Aldi jelly beans contain shellac.

I concur with Radders and use dextrosol for the same reasons.

The usual recommendation is 4 dextrosol tablets for a hypo but it depends on how low you are. The reason you had a big jump sounds like your liver dumping glucose in response to the 3.9 along with what you ate - the 2 dextrosol you had are around 6g CHO and 2 digestives around 20g CHO so that's quite a rise from 3.9 to 19.

 

[SB2015]

Thank you - it is very true that we are all individual and react to everything differently. It's places like this forum that help show that there are multiple ways forward and we have to find our own balance 🙂

It's the reading that is starting to blur a bit for me...as long as it passes, I like a good crime novel of an evening!

Hi Storm
I was advised to wait until my levels had plateaued in normal range before returning to optician, but I found my old glasses were fine once things settled. For reading is it worth buying some cheap reading glasses so that you can still get stuck into a good book. Have you tried the Simon Serealier series bpwritten by Susan Hill?

 

[Storm]

Thank you @Radders - the hypo treatment I've been told to use is the standard one recommended by the clinic - I've been given several leaflets to post at home, work etc, it's not tailored to me.

Step 1: 5-6 dextrose, 3-4 jelly babies, 200ml juice or 150ml coke. Followed 5 minutes later by Step 2: 2 digestives, 4 rich tea, a slice of bread, a small chocolate bar or a medium banana. Test 15 minutes later.

This is too much for me - I think one dextrose, see what is happening and then top up if necessary.

At my one week review my basal dose has been held at the same - it will be reviewed again at my one month review.

Thank you and @New-journey and @MattCycle for the sweet tips - always been more of a chocolate girl myself (Montezuma's Absolute Black is divine and has hardly any carbs - perfect treat!) so my exploration of veggie sweets is a new thing.

@SB2015 I too have been advised that my vision will return to normal once my levels stabilise - I can't wait, I've got a real appreciation of my vision now! I have a flexible plastic sheet magnifier which is helping somewhat. I've not read the Simon Serealier series, I shall look out for it, thank you. I'm currently working my way through a box full of Robert Goddard novels I picked up at a village fete last month. Really great stories.

 

[Radders]

Thank you @Radders - the hypo treatment I've been told to use is the standard one recommended by the clinic - I've been given several leaflets to post at home, work etc, it's not tailored to me.

Step 1: 5-6 dextrose, 3-4 jelly babies, 200ml juice or 150ml coke. Followed 5 minutes later by Step 2: 2 digestives, 4 rich tea, a slice of bread, a small chocolate bar or a medium banana. Test 15 minutes later.

This is too much for me - I think one dextrose, see what is happening and then top up if necessary.

At my one week review my basal dose has been held at the same - it will be reviewed again at my one month review.

.

I think that would be too much for anyone: it sounds like they have told you to eat a total of around 40g carbs, which on average would boost levels by about 12! Also the dextrosol or jelly babies wouldn't have time to work before you'd slow it down with the other stuff.

One dextrose sounds a bit too little though, unless you're not very low. 3g carbs in a dextrosol would raise me by about 1. Assuming I was below 3.5 I'd ideally like to be at 5.5. The recommendation we were given on the DAFNE course was 15g fast acting and wait 15 minutes, which I've adapted to 10g carbs and wait 20 minutes unless really low.