hypos and solutions?

Status
Not open for further replies.
scotty

scotty

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
As i am having hypos daily, is there a sachet out of some kind u can take, my blood sugar is going as low as 2, seen my doctor to day and she doesent no? been using dextrose tabs and jelly babies but dont seem to be doing the job,

Does anyone no the name of them thanks...
 
I know very little about type 1, but is your insulin dosage right?
 
Hi Scotty, as AlisonM says, if you are having daily hypos it could be because your insulin doses are incorrect for the amount and type of food you are eating. What and how often do you inject?

Some of the quickest hypo remedies are sugary drinks like normal coke or lucozade. Jelly babies usually work for me, but it can depend on how quickly your levels are dropping - the drinks are better if it is falling fast as they are more quickly absorbed. There are also other things available, like glucogel which can be obtained on prescription from your doctor, or hypofit which is a gel available in chemists.
 
Hi Scotty hope you sort this out soon, if you are having them daily then it is pretty likely to do with your dosage, if I remember correctly:confused:you are new to this game, have they got you on a set dose, and not carb counting yet? If you can speak to you DSN nurse do so asap. Otherwise maybe you need to eat more to counteract these hypos, but as others have said liquids are quickest full fat coke and lucozade etc.
 
I know some of us mention DAFNE a lot, but the biggest thing I took away from it was hypo treatment.

I now swear by the 200ml cartons of fruit juice (like the ones you put in packed lunches). They have 20g of carbs (2CP) which is just the right amount to get you from around 2-3mmol/l back up to around 7-9mmol/l and you'd be amazed how quickly they work. I was sceptical at first but now I'm converted (plus it counts as 1 of your 5-a-day)

Like the others have said you'll need to look at how much insulin you're taking and discuss with DSN.

Good luck.

NiVZ
 
10 ML 3 times a day, orange pens, and 16 ml at the night the green pen
 
what kinds of insulin are in those pens scotty? 10u could be too much if say, for breakfast you're only having 2 slices of toast (just as an example, as 1 slice of medium bread is about 20g carb and for most people starting out, that would be 2 units. so 2 slices would be 4units in total).

NiVZ - think i will be investing in some of those! i usually just glug away at lucozade and judge how much i've had by what was in the bottle.
 
shiv said:
what kinds of insulin are in those pens scotty? 10u could be too much if say, for breakfast you're only having 2 slices of toast (just as an example, as 1 slice of medium bread is about 20g carb and for most people starting out, that would be 2 units. so 2 slices would be 4units in total).

NiVZ - think i will be investing in some of those! i usually just glug away at lucozade and judge how much i've had by what was in the bottle.
Click to expand...

I don't think we can compare doses in that way, I'm afraid - I would need 8 units for two slices of toast.

Scotty - as you are on fixed doses this is why you are having so many hypos - the doses are too high fr the amount of carbohydrate you are eating. You need to speak to your diabetes nurse to try and adjust this. otherwise you will need to find out how much extra you need to eat to stop the hypos.

Ideally, you should be calculating the size of your dose according to what you are about to eat - this is called 'carb counting' and will give you much more flexibility with your meals. Ask your nurse or doctor about getting some education in this method - a popular course is DAFNE' (Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating), but there are other courses available.
 
I suspect it's novorapid and levemir from the description of the pens. I agree with the others daily hypos mean somewhere the dose is too high, it might be across the board or it might be one dose that is causing you trouble. Do these hypos happen in any particular pattern?

It's interesting my DSN specifically said not to treat hypos with fruit juice, that was only about 6 weeks ago when she was teaching my brother about hypos. But it seems that some of you DAFNE guys aretold that it's a good way to treat them, think aymes uses juice if I remember rightly.
 
sofaraway said:
I suspect it's novorapid and levemir from the description of the pens. I agree with the others daily hypos mean somewhere the dose is too high, it might be across the board or it might be one dose that is causing you trouble. Do these hypos happen in any particular pattern?

It's interesting my DSN specifically said not to treat hypos with fruit juice, that was only about 6 weeks ago when she was teaching my brother about hypos. But it seems that some of you DAFNE guys aretold that it's a good way to treat them, think aymes uses juice if I remember rightly.
Click to expand...

Yes, I swear by apple juice for hypos, it was reccommended at dafne also. I had heard people report that they have problems using juice as they find it takes longer to work, guess it's an everyone's different thing again!
 
Northerner said:
I don't think we can compare doses in that way, I'm afraid - I would need 8 units for two slices of toast.

Scotty - as you are on fixed doses this is why you are having so many hypos - the doses are too high fr the amount of carbohydrate you are eating. You need to speak to your diabetes nurse to try and adjust this. otherwise you will need to find out how much extra you need to eat to stop the hypos.

Ideally, you should be calculating the size of your dose according to what you are about to eat - this is called 'carb counting' and will give you much more flexibility with your meals. Ask your nurse or doctor about getting some education in this method - a popular course is DAFNE' (Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating), but there are other courses available.
Click to expand...

Yes i Am on novarapid and levimar, my hypos always come on from 3-4 pm every day, i spoke to my diabetic nurse today, she said to put my lunch 10 units to 8 units, ill see how i go on tomorro,

Thanks for all the info, eveyone been very helpful
 
scotty said:
Yes i Am on novarapid and levimar, my hypos always come on from 3-4 pm every day, i spoke to my diabetic nurse today, she said to put my lunch 10 units to 8 units, ill see how i go on tomorro,

Thanks for all the info, eveyone been very helpful
Click to expand...

Ah, good news scotty - it'll all get sorted eventually. Hope the reduction gives you better levels!🙂
 
I suspect that juice can take a little longer than glucose tabs or lucozade, but not in our experience longer than other things like jelly babies. My son will now have glucose tabs only under real duress -- now always has juice with a straw, either in a glass (165mls ish) or most preferred of all -- from a 200ml carton. This indeed is a great size, and does the job no worries. He comes up from any within 10 minutes...Uses apple juice...
 
One point of note: all liquids are absorbed into the system faster if they're at room temperature, or blood heat rather than ice-cold. Which is why if you're thirsty, a cup of tea will do the job better than a cold drink.
 
Hiya Scotty

Sorry you are having the hypos. How long are you diagnosed?

Your DSN should be talking to you about carb counting. It all sounds a bit daunting to begin with but once you get the hang of it its a piece of cake really.

Everyone has different ideas about hypo remedies. You will find some work for you and others don't.

The ones you can 100% get on prescription are :

Glucotab - big round 4 carbs each, can get refill tub of 50 (if your GP says no, then that is rubbish, tell him it needs to be handwritten and it is in the C and D book, the Chemist and dispensers book)

Hypo fit - these are the flat foil tubes of gel stuff in different flavours, mint, orange and tropical. These are new out and are 14 carbs per sachet and very easy to carry around. I may be able to find you the PIP codes of these (the pip code is what the GP needs to find it on his computer!)

Glucogel - another tube but only 10 carbs (not quite enough normally unless only slightly hypo ie 3.5 ish).

Glucagon - you should have been given one of these. Every person with diabetes needs an orange emergency injection kit. Unfortunately if this is needed you will not be in any fit state to be doing it, you will either be unconscious or unable to drink or eat. Someone else will be giving this to you. You need to have one though. It is easy to use, I have given it to my daughter. I have about 4 or 5 around, one at school for her, couple at home, one my mums, one in the bag that goes everywhere with her.

Some people have mentioned fruit juice. If you are as low as in the 2's I suggest you go straight for full sugar coke or lucozade. You will have to just glug or guess the lucozade but you can buy the 150 ml party sized cans of coke which are perfect amount for a hypo and are 15 carbs each.

Juice doesn't work for everyone. I have a real issue that the DAFNE course recommends it (I have a few issues with DAFNE actually but don't tend to go into them as overall they help a lot of people). I've seen people go even lower once they have taken juice as it isn't always quick enough. You need to try it out but not when you are mega low.

Also another trick. If you take glucotabs or dextrose tablets or lucozade tablets then you should drink a glass of water as well. This speeds up the process much better. Sometimes these can take a while to work for some people and just a glass of water can speed it up.

Hope that has helped a bit.
 
AlisonM said:
One point of note: all liquids are absorbed into the system faster if they're at room temperature, or blood heat rather than ice-cold. Which is why if you're thirsty, a cup of tea will do the job better than a cold drink.
Click to expand...

Didn't know that Alison, you learn something new every day. Thanks.🙂
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top