5 ways to help someone experiencing hypoglycemia

WONDERFUL info....I wish I had trained on this years ago. USE this info, no kidding. I have shared on Facebook, you should too :)

Another wonderful idea is to have an "emergency kit" with all things needed for a low blood sugar event. My girlfriend came up with this after she had to help my child through a low. In our kit we have an instruction sheet with how to treat a low and also phone numbers for doctors and contacts. We have an extra tester, test strips, gloves, sugar tablets, glucagon, juice box, crackers, etc. It has been very helpful to have all supplies in one place to help in the event of an emergency.

One of the things I remember being told is that you can rub cake icing/glucose gel onto the gums and cheeks if the person isn't able to follow directions regarding drinking or chewing. I think this is very helpful for children or if you don't have any glucagon present.

Another important thing to remember if a friend is having a low sugar problem: Don't keep talking to them. The brain has to work hard to digest what people are saying and the more they struggle to take in what you're saying, the lower the sugars go. If you must talk, talk slow with as few words as possible.

I always carry a drink box apple juice, in a small snack bag, so straw will not separate from box, small container of gluco tabs, a few saltine crackers. Yes, having someone talking to you is not too helpful, my motto, 5 words or less. I had one yesterday in the store, drank my juice, gluco tabs and hung onto my cart. Sometimes you need somewhere to sit, some places have none. I pretty much have to stay in one spot till it passes. Always be prepared,you never know when it will take over. It is very scary to experience one.

My husband and daughter can tell when I'm having a low by my voice. I have slurred speech and the tone of my voice changes.

Everyone listed above has very good ideas to 'treat' a low. But really, the best way to avoid them...yes we all know it...is to test, and test often. Each of us as diabetics know when and what causes us to go 'low' after awhile. Just test...and pre-treat before a 'low' happens.

I have had two episodes of an extremely low bg in the low 3o's that left me paralyzed on my left side. I thought I had a stroke. Ambulance took me to the hospital hospital did an mri
No stroke. As soon as the ambulance people gave me glucose about 2o monutes later the feeling started to return in my feet first then everything was ok, My endocrinologist said she had read about this but never had a patience experience it. She called it "diabetic stroke like syndrome". Weird it was.

When we have nobody living with us that can help us treat a low BG; if we are fortunate enough to have a CGM we will know the low is coming before hypoglycemia hits us.

Here is another one, had to go to rehab center for 6 1/2 weeks, they almost killed me as no one had a remote clue regarding diabetes. There should be at least one person on staff that knows something, they even lock up fruit juices in kitchen at night, how sad is that. Pam the nurse was good she gave me some of her sweet tea and a couple grammars. So anyway need more nurses and even doctors that need to be better educated on diabetes, if we are having a diabetes crises in this country, where are the good guys? I'm done for now TY for listening we need to help each other

Whenever possible I treat my hypoglycemia with 8 oz. of milk. Because it is part carbohydrate and part protein, it raises my glucose level quickly enough while the protein holds me there for a while until I eat something substantial. There is nothing worse than drinking juice or other simple carbohydrate, only to start bottoming out 30 minutes later.

I always carry 2 soda pops in my purse (suitcase), as well as hard candies. I don't display symptoms until I am down around 4o or 45 and then everything hits me at once. I found the soda pop can is the easiest thing for me to open and fruit juice always makes me sick if I drink it when I am low. The hard candies are useful to carry in my pocket. I can pop one in my mouth every 10 or 15 minutes while I'm out feeding my horses or mucking stalls (that is, if I can keep my horses away from them!). I find that even with the enlite cgm, I experience lows. In fact, all the alarms I get seem to cause more stress and more lows than when I am not wearing the sensor. I've gained 15 pounds since starting the sensor and I attribut it to the additional lows and overcompensation trying to avoid alarms.

Yes, as another person said, we need to avoid the lows as much as possible, not just treat them. I agree, but in practicality, it is not a simple issue, even with a glucose sensor and testing sugar 6 - 8 times per day. I can say, though, that since I've been wearing an insulin pump (15+ years), I've only been taken to the E.R. once and have had someone call an ambulance once (but I was back to normal by the time they arrived.) Prior to that time, I had at least 2 ambulance rides per year to the E.R. and was hospitalized every few years. The diabetes continues to affect us differently - sometimes it is harder on our bodies, sometimes not so hard -- as we age, as our lifestyles change, as we become more/less rigid in our management, etc. etc. etc.

Thanks to all for sharing your experiences - it's good to learn from each other and take stock of where we're at with our diabetes management.

P.S. Although I don't have a service dog, I think they are great for alerting to hypoglycemia. One of my pets naturally did it for me, with no training. When she passed on, it was devastating to me, as I lived alone at the time. She saved many times over the years.

Yes, night time lows are NOT good but if I have one, I keep glucose tablets in the drawer of my bed side table. They dissolve quickly & than I can get up & have some other carbs.

I have been a Type 1 diabetic athlete for 51 years - marathons, cycling mountaineering camp; ice climbing. I am currently living alone away from home while working and do not have my wife , who can spot a hypo from 50 feet just by looking into my eyes. I think the Rule of 15 is stupid and dangerous. If your blood sugar drops, hit it hard - I use a handful of skittles , at least 40 gC - and fix it NOW. You can always correct a high BG a little later because you will be conscious. You can't correct a persistent low BG because you can so easily be unconscious!

All sharing is good, we all know what it is like. I am so aware a low can happen anytime anywhere, I live in fear of not having supplies, not really fear, just need to be situationally aware as hubby says. Even my endo doc says it is complicated and everyone is different.

last bad low I had wife called 911 an I got ride in ambulance to hospital. paramedics worked on me a while finally go sugar up from 30s. while in hospital I met a nurse who was diabetic an he helped me adjust my pump. that my diabetic friends was a plus. lows deffanantly no fun. gary

I have been a type 1 for almost 50 years. Have hypoglycemic unawareness. My husband has used a turkey baster to squirt small amounts of orange juice into my mouth when he finds me sweating during the night. Fortunately, my insulin pump has been a godsend for the past 5 years. No more basting needed.

I've had serious problems with low bg for a while now. The best thing I've found is liquid glucose shots (wal mart) work the best. I carry one or two with me always. Keep one next to my bed, in the car, work, & one really everywhere. No refrigeration needed. Works fast.

Does anyone use a diabetes dog. When my daughter was diagnosed we discovered the diabetes dogs that alert to highs and lows. Apparently children need to be at least 12 years old in order to be able to get a dog. I have heard that they are very effective. I would love to hear some first hand experiences with them. We are still considering a dog for her. She is 12 in Dec.

I have a history if low BS and while working one time mine fell to 17. Lucky I worked in the hospital. Anyway I had a seizure but was able to tell my boss who to call and gave right phone number and when got to ER could tell them which vein to put the IV in..I think good but might be jerking all over. What causes my brain to still be able to think correctly?

Does Medtronic have this information on their website here in ARABIC? If yes would you please send me the link?

Thanks!

My husband has been diabetic for 34 years and on an insulin pump for about 25 years. I've had to rescue him too many times to count, but the most frightening was when he had a very serious low after being in a hot tub. It was horrible. We were in the mountains at our cabin and 30 away from ems service. I saved his life that afternoon but I was traumatized. Please address this issue. I'd never read anything about it until after it had happened to us.

i have had Hypoglacemia since i was 17 now am 21. i have gone to different doctors and i still dont have answers about my condition or how to even control it. so i just take an episode as it comes. an episode starts of with twitching on my facial muscles then followed by palpitations, shaking, pale skin, headaches sometimes, blurry vision, seizures and loss of consciousness. i have troubles sleeping at night. most of the times am scared cause i dnt know if i will recover when having an episode. it takes me time to fully recover my concentration levels the following days. am at a university 6hours away from home so i would like to know how i can manage my condition.