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Posted 10/16/2008 7:03 PM (GMT 0)
I am having some trouble with low blood sugar. So, if I drink OJ to bring it up, how long does it last? Do I need to eat even with the OJ before bed to keep BG up? Will I drop too fast during the night with just the OJ? Thanks:)
Posted 10/16/2008 9:41 PM (GMT 0)
Hi ceebee, I think the juice would create a spike and then a crash.  I don't think your blood sugar would stay up for very long if you had the juice alone.  It seems to me you'd have to eat something to help the juice sustain the elevated level.  Maybe someone else can chime in here and give you better advice.  I'm also wondering if you need to talk to your doctor and have your meds re-evaluated?  What's causing the low blood sugar? 

Posted 10/17/2008 12:14 AM (GMT 0)
ceebee,
Most of this depends upon which meds you are on. If this is a problem that is happening more than one or two times a week you need to get into the doctor to get your meds adjusted. This happened to me a lot with Actos... Falling down a well, sky going dark kind of low blood sugar! Doc and I agreed to discontinue that med.

If you don't have a food journal, start one so you and doc can determine what's the problem. And at bedtime I'd recommend peanut butter along with bread or crackers to keep your sugar level most of the night.
Posted 10/17/2008 1:58 AM (GMT 0)
Instead of using OJ, why don't you try the Glucose Tablets or Gel? I've always had good luck with them and I never had trouble with a low after.
Posted 10/18/2008 5:02 PM (GMT 0)
Short answer is yes the juice will give you a quick recovery on the low bs.But it will not last long. You need to eat something if it is going to be a while before your next meal. there are a few different energy bars out there for diabetics and they can be a choice if you cant fix a meal or it is going to be a while till you eat.
Posted 10/19/2008 4:51 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for all the help. Another question....when low is it normal to shake, be cold and have trouble breathing? This is happening to me several times a day. Doctors here are not much help. I am on Metformin 1000 twice a day and 28 units of Lantus at night. about a half hour or so after I take the Lantus, my blood sugar drops fast. My question is how much can I drop the meds at a time to see what happens? I know nobody here is a doctor but any personal experiences would be appreciated. I follow the nothing white except cauliflower diet. I credit the help I get here to getting my high blood sugars under control. If I listen to the doctors here, I'd most likely be in bad shape or dead by now. Luckily the Diabetic Nurse I see every 6 months agrees to my diet. My A1c has gone from 15.8 to 5.1 with the help I get here. Thanks:)
Posted 10/19/2008 6:15 AM (GMT 0)
OMGosh, Ceebee! Low blood sugar is very uncommon with Lantus but you are taking a more hefty dose than I did. When I was experiencing low blood sugars, I started cutting back on the Lantus and that's when I knew I could stop using it. My sugars didn't go nuts at all but that doesn't mean yours wont. You might try lowering your night time dose and then recording the morning sugars as well as before meal sugars all day. Keeping a tight record will help you see what's going on as you adapt your Lantus to your new eating pattern.

BTW, most doctors don't believe you when you say you are eating better so you may end up regulating your own meds anyway. Check and see if you can talk to the diabetic nurse more than every 6 months and let her know that you are lowering your Lantus. If it were me, I'd cut it by half right away and then check sugars for a few days. Then I"d raise or lower one or two units at a time till I got a happy medium between good numbers and low sugar episodes. Good luck on this and keep us posted!
Posted 10/19/2008 1:08 PM (GMT 0)
Well, that's disconcerting that the doctor isn't the help he should be.  Absolutely, you shouldn't be having those lows and it's probably the time to lower one of the drugs.  I'm glad Jeannie has the experience to advise you.  And of course keep a log of your blood sugar readings.

Posted 10/19/2008 3:15 PM (GMT 0)
Hi ceebee,
When you go "low", what is your reading? (Sometimes when the body is used to higher than normal levels it can seem like a low just to be in range). I would not suspect the Lantus as causing your evening lows. Lantus is a long-acting insulin that takes a few hours to even ramp up so, unless you are maybe injecting into muscle, a half hour after taking it should not see you crashing. I might look to your 2nd daily dose of metformin along with the timing of your dinner meal and what you normally eat at it, as the possible area of improvement.
The rule of thumb for a "low" is to eat/drink 15-20 grams of fast-acting carbs (juice, Glucose tabs, candy, etc. NOT ANYTHING WITH FAT & PROTEIN), then test again in 15-20 minutes. If not in range - eat 15-20 grams more sugar. Test again. Repeat until you are in acceptable range. THEN... if you are not expecting to have a meal within 90 minutes - eat a snack with fat & protein to carry you over till your next meal. It's important that you bring up a low quickly with simple carbs (think: straight sugar), as protein & fat (think: chocolate) take too long to bring you up quickly. The fat & protein snack or meal you have next will keep you from going low again; it sustains you till your next food intake.
If you are actually going low in the evening... bring it up with the OJ if you like but you should eat a snack before bed to keep you going till breakfast. Test around 3:00am to see what your sugars are like (and to make sure you aren't going low throughout the night). If you are and if you continue to regularly go low in the evening, then call your doc and get those meds adjusted. You shouldn't have to "feed the medications" to maintain control. Doing that is usually an indication that the meds are too high or timed improperly. Maybe taking your Lantus in the morning might work better? At least the routine of your lows might be adjusted to daylight hours as opposed to evenings & bedtimes. Again, something to discuss with your doc.
And of course, log everything :-)
Posted 10/20/2008 12:08 AM (GMT 0)
Just to add... When were you given the prescription for the meds you're on? Was it when you were diagnosed as diabetic and showed an A1C of 15.8? Or was the dose adjusted when your last A1C came back at 5.1? The reason I ask is because I'm thinking that if your meds weren't adjusted then maybe your doctor has not taken into consideration the low-carb diet plan you are on. Is it possible that your meds do not match your new lifestyle? With the lows you say you're having, I might suspect that the meds are too high if you're still taking the same dose as always.
Posted 10/20/2008 6:54 PM (GMT 0)
Phishbowl said it much better than I did! Yeah, what she said!
Posted 10/22/2008 12:40 AM (GMT 0)
I have been checking and I think it is the Metformon I take at night(1000). I need it in the morning to help when I take the pred but maybe not at night. For the lows I get 45 to 65. Now, the 65 just starts to make me feel bad but the 45 really is a problem and I need something right away. A couple of nights I have had to stay up all night eating to stay at 80 because I know I drop 20 to 40 points overnight. Nobody ever changed my meds from the beginning and I do feel I am "feeding the meds" now. Thanks for the help:)
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