[beefy]

OK, so I am now on some medication (not for diabetes) that has a side-effect of possibly lowering blood sugar... but it's a 'rare' side effect so I hadn't been too worried about it, especially since I constantly liver-dump keeping my sugars much higher than I want...

However, over the past week, maybe 10 days now, I've been thinking I can avoid liver dumps and get better glucose control by reducing my glycogen stores, so I've been REALLY limiting my carbohydrate intake, now under 90g daily and normally 30g-60g daily.

Today I was shopping with my wife - it had been about 5 hours since a ZERO carb breakfast (we were really busy and I didn't have lunch yet - were almost done shopping) ... There was an event at Safeway (Grocery store here) that gets me 250 Air Miles for spending $100 ... so I was doing a mental 'tally' as we went to ensure I spent $100 but not much more... (I'm poor, can't fall into the merchandising traps, LOL.)

I noticed I was a little dizzy and unsteady - I thought it was perhaps due to some blood pressure medication they put me on... so didn't think about my blood sugar... I just held onto the cart. Took my blood pressure over at the Pharmacy section - it was 121/84 - yay, amazing number for me... I used to be mid to high 150's over low 100's at best, so I think it MUST be the lower blood pressure, and I just need to get used to it...

Then I started getting confused -- I couldn't actually keep track of the mental tally of amount being spent. I had to keep trying to re-count it in my head... That's NOT like me, I have no problems with numbers/math, etc. EVER. Then, I couldn't even add, or remember the prices of the items. Then I couldn't remember where items on my list were found... Finally my wife and I figured it might be blood-sugar related.

Stupid me - no testing kit with me. I decide I'll go across the parking lot to Mr. Sub and get a coke and a cookie - the wife thinks this is a good idea. I think I probably looked drunk walking there, between my back problems and how I was feeling physically, I think I barely made it.

I get there and can't remember what I want . I ask for a small turkey sub on wheat bread. Brilliant. Something with as little sugar as possible, LOL...

????? How's that for confused ?????

Then I remember, "NO - get sugar". So I remember 'cookie' and I go over near their cookies, and they have BAGS of 12 on the counter, so for some unknown reason instead of buying one or two cookies, I grab a bag of a dozen.

Then I say "I'm eating one NOW, hope that's OK..." while they make my sub. I eat two.

I also order a Diet Coke - habit, I guess - plus not being "all there" enough to realize a DIET coke won't really help low blood sugar...

I pay for it all and head out the door back to the car - starting to feel a little better barely 2 minutes after eating the cookies (47g of carb in the two I ate, 29g of it sugar) ... Oh, I'm guessing on the 2 minute figure - I wasn't paying attention close enough, but it was remarkably quick, considering how I'd been feeling. At the car I gobble back the sub in about 2 more minutes, thinking this bun is HUGE (yeah, 36g of carb in the 'small' bun...).

By the time my wife gets through the checkout and to the car I'm feeling much better.

I decide I'll wait 45 minutes from when I ate the cookies and test - my highest spikes after sugary or bready (I guess 'bready' isn't a word) foods is 45 minutes. I test at a whopping 8.5 (153) which isn't overly high for something like that.

I looked up their nutritional info: the meal I ate was 90g of carbohydrate and 37g of it was sugar. WOW. I don't eat that much carb in a DAY most days, let alone at one sitting. And I NEVER, EVER consume that much sugar (Maybe 5-6g tops). And knowing that nutritional info is allowed to vary by up to 20%, it's likely more carbs and more sugar than what's posted...

Based on my own experiences over the past 10 months with diabetes I know that a meal like that would raise me a MINIMUM of 5-6 points (90-110 points on the US scale), say from a 5.0 (90) to about 11 (close to a 200 on the US scale)... so topping out at an 8.5 (153) means I was anywhere from 2.5 to 3.5 (45 to 63) - at the most - at the time my symptoms kicked in.

So, I guess the life-lesson here is to start carrying my testing kit... And to eat regularly even if busy... AND to pay attention to symptoms...

I gotta admit it scared the crap outta both me and the wife. She wouldn't let me drive home from Safeway, in fact...

 

[foxl]

Glad she would not. Lows can be followed by lows -- even after a carb load like that. YOW.

Wonder how low you were, indeed?

I sometimes forget my meter -- not good. I have taught my husband to say only, "Check your blood sugar." His boss was a T1D and would hypo at work ...

 

[d33na]

*nods* it's the panic that scares me...let us know if the sugar hit caused any sugar cravings.

Sorry you had to go through that but you know you won't get caught again...

 

[canadiandude]

Great yet scary story, Beefy! I very rarely ever carry my nitros with my and never carry a BG testing kit or a fast acting carb when I'm out. I do have a kit on my bike for when I'm on a ride but not when i do routine things. I really do need to sharpen up in that regard and your story shows why it's important. Glad you're ok!

 

[beefy]

Yeah, I better ensure I carry one while riding too... can't imagine how badly THAT could turn out... get hypoglycemic on a country highway 50km from home... erg...

 

[canadiandude]

Exactly my thinking! I tend to think I'm invincible despite a heart attack and diabetes dx. I don't take my nitros because I've never had to use them since my attack. I don't take a testing kit or fast acting carb with me because I have never had a hypo. It's that kind of thinking that will eventually prove that I'm not invincible.

 

[beefy]

Exactly my thinking! I tend to think I'm invincible despite a heart attack and diabetes dx. I don't take my nitros because I've never had to use them since my attack. I don't take a testing kit or fast acting carb with me because I have never had a hypo. It's that kind of thinking that will eventually prove that I'm not invincible.

I've been at least smart enough to take food with me on my rides. I have trail mix and protein bars that give me a little glucose with protein and fat to keep me fueled on longer rides - so it's doubtful I'd get hit while riding, but you never know...

 

[Shanny]

She wouldn't let me drive home from Safeway, in fact...

That's one smart lady! I'd already begun thinking of the possibility of you driving . . .

I very rarely ever carry my nitros with my and never carry a BG testing kit or a fast acting carb when I'm out.

And YOU! Yes - sharpen up! You can get tiny little fobs that go on your keyring - just big enough for a few nitro.

 

[MsTCB]

So sorry for your scary Hypo event. THIS is exactly why I took issue with someone on this board who said that "true" Type 2 Diabetics rarely have "hypo" events like this.

I had two last week and other one today. I was visiting my daughter at her college for the day. I had actually eaten a fairly high-carb lunch, which is why this even caught me by surprise. We visited a local Art museum after lunch and while I was walking through the exhibits, my leg muscles just kept getting weaker and weaker - the point that I thought they might buckle out from underneath me. My arms and legs started to feel like "jelly" as I finally located a bench to sit down. Luckily I had my test kit with me. I measured at BG 57.

Also, luckily, I had packed a glucose tablets and popped a couple of those babies and about 20 min. later I was up to 63 and after another 20 min. I was 85. WHEW!!

The only thing I can think of is that it MUST have been all the extra walking. I lead a very sedentary existence and my body isn't used to the activity. My muscles apparently gobbled up all the insulin and glucose from lunch and then took a nose dive.

What I find interesting is that it takes a relatively long time for BG's to go UP, but they can go DOWN so super, duper FAST!!

 

[d33na]

I now always carry glucose tablets...and supplied the old ladies across the road who had never heard of them...one used to get hospitalised twice a week with hypos...I found it difficult to believe no-one had told her

1. to keep glucose tablets on her
2. look at the insulin regime

Scary really

 

[jwags]

There is always something about the supermarket that promotes lows. I often get that feeling when shopping. Usually I am by myself. I now make sure I eat something immediately before going shopping just to play safe. Since I often get liver dumps and subsequent bg crashes I try not to go more than 3 hours without food. I think it is much better to prevent the lows than to treat them after they happen. Theat becomes Russsian Roulette sometimes. I guess the good thing about being a woman is that I always carry a purse with a meter, nuts, several types of energy bars that are invaluable in these situations. Several times I have left my cart in the store filled with groceries to go to my car and test and find out that my bg is normal. So either I got a Liver dump as my bg was crashing or it was a False Low. This is why testing is important.

 

[thisstinks]

OK, so I am now on some medication (not for diabetes) that has a side-effect of possibly lowering blood sugar... but it's a 'rare' side effect so I hadn't been too worried about it, especially since I constantly liver-dump keeping my sugars much higher than I want...

However, over the past week, maybe 10 days now, I've been thinking I can avoid liver dumps and get better glucose control by reducing my glycogen stores, so I've been REALLY limiting my carbohydrate intake, now under 90g daily and normally 30g-60g daily.

Today I was shopping with my wife - it had been about 5 hours since a ZERO carb breakfast (we were really busy and I didn't have lunch yet - were almost done shopping) ... There was an event at Safeway (Grocery store here) that gets me 250 Air Miles for spending $100 ... so I was doing a mental 'tally' as we went to ensure I spent $100 but not much more... (I'm poor, can't fall into the merchandising traps, LOL.)

I noticed I was a little dizzy and unsteady - I thought it was perhaps due to some blood pressure medication they put me on... so didn't think about my blood sugar... I just held onto the cart. Took my blood pressure over at the Pharmacy section - it was 121/84 - yay, amazing number for me... I used to be mid to high 150's over low 100's at best, so I think it MUST be the lower blood pressure, and I just need to get used to it...

Then I started getting confused -- I couldn't actually keep track of the mental tally of amount being spent. I had to keep trying to re-count it in my head... That's NOT like me, I have no problems with numbers/math, etc. EVER. Then, I couldn't even add, or remember the prices of the items. Then I couldn't remember where items on my list were found... Finally my wife and I figured it might be blood-sugar related.

Stupid me - no testing kit with me. I decide I'll go across the parking lot to Mr. Sub and get a coke and a cookie - the wife thinks this is a good idea. I think I probably looked drunk walking there, between my back problems and how I was feeling physically, I think I barely made it.

I get there and can't remember what I want . I ask for a small turkey sub on wheat bread. Brilliant. Something with as little sugar as possible, LOL...

????? How's that for confused ?????

Then I remember, "NO - get sugar". So I remember 'cookie' and I go over near their cookies, and they have BAGS of 12 on the counter, so for some unknown reason instead of buying one or two cookies, I grab a bag of a dozen.

Then I say "I'm eating one NOW, hope that's OK..." while they make my sub. I eat two.

I also order a Diet Coke - habit, I guess - plus not being "all there" enough to realize a DIET coke won't really help low blood sugar...

I pay for it all and head out the door back to the car - starting to feel a little better barely 2 minutes after eating the cookies (47g of carb in the two I ate, 29g of it sugar) ... Oh, I'm guessing on the 2 minute figure - I wasn't paying attention close enough, but it was remarkably quick, considering how I'd been feeling. At the car I gobble back the sub in about 2 more minutes, thinking this bun is HUGE (yeah, 36g of carb in the 'small' bun...).

By the time my wife gets through the checkout and to the car I'm feeling much better.

I decide I'll wait 45 minutes from when I ate the cookies and test - my highest spikes after sugary or bready (I guess 'bready' isn't a word) foods is 45 minutes. I test at a whopping 8.5 (153) which isn't overly high for something like that.

I looked up their nutritional info: the meal I ate was 90g of carbohydrate and 37g of it was sugar. WOW. I don't eat that much carb in a DAY most days, let alone at one sitting. And I NEVER, EVER consume that much sugar (Maybe 5-6g tops). And knowing that nutritional info is allowed to vary by up to 20%, it's likely more carbs and more sugar than what's posted...

Based on my own experiences over the past 10 months with diabetes I know that a meal like that would raise me a MINIMUM of 5-6 points (90-110 points on the US scale), say from a 5.0 (90) to about 11 (close to a 200 on the US scale)... so topping out at an 8.5 (153) means I was anywhere from 2.5 to 3.5 (45 to 63) - at the most - at the time my symptoms kicked in.

So, I guess the life-lesson here is to start carrying my testing kit... And to eat regularly even if busy... AND to pay attention to symptoms...

I gotta admit it scared the crap outta both me and the wife. She wouldn't let me drive home from Safeway, in fact...

Glad everything turned out good for you! I have just now stuck some snacks in my purse. With two little ones, we can get stuck somewhere without food for hours.

 

[MsTCB]

I now always carry glucose tablets...and supplied the old ladies across the road who had never heard of them...one used to get hospitalised twice a week with hypos...I found it difficult to believe no-one had told her

1. to keep glucose tablets on her
2. look at the insulin regime

Scary really

I know what you mean - I can't believe that Endo Doc didn't tell me about these glucose tablets. It was a physician friend who told me about them several years ago - back when I was getting Hypo just from diet alone. I wasn't on insulin or oral meds back then, but was having trouble even walking around Walmart or the grocery store without going too low.

It is so strange that Endo's don't tell patients about these.

 

[d33na]

I learned about them through here

 

[Emily]

theres also a glucose drink that you can buy.i carry tablets and the drink with me

 

[Cin]

I always make sure I carry a meter and glucose tabs now. The one time I didn't have either, I ended up passing out in my car at a gas station with a bg of 17, according to the paramedics that were called. I've gone low at the store before, gotten a cookie or doughnut from the bakery and eaten it while shopping. I just tell the cashier. I shop in this place all the time and they know what's up when that happens.

 

[naynay]

Recently had a hypo happen when I was driving home from work. Luckily I was only 5 minutes from home, but those 5 minutes felt like hours. By the time I got home and in the garage, I was swaying as I walked into the house. I had nothing with me when this occurred. I took my bg when I got in the house, while stuffing some fun size candy bars in my mouth, and it was at 55. I did not even think to check my bg before leaving work. If I had gotten stuck in a traffic jam I would have been in serious trouble because I had nothing. I immediately went out and bought a couple tubes of glucose tablets, and a bottle of glucose gel. I keep a tube of tablets in my car, one in my purse, and the gel at work. I informed my boss about what had happened and told him if it ever occurs at work he will know what to do (it helps that he is a doctor; not medical but a psychologist so he still has that medical part to his Ph.D.). I always carry my mini One Touch in my purse, but sometimes I forget to replenish the strips bottle when it is low :boink: So, now I carry an extra bottle of strips in my purse as well. Always need to be prepared; kind of like a boy scout, or eagle scout, or whomever uses that quote!

 

[beefy]

...I keep a tube of tablets in my car, one in my purse, and the gel at work...

...I always carry my mini One Touch in my purse, but sometimes I forget to replenish the strips bottle when it is low :boink: So, now I carry an extra bottle of strips in my purse as well. Always need to be prepared; kind of like a boy scout, or eagle scout, or whomever uses that quote!

Sometimes I envy you women and your purses...

I've picked up some glucose now and put it in my cars. I'll try to figure out an easy way to carry my kit - since it's colder now and I'm wearing a coat often, I can tuck it in there... In warmer weather I'll have to figure it out.

I refuse to adopt a 'hipster' look and carry a [email protected] (can't say "[email protected]" with the 'a' apparently) pack. That is SO not going to happen...

 

[Shanny]

I did not realize "fănny" was censored . . . how funny! Maybe it means something else in another language - y'think?

 

[d33na]

it certainly does here lol