sugar baby

[ray hampton]

I got a question for the men on the forum that are diabetic that are fighting low blood sugar, WHEN you had a blood sugar attack , how would you describe the way that you feel ? is stupid or confuse a good choice of words

[Bob Vavricka]

Ray, I have had periods of low blood sugar when adjusting to medication. I am type 2 diabetic and currently on oral medications. I can tell when my blood sugar is getting low, I usually have a feeling of weakness followed with my hands shaking. Once it reaches that stage, it takes me a hour or two to get to feeling better after I eat/drink something. I recently read an article about people who are not able to tell that a low was coming on. I believe they referred to it as being low blood sugar unaware?. The article indicated that it was more dangerous for these individuals since they were not able to tell a low was happening to start an intervention.

[ray hampton]

Ray, I have had periods of low blood sugar when adjusting to medication. I am type 2 diabetic and currently on oral medications. I can tell when my blood sugar is getting low, I usually have a feeling of weakness followed with my hands shaking. Once it reaches that stage, it takes me a hour or two to get to feeling better after I eat/drink something. I recently read an article about people who are not able to tell that a low was coming on. I believe they referred to it as being low blood sugar unaware?. The article indicated that it was more dangerous for these individuals since they were not able to tell a low was happening to start an intervention.

low blood sugar hits me quick, I will be feeling good one second but unable to open a container the next second then will be feeling okay soon after I eat or drink within 10 minutes, all of this because of type 2 diabetes and to think that I went thirty years before the doctors figure it out

[Rick Potter]

Bob,

If you put a little sugar or honey UNDER your tongue, your body will absorb it more quickly. If you are overweight use sweet and low... (No, no, just kidding. Old fireman joke).

Rick Potter

PS: My aunt used to keep hard candies in her car, just in case.

[Rich Engelhardt]

PS: My aunt used to keep hard candies in her car, just in case.

As did my mom and my late father in law.

is stupid or confuse a good choice of words

I would say from the way both my mom and my late father in law acted when their sugar got out of whack, that's an accurate way to put it.
Poppy (my late father in law) would get into an almost drunken stupor and talk all crazy when his sugar acted up real bad.
& yeah - it would come on all of a sudden.

My mother in law would usually tell him to shut up and eat a piece of candy & that would snap him out of it.

[Belinda Barfield]

My SO is not diabetic, he's hypoglycemic. Hypoglycemia is a condition that occurs when your blood sugar (glucose) is too low. He sometimes cannot tell when his sugar bottoms out, but I usually can. He gets confused, can't carry on a conversation, stops talking mid sentence and just sort of drifts off. Sometimes he gets very short tempered as well. It takes him an hour or two to completely get back to "normal" when his sugar drops.

[David Weaver]

I had a GF when I was in college who was also hypoglycemic. She couldn't tell when it was coming on and when it did, she needed to eat or she'd pass out. She became extremely short tempered and the only thing you could do was drag her somewhere to get her to eat. The problem was that she would scream "let go of me!!" and be really contrary about everything (including going somewhere to get something to eat), which created some awkward situations in public.

Then 30 minutes after she ate, she was normal again.

She was hypoglycemic and her brother was diabetic (type I).

[Jim Rimmer]

Fortunately I don't have this condition nor does anyone in my family but I certainly have a great deal of empathy for those who do. I have read of many cases of people being arrested for DWI or drunk in public when they were actually suffering from the onset of this condition. Hopefully, with today's ease of access to information, the police will be a little better informed.

[David G Baker]

I am a type 2 diabetic and crash frequently with many of the above described symptoms. I have found that in most case my crashing is my own fault because occasionally I don't eat every three hours like I should. I crashed today just after getting home from my physical therapy appointment and it was because I burned a bunch of calories doing all of the exercising and not eating for 4 and 1/2 hours. The crashes frequently sneak up on me even during the night while I am sleeping. I keep a couple of small 3 Musketeer candy bars on the counter in the kitchen and then drink a bottle of K-Shake protein drink or a Carnation Instant Breakfast mixed with a glass of milk. Small pieces of candy do not work on me nor does a glass of orange juice. Glucose tablets help but not enough but they will hold me until I can find some real food. It takes around 20 minutes for the symptoms to go away. At times they are very scary. If my sugar goes high I spend 10 minutes on my treadmill and that usually brings it back down to a safe level. I am on an oral medication as well as Victoza, an injection type drug. I do not envy anyone that has diabetes but if you have it controlling and monitoring it is critical. I know people that didn't and they are in horrible shape.

[Bill Cunningham]

My wife is type 2, and she can pretty well tell when her sugar is getting low. We will be out grocery shopping, and she will tell me to get her a fruit juice or something similar. She finds pure apple juice in those little tetra packs work well, as well as lifesavers. once she has something her symptoms (light headed/weak) clear up shortly. Her Dr. took her off oral meds, and now she takes a shot before meals, and a long acting one at night. Since being on the needle for not quite a year now, her sugar and her meals have been better controlled, and she's also dropped about 40 pounds..

[ray hampton]

My wife is type 2, and she can pretty well tell when her sugar is getting low. We will be out grocery shopping, and she will tell me to get her a fruit juice or something similar. She finds pure apple juice in those little tetra packs work well, as well as lifesavers. once she has something her symptoms (light headed/weak) clear up shortly. Her Dr. took her off oral meds, and now she takes a shot before meals, and a long acting one at night. Since being on the needle for not quite a year now, her sugar and her meals have been better controlled, and she's also dropped about 40 pounds..

I hope that the 40 lbs did not made your wife under weight, I still wonder how that this disease can affect people so many different ways

[Chris Damm]

As a type 2 patient on insulin I find I get woozy when my BS gets below 70. I usually keep some OJ or small Hersey bars handy. I have been loosing weight at a steady pace (on purpose) and have to watch not eating enough. I have lost 30# and my AC1 is down to 6.5 from a high of 10. My insulin use is down drastically. My doctor is hopeful that I can reduce it even more but she doesn't think I will ever be free of it because I have been on for about 15 years.

[David G Baker]

Chris D.
I am losing weight on purpose too. I lost 20 pounds since January 2011. I write down everything that I eat or drink that contains calories or carbs and record my BS and blood pressure readings twice a day. I have cut some of my oral meds since losing the weight and think that I need to cut it a little more because it may be causing my crashes. My A1C was 5.5 the last time I had my blood test in January. I don't recall what my high A1C was at its peak. I belong to TOPS (take off pounds sensibly) and my goal is to loose around 20 more pounds so I know that I have to keep close track of my BS as I loose the pounds.

[Chris Damm]

I haven't cut any of my oral meds yet but have cut my meal time insulin by 2/3s. My wife goes to WW and I am following along. My doctor said last week that WW seems to be the best for losing weight. Writing everything down does seem to be the key.

[Dave Anderson NH]

My wife Sue is type II and also has cardiac issues and has been stented twice. After the last hospitalization and stenting 5 1/2 years ago she got really serious about weight loss and working out. She dropped 65 pounds and has only gained back about 10 pounds in 5 years. She went from a total of 12 glyburide (sp?) and some other pills daily to 100% diet control. She is now fanatic about controlling her weight and making sure she gets enough exercise. There are still some times though that her blood sugar drops too low and she gets cranky and a bit loopy.