Here’s How 27 People with Type 2 Diabetes Manage Low Blood Sugars
When you’re living with diabetes, experiencing hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is a very real possibility.
Low blood sugars are one of the greatest challenges for people with any type of diabetes who take insulin or other diabetes medications that increase their natural insulin production. While a person without diabetes can experience mild low blood sugar levels, people with diabetes taking insulin or other medications can experience mild-to-severe levels of low blood sugar that can lead to seizures, coma, or death.
While treating a low with a glass of juice or a few pieces of candy may sound simple, preventing and enduring low blood sugars can require constant effort, because just a little too much insulin or increased physical activity can lead to a low. People with diabetes are encouraged to maintain blood sugar levels over 80 mg/dL whenever possible. While the consequences of high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia) pose long-term threats to your health, the consequences of low blood sugar are more immediate, scary and urgent.
Even at the mildest levels, low blood sugars can be a stressful and frightening part of living with diabetes. Fortunately, treatment options for emergencies such as the Gvoke Hypopen, are available to prevent serious health events from hypoglycemia.
We Asked, You Shared: How Do You Manage Low Blood Sugars?
We asked the BT2 community: “When your blood sugar is low, what do you do? We received 27 responses and we thought they would be helpful to share here.
*Looking for more information regarding hypoglycemia? Check out our guides to Hypoglycemia & How To Treat It, Nocturnal Hypoglycemia and Hypoglycemia Awareness with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
- I eat and rest. My blood sugar is usually low when I haven’t eaten in a while.
- Drink water and eat glucose tablets immediately. I got down to 64 last week, and it took a while to get back to a good number.
- Eat a candy bar.
- Always have candies in your pocket.
- I say to all my clients two hypos in a fortnight is worth a review even if it is 10 minutes on the phone.
- I eat a piece of candy at night.
- Glucose tabs tend to pick me up pretty quickly and are travel-friendly, I keep a tube in my purse. And/or juice. Best options for me that don’t cause me to fall again later like candy or actual sugary things.
- Eat something with sugar but without protein until I stabilize.
- I drink a glass of coke zero and eat a lot of carb food, rice coz I’m terribly hungry until I stabilize.
- Apple juice, peppermint candy, or fruit
- Take a glucose shot or a couple of glucose tabs.
- A piece of chocolate
- Eat a piece of date fruit, which is about 23 grams of carbs for me.
- Eat 15 grams of carbs, wait 15 minutes and test my blood glucose to see if it’s back to normal.
- Either glucose tabs or a pack of gummies, or I’ll drink soda
- Lemon juice, cream biscuits, ice cream
- I like to drink a can of Coke.
- Eat some candies or drink juice.
- Haribos Gummy Bears
- Eat whatever juice, candy, or bread I can find fast.
- Grab whatever I have on hand which is typically glucose gummies, smarties, or juice.
- Have a drink of apple juice.
- I always keep juice on hand.
- Honey packets
- Drink a small amount of Coke.
- Eat chocolate granola.
- Grab a few Gummi bears or a can of Coke.
What do you do when your blood sugar is low? Is it similar to these responses? Remember, treating low blood sugar is different for everyone, and we recommend doing what is best for your situation specifically, as well as getting support from your healthcare team.
Want to share your story with us? Reach out to hello@beyondtype2.org and inspire others in the BT2 community.
Educational content related to medications for type 2 diabetes is made possible with support from Xeris Pharmaceuticals (makers of Gvoke). Beyond Type 2 maintains full editorial control of all content published on our platforms.
