I think I asked this question on another forum once… but since you guys are basically geniuses I’m going to try asking here…
Once in a while I’ll drop fast and go low while still eating a meal, seemingly due to too long of a pre-bolus, or more activity than usual after bolus/before eating.
How would you guys handle this?? I’m never sure if I should just trust that the meal I’m eating will “kick in” soon enough, or if I should add some faster carbs to the mix? Even if I add some fast carbs, is that even going to make a difference, or is the fat content in whatever else I’m eating just going to slow down the digestion of that too? (This usually occurs with a higher fat, slower digesting meal)
This happened today with my lunch, so I ate a few skittles before finishing the meal. Don’t know though if that was necessary??
(And yes, I do need to be less aggressive with pre-blousing certain meals to keep it from happening in the first place. I also need to stay out of Panera).
The geniuses will probably respond also but I’ll start with what we do.
We always trust the science. If this happens to Liam and he’s eaten we just wait it out… We know he has plenty of carbs so we just wait for then to kick in.
Having said that though if he stays low for a prolonged period we may end up giving him a fast carb to get his sugars moving in the right direction faster.
Also you have to have proper bolus strategies of course. Ie, make sure, for us at least, we extend bolus for slow carbs so he’s not getting to much insulin up front.
I drink 1/4 cup of juice (if dropping fast) and correct if needed afterward. I am really trying to avoid lows ‘cos I have had a couple of scary ones post-exercise.
This happens to me from time to time, usually when cooking takes longer than expected. I usually wait for the food to kick in, although if I start having serious symptoms I’ll eat some fast carb in the middle of the meal.
Bonus: I find a cocktail and a few crackers with the prebolus often prevents the rapid drop. Double bonus: if the timing is right, I hardly rise above normal after the meal.
We find that strong movements are difficult to stop, rather than gentle movements in his CGM trends. If my son has a strong (fast/steep) lowering in his CGM trace as we are sitting down for a meal, we may take a few fast carbs before the meal to arrest the movement, then eat the meal normally after the CGM has stopped dropping so fast. If he is going low and it is a gentle drop, then we wouldn’t do anything.
Also, if you are having a steep low coming into a meal, consider eating the carbs first.
These types of lows are about the only time I drop so rapidly and suddenly. Other times it’s gradual enough that I can head it off, but these pre-bolus whoopsies are about the only time I go from fine to 70s to 50s before I can even decide what to do about it, so it freaks me out.
I think the biggest thing i need to do is be smart about how far ahead I pre-bolus, and learning to use extended boluses for certain meals. I’ll work on that.
@Beacher you had me at cocktails, lol! Seriously though, I kinda like the idea of a couple crackers or something with the pre-bolus, particularly if it’s a meal where I’m not sure how far in advance to go. I may try that!
You all are so kind to take the time to answer my beginner-level questions. Maybe one day I’ll pop on here with something really insightful to add, but until then, thanks for your patience!
If this stuff was easy, we wouldn’t exist. Please don’t think you are talking about beginner stuff. There is always a wrinkle in how to make these tools work best for you.
If my BG is dropping too fast during the meal I’ll eat a couple glucose rather than let myself go way low while waiting for the meal’s carbs to kick in. For me it’s not quite as fast as glucose on an empty stomach, but it is much faster than waiting for a mixed meal to digest.
I’m going to try asking here…