# For hypos, do you think more carbs works faster than fewer carbs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Type 1 & LADA\ **Created:** [October 11, 2020, 10:49pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336 "2020-10-11T22:49:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eric](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/eric/32/9209_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Eric)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2020, 10:49pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/1 "2020-10-11T22:49:17Z")
Wanted to ask your opinion, based on your personal experience. Do you think taking _more_ carbs for a hypo works **faster** than _fewer_ carbs? And yes, I know you can spike if you take too much, and all of that. I am not asking what is the safest or best for reducing spikes or BG rollercoaster or TIR or any of that. I am simply interested in which you think is **fastest** - fewer or more? Suppose you really only need 20 grams for a hypo, but you are very low. Do you think 20 grams would work at the same speed as taking 50 grams?!? I think more works faster. Just like having more doors on a building let’s people get in and out of the building faster. I often take more carbs than I need, to make it faster. And then I also take insulin at the same time to prevent the spike later. (I think @Chris mentioned that Cody does this too). Do you think more is faster? ---
**Author:** ![ClaudnDaye](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/claudndaye/32/5_2.png) [@ClaudnDaye](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/ClaudnDaye)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/2 "2020-10-11T23:13:27Z")
When I’m worried about Liam’s bg level i always give more than needed so that he gets out of his hypo asap. Don’t want him lingering low. Yes he comes up faster. ---
**Author:** ![Sam](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/sam/32/10595_2.png) [@Sam](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 12:39am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/3 "2020-10-12T00:39:28Z")
I don’t think more is necessarily faster for me I try to take the amount I estimate needed to land at a good level. If I took more carbs and insulin at the same time Id end up running high for a long time waiting for insulin to kick in, unless I used afrezza, but for me it would just become an exercise of chasing my blood sugar up and down, so I generally just try to bump back up to desired levels ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_YYC](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/jim_yyc/32/9553_2.png) [@Jim\_YYC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Jim_YYC)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 1:26am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/4 "2020-10-12T01:26:23Z")
What Sam 👆🏼said 👆🏼 I also try to use glucose rather than sucrose or fructose. For Red Alert lows I prefer Maltodextrin as found in energy gels (36% faster uptake than glucose) ---
**Author:** ![daisymae](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/daisymae/32/1199_2.png) [@daisymae](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/daisymae)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/5 "2020-10-12T21:51:33Z")
What works fastest for me is Apple juice and more doesn’t seem to work any faster than the right amount of grams do; I take mine straight up, no frills. Glucose tablets take too long (a good 1/2 hour to 45 minutes before they succeed at their job. But YDMV) if its not a severe low and I want to bump my BG up a bit, I almost always go for dark chocolate; but this takes time and patience, so if you are uncomfortably low, I wouldn’t reach for it. ---
**Author:** ![Beacher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a6a055/32.png) [@Beacher](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Beacher)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/6 "2020-10-12T22:05:37Z")
More is faster only in the sense that I know I’m going to recover, so I skip having to wait to see if I’m still going low and need further treatment. But unless I’m on the verge of passing out, I prefer to skip the faster and just wait and see. Even if taking insulin with the “more,” I’d rather not deal with the roller-coaster. Certain treatments are faster, of course, but personally I don’t find it’s about quantity. ---
**Author:** ![T1Allison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c77e96/32.png) [@T1Allison](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/T1Allison)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 11:33pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/7 "2020-10-12T23:33:19Z")
I think More is Faster if I’m using a suboptimal food or drink to treat my low. One vanilla Greek yogurt (9 grams of carbs) can halt almost all of my bad drops. That’s not bc I’m some superstar diabetic with slow, easy drops…far from it. It’s bc I’m crazy carb sensitive and for whatever reason, yogurt burns up super fast in my system. Wayyyyy faster than apple juice or glucose tabs. If I treat with apple juice, and it’s dropping super fast, I’ll slam two boxes and that seems to work faster than just one box. But I have to deal with the high half an hour later blah blah blah. So that’s my unprovable analysis in my system. ---
**Author:** ![TiaG](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/tiag/32/594_2.png) [@TiaG](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/TiaG)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/8 "2020-10-13T00:23:49Z")
Nope. For us, taking more carbs just means a bigger spike after BG eventually rises. In general, Samson can only digest about 20 g of carbs an hour. If he eats a 65g carb meal, I’ll bolus 1 unit up front. That’s it. And then for the next 5 hours he’ll need boluses for every 10 grams as it slowly digests. ---
**Author:** ![docslotnick](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/docslotnick/32/75_2.png) [@docslotnick](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/docslotnick)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 12:37am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/9 "2020-10-13T00:37:11Z")
I find it depends more on what I eat instead of how much. Glazed is definitely faster than powdered. ---
**Author:** ![elver](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/elver/32/8772_2.png) [@elver](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/elver)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 5:05am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/10 "2020-10-13T05:05:38Z")
> [@docslotnick](#): > > Glazed is definitely faster than powdered. What @docslotnick said. ⬆. 🍩🍩🍩 Is more better than 🍩. 😜 What form of glucose matters as much as quantity for me. More glucose equals a faster longer bg rise that depending on how low I started at may be a tolerable solution. ---
**Author:** ![CatLady](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/catlady/32/36_2.png) [@CatLady](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/CatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/11 "2020-10-13T14:35:20Z")
When a hypo is related to exercise, I always need more carbs to get a timely response. But when I’m just nudging up a mild low-in-range, more carbs can cause a spike. ---
**Author:** ![CatLady](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/catlady/32/36_2.png) [@CatLady](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/CatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/12 "2020-10-13T14:37:30Z")
> [@daisymae](#): > > dark chocolate; How big a piece? I love 72% dark chocolate—a small square is often my dessert—but I see little, if any, increase in my blood sugar. ---
**Author:** ![daisymae](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/daisymae/32/1199_2.png) [@daisymae](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/daisymae)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/13 "2020-10-13T14:55:11Z")
I like LINDT 70% dark chocolate. I find, for me, that each square raises my blood sugar approximately 20 points. (its around 5gms), but it isn’t as immediate as glucose (probably bc of the fat). it takes about 1/2 hour-45 minutes before you will see the full rise. So it is not good for severe lows. But it IS delicious!!! 😋 ---
**Author:** ![Trying](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/trying/32/4078_2.png) [@Trying](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Trying)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/14 "2020-10-13T17:10:41Z")
I’m same as @CatLady. I usually take the amount I think I need for a low. I’m not sure I’ve noticed that eating more increases my BG faster. It would make sense, but I just don’t want to have a spike and taking insulin during a low is not appealing either, except for severe lows, then I’m not thinking about spikes! I do take plenty more carbs during a run when low though as well inject a small bolus for it. I continue running but I usually get back in range within 20-30 minutes. My bolus wouldn’t be kicking in 'til 40 minutes or so after taking it. ---
**Author:** ![Marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Marie](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Marie)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 6:11am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/15 "2020-10-15T06:11:22Z")
I try to take as little as possible if I think I have time. But I think more does work faster in that some foods are part faster absorb-able and part slower absorb able. So say pineapple, some of it is not going to absorb right away. So I might need more to get the faster full boost I need…and pay a price later for it. So it’s better if I have time. Whereas a vegan gummy bear is 2 carbs each and a pretty quick kick. So yes, I think more can be faster. ---
**Author:** ![Millz](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/millz/32/12204_2.png) [@Millz](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Millz)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 11:17pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/16 "2020-10-15T23:17:30Z")
The faster the drop leading to the low, the likely I am to try to compensate with a “more is faster” approach. Gee, wonder how much that is driven by how totally ravenous I am in those situations! 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![Jan](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/jan/32/7539_2.png) [@Jan](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Jan)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 11:23pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/17 "2020-10-16T23:23:10Z")
Anyone else find the old “15 g CHO, wait 15 min, then treat again” doesn’t work for them? First, 15 g CHO will usually take me too high, and second, nothing happens in 15 min. I have to be way more patient, which is hard to do. I never get out of a low in 15 min. ---
**Author:** ![Trying](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/trying/32/4078_2.png) [@Trying](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Trying)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 1:30pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/18 "2020-10-17T13:30:11Z")
> [@Jan](#): > > Anyone else find the old “15 g CHO, wait 15 min, then treat again” doesn’t work for them? Never works! 15g is way too much for me for a typical low and carbs do not get absorbed in 15 mins! ---
**Author:** ![dmac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7bcc69/32.png) [@dmac](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/dmac)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 3:18pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/19 "2020-10-17T15:18:03Z")
I take very little fast acting insulin before each meal. As a result for myself it takes very little carb to raise my BG level if it is too low. I try very hard to keep my A1C at a low level. I have been averaging between 5.1 and 5.4. I always have to take a household member when meeting with my endo to verify no hypoglycemic reactions. I also try to follow Dr. Richard Bernstein’s book on keeping a low A1C. My meal carbo however is higher than what he suggests. The CGM, xDrip and ‘standalone’ watch are very important elements for my control. ---
**Author:** ![Chris](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/chris/32/382_2.png) [@Chris](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Chris)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 3:56pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336/20 "2020-10-17T15:56:42Z")
My son often takes 5 carbs, if that doesn’t recover him easily, he takes 10 carbs and insulin. The fun never ends. [Next page](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/for-hypos-do-you-think-more-carbs-works-faster-than-fewer-carbs/10336.md?page=2)