I have found that Juice gets by BG up faster than using the glucose tabs.......
Has anyone else found that?
it seems that way because you drink the juice but, I think glucose tabs are quicker. Although I hate the tabs I drink glucoshots now, and they are super fast but more pricey.
My experience is that juice is faster, but the tabs are more portable. Even though I have tabs if I need them, I will look for juice or (gag) regular sodas first.
Ah, low blood sugar. Thank you... If it weren't for you I probably wouldn't be getting enough vitamin C (I always have orange juice when low).
They both work fast, but juice tastes better. :)
The issue that I have found with using juice, mainly OJ for me to bring up my sugar when low is that in my mind when I am low the more juice I drink the faster my sugar goes up, which is not really the case. While I know how many carbs are in a glass of OJ, roughly 30, I like to keep drinking past the cup limit, granted I find OJ from the container is so much better than trying for a glass.
With the glucose tabs, even if they are not as pleasing as a carton of OJ (Which I did drink a whole one once, I love OJ) you know if you have one tab it is 15 grams and only that. If you have two you have 30 grams, etc. This way you are better able to control what you need to raise your sugar and not have to worry about High's later.
For regular lows, I opt for glucose tabs, but if I'm having a big low (50s or lower) I drink juice because it's a much faster fix.
My newest discovery are the toddler-sized juice boxes that you can buy at any grocery store. For about $1.25, you can buy a pack of 4 - MUCH more affordable than the liquid glucose, with the same amount of carbs (15 g). They're pretty small and don't require refrigeration, making them easy to keep on hand. I buy Hansen's Junior Juices, but there are several different brands that offer these same sized little boxes.
I always forget about juice boxes and I am sure they are a good choice. Well if you go for the all natural things which I am certain the junior juices are. I will have to make sure I remember to find those the next time I am out at the store.
im a juice freak when it comes to lows. if i don't have that then i will have milk. i don't even have tabs. i should get those or those Glucose squirt thingies or as my friends at Diabetes camp would call them (cow snot). don't ask i have no clue.
i have tested it and i say definatly juice and more specifically juicy juice brand. which is sorta silly but it works!
I am a haiwian punch fan. I always have plenty of it here because i also have a 2 year old. I hate glucose tabs it's not so much the taste but the powder that comes off of them is horrible and if I am experiencing a bad low and I drop the tab on my shirt(i am very clumsy when i am low) that powder doesn't come off.
Glucose tabs always nauseate me, so juice all the way!
I personally prefer coke over juice. Not that I enjoy the taste of coke(ugh even diet makes me sick after 15years of drinking it..) but it's the fastest and I can have half a glass or a full glass, depending on how low i am, of it as oppose to many glasses of juice.
I WOULD RECCOMMEND JUICE OVER THE GLUCOSE TABS. THE JUICE WILL KEEP THE BLOOD SUGAR UP; WHEREAS, THE GLUCOSE TABS WILL ALLOW THE BS TO DROP BACK TO WHERE IT WAS BEFORE WITHIN A SHORTER PERIOD OF TIME.
Yes! If I'm below 60 or feeling extra-shaky I have a juice. It brings me up in about 15 minutes whereas the tabs take about half an hour.
Also if I have to have glucose tabs for some reason I drink water with them. I heard somewhere that if you drink water it helps get the sugar into your blood faster. I don't know if its true but...can't help right?
I drink the 4-oz. kiddie juice boxes with Big Bird on them :-)
I have a question:
Is there a reason why there are so few(or rather..none from what I've noticed) diabetics on here who still rely on coke to bring their levels up?
15minutes of waiting for your sugar to go up? within minutes of finishing half a can of coke, my level is at least a full unit or two higher. My lows are fixed, even if I'm as low as 2 (or 36 for the americans on here), within minutes..not 15minutes! If I'm only 3.5 or 4 (63 or 72) I'll pop a hard candy and I'll be fine. Or I'll drink a few sips of coke, followed by a cookie and be fine.
When we were learning about it, the diabetes team at the hospital told my mom the best and quickest way to get my level back to normal was to give me coke and to always keep some in the house. When my mom had to call the medics when I was home sick on the couch(I was about 15) and had gotten really low but it wasn't changing no matter how much sugar juice(the juice was more to just help the sugar go down..it was mostly sugar..I had trouble swallowing the coke because I felt sick on top of feeling sick from being low) I had and how many crackers I had for starch..they stayed until my levels were in range and kept telling my mom to give me glasses of coke instead of the juice followed by a glass of milk, along with the crackers.
When I go on trips, even to the next town which is only a 2hour drive..I always have at least two cans of coke in the cooler. When I am walking around town and I need some sugar, I never grab juice, always coke. I've tried juice and I end up drinking a whole container everytime because it takes soooo long for it to work.
I have been told that a sports drink such as Gatorade is even quicker to be absorbed than juice, although if you read the carb count carefully, you will see that you have to drink more of it, for it is diluted for quick absorption by the body. The same doctor suggested that if I prefer juice, that i dilute it by adding the same amount of water as juice to my drink -- this makes it get into the system quicker.
Coke works quickly because the caffeine provides an extra boost, causing a bit of an adrenalin dump which raises blood sugar. I personally don't care for he fizz when glucose is low, though. It can upset my stomach when my body is not functioning properly. And like some of the other folks, I prefer to drink something nutritious and get some vitamin C when low.
I think you are right and I would say OJ is my frist choice because it seems the fastest.
But glucotabs are kept in my purse, car, desk, etc because juice isn't always convenient and it's faster to eat a few tabs than go buy a juice if I'm out and about.
I'm definitely one of those "juice" people. I have had such great success with the little cans of Dole pineapple juice that don't need refrigeration and can be purchased in a 6-pack. I keep them all over the place...since they don't need refrigeration, they are always ready!!!
[quote user="JDRF_SGG"]
Coke works quickly because the caffeine provides an extra boost, causing a bit of an adrenalin dump which raises blood sugar. I personally don't care for he fizz when glucose is low, though. It can upset my stomach when my body is not functioning properly. And like some of the other folks, I prefer to drink something nutritious and get some vitamin C when low.
[/quote]
fair enough. i don't like the fizz whether i'm low or not, but i prefer to just suck it up and drink coke instead of feeling the grossness of being low for a longer period of time. the gross feeling i get from coke when low feels a lot better than the feeling of being low IMHO haha.
well to each their own i guess!
We have found that juice in the little squeeze bags brings up quickly, pepsi works good also , skittles is very fast also but you have to chew those and trying to get her to chew something at 1:00am is not always the easiest. As for the tablets I think they work good but she just didn't prefer them.