How to treat a low
I am writing this at 2 AM on Friday morning since I am awake due to a low. Of course I went to bed high and I corrected, which made me low, and so here I sit. I want to go to pantry and rage eat. I mean I can and would right now consume 5,000 calories if I could and not gain weight or feel ill in the morning. Of course if I consumed what I want I would need to get in the car (not a good idea) and find a pancake place to let it rip. Instead I am having my two favorite foods, a tablespoon of peanut butter and half of a honey crisp apple.
I have no idea if the reader has ever had a combination like this but when it comes to 5,000 calories this combination might get me to 2,000 calories if I ate what I want right now. I love these honey crisp apples. They are a very sweet firm apple that just tastes wonderful. Toss in some Peter Pan peanut butter (yes Peter Pan is my peanut butter) and wow talk about a nice way to chase a low away.
Of course I use other ways now, apple juice is my usual go to low treatment. Recently I have started to use skittles, but neither are my preferred. I have grown to dislike apple juice, the very taste of it reminds me of cough medicine, and I do not yet fully trust skittles. Well to be honest I don’t trust myself around skittles. Did I mention the 5,000 calories?
In my younger days I would consume a jar of peanut butter to treat a low. I admit it was not a very effective treatment, but you might imagine me with my head inside the jar licking the sides to get every last pinch of peanut butter out. My issue with Peanut Butter was that once I got started, it was difficult to stop. You might notice a theme
There have been other ways to correct for a low. When first was diagnosed I found my lows were eased if I would popped open a package of M&M’s or Oreo cookies (usually dipped in peter pan peanut butter). Again that peanut butter theme shows up.
I also used to love cereal. Snarfing down a quick bowl of cereal really hit the spot. I liked Crispx or Corn Flakes, both were satisfactory treatments. However, both would shoot my blood sugar to the high 400’s the next morning. Did I mention the 5,000 calories?
After my weight ballooned to a size that was completely unacceptable, I decided to change my ways. I am now using small glasses of apple juice or half an apple or in some cases some skittles. I am using the post Halloween fun size package of skittles (in case you are wondering).
Cutting back has worked wonders. As I use less insulin and of course consume many less calories. Still when I go low i do want to consume the 5,000 calorie mother lode. We have a saying on TUDiabetes ‘never waste a good low’. Well I never wasted one and as such I found a tough lesson. But now as I sit with my apple and one tablespoon of peter pan I cannot help but wonder if the stock price of Peter Pan (Con Agra) has gone down since I changed my ways? Is the peanut butter maker in dire times since they no longer need to ship 15 cases of the tasty stuff a month to my neighborhood? I trust they are fine.
Surely another young diabetic is indulging his passion in my place. But in case Con Agra has cut back, and they are listening. I want them to know one thing. Thanks for the memories, and pass the glucose tabs I am getting over this without breaking the bank. I also suggest they invest in watermelon glucose tabs. I hear the stock price might be on the way up.
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Reprinted from November 14, 2014 from:
