Hypoglycemia

@maconsulting2
I am a spouse of a diabetic 1.5. What we found is foods high glycemic will digest quicker and put glucose carboyhdrates in your systmem much faster that low glycemic.

So we try to add a protein at every meal and try to stay wiht low glycemic (spell) meals. So low glycemic meals will take longer to digest and therefore not release carbohydrates into your system.

This has worked pretty well. One thing we found recenlty by just watching what happens and keeping a food journal is when she ate white bread (she like a potato bread) we saw her glucose numbers high. When we stopped the bread there was immediate improvement.

One thing that surprised us was white potatoes. They are listed as high glycemic but she can eat without the same drastic upswing in her glucose numbers that bread brings. I think the potatoes (spell) have fiber in them which may delay it.

You can go on line and get a list of high and low glycemic foods which we have done. But we found keeping a food journal much more accurate for what your direct response to food will be as may be different for each person. You mentioned beef chilli. The beef would be high protein and thus slow metabolism of it. Beans are the same but not as much. If you have vegetables in the chilli it also would slow down the glucose metabolism.

I got a reply from on poster regarding my wife struggle with this and me trying to help as care giver that what we were describeing (spell) was the glucose roller coaster. Boy that hit the nail right on the head.
Good luck.

Thank you jc76. Your reply was very helpful. I also follow a diet called
Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type (can find at the library, Amazon or their app).
When on vacation I ate foods from their Avoid column and it was as though I
hadn’t eaten at all! Served me right - just once won’t hurt I thought. It
did!

Greetings @maconsulting2 and @jc76. (I’m jumping in here because the last discussion when I held off resulted in a terrible kerfuffle and got taken done all together. What a shame!)
The title of this discussion “Hypoglycemia” got me thinking (watch out). There is a disorder called Hypoglycemia which is (in layman’s terms) the opposite of Diabetes. Oddly enough, the diet to treat it is much the same as that of a diabetic. I’ve know several people diagnosed with Hypoglycemia.
More commonly hypoglycemia refers to a low blood sugar episode that a diabetic may experience from time to time (especially if they are being treated with insulin). These can be dangerous, even life threatening. Through 50ish years of diabetes I’ve been trained the best way to deal with this is to consume 15 grams of carbohydrate. A simple carb (not complex) works best. WAIT 15 minutes, test again and repeat as needed.
A good simple carb would be 1/2 - 1 cup of OJ. The liquid is quickly absorbed, no digestion needed. When I am out and about I have hard candies in my pockets, purse or glove compartment of the car. Did you know that LifeSavers were developed and named for this purpose? If the blood sugar is really low (less than 40) it doesn’t hurt to start with 30 grams.
Speaking of numbers, use a meter to do a finger stick. I say this because continual glucose monitors (CGM) are becoming more popular and are helpful tools (I use one too) but don’t actually test blood sugar. They test interstitial fluid. When blood sugar is low or high you need to know that information. Also a CGM is not accurate for blood sugar less than 40 or over 300 (according to the diabetes educators and the manufacturers of my CGM).
The 15 minutes waiting is the hardest thing to do but is important because in the panic of a hypoglycemic episode (low blood sugar that feels really bad and is a terrible experience) it is really easy to overcorrect such as eating and drinking everything you can get your hands on. Been there, done that! That will cause a spike in blood sugar and you’ve entered the blood sugar rollercoaster. You don’t want that!
Glycemic Index - I have ventured into learning about that BUT my diabetic dietician told me not to bother because it is too complicated. (Perhaps the lists you refer to are helpful.) I was taught to focus on the carb content of foods and also to pay attention to fiber. Fiber is a special kind of carbohydrate that gets metabolized differently. It takes more work to break it down, is less likely to cause a blood sugar spike and leads to a more full feeling over a longer period of time. Like beef chili referred to in the post above that might be the case especially if there’s beans in the chili because beans are high in fiber. Potatoes also have more fiber than white bread. If you like bread, you can find brands of bread that have higher fiber. Look for “whole grain” on the label. That is where the fiber is.
Protein - is important for building muscle. When you are older (like me) it is more important to maintain the muscle you have (exercise). Excess protein is hard on your kidneys (especially red meat). Diabetes & hypertension (high blood pressure) are the 2 most common reasons for kidney problems. I have Stage 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD). So I limit beef consumption. I stick to poultry, fish, some pork, eggs and some dairy (cheese & Greek yogurt). I grill or roast the meat and have pretty much eliminated salt.
Wow - I went off on a big post! Hopefully it is helpful to someone.

@cehunt57
Very helpful @cehunt57
I am going to forward your reply (since is also on my e-mail) to my wife to read.

I mentioned someone before mentioning the glucose rollercoaster. I see that was you.

My wife had 3 stomach surgeries and has gatriespecis (spell) and dumping. So has to watch high fiber foods and those that bother her stomach. What has happened to us is we have no idea when her stomach will move food on to lower intestine and get absorb. Knowing that we have discusses sticking with liquid when she gets low instead of eating.

One real real problem is she usually has lows in bed. I don't know but PCP agreed that laying down is not going to help with gravity moving food down as her stomach muscles just don't work like they should. She will try to eat her glucose level up but having digestion issues just to long to get in system. So like you mentioned trying to go with liquids to raise it. We tried orange jucie but she had issue with stomach pain when drinking orange juice. I think from fiber in it or acid level.

She just has a meeting with her endoctronologist who is fine tuning her auto insulin pump numbers.
Thanks for information

I found that pizza (frozen) or ordered raises my readings.. I think they add sugar to the sauce.

@jc76 I have a long history of gastroparesis also. It is an autonomic neuropathy complication of diabetes. There are mainly 2 types of neuropathies that diabetics can develop. One is peripheral which affects the extremities (think feet & hands). Sadly that is why many diabetics ended up with amputations. The other neuropathy is autonomic. This involves the nerves that control functioning of internal organs. For gastroparesis it is the nerves for the stomach. The nerves send messages to the muscles to make the organs work. My gastroparesis was diagnosed by a stomach emptying lab test. It means that there is slower or incomplete stomach emptying. From there I find out from a diabetes dietician that having smaller more frequent meals (more snack like) is helpful, like 6 mini meals instead of 3 squares. The other thing I learned is that high fiber is harder to digest and can present a serious challenge for gastroparesis. This is a shame because it is really helpful for blood sugar control! My doctor and dietician encouraged me to start small and to experiment with a variety of foods to find out works best for gastroparesis and blood sugar control. That is where a food record or diary is helpful. You and your wife already know how to do that so you are already making good progress!
One last thing. If you need to find a fruit juice that isn’t fibrous or acidic try grape juice or clear apple juice for treating hypoglycemic reactions. You can also get glucose tablets or gel that has a fixed amount of carbohydrate in it but I think it is more expensive than juice that you could potentially have on hand anyways. Some people will go with fully loaded (not diet) carbonated soda pop, but my family doesn’t keep around at all. Plus the carbonation presents a different gastrointestinal problem for a lot of people.
Hang in there. It sounds like you and your wife make a good team to support one another. (That is what a good friendship and/or marriage should be.)

@jeshaw6801 many sauces, salad dressings, gravies have extra sugar, salt, &/or fat added. Most processed foods does too. This is hard to deal with! BUT I love pizza. So I don’t deprive myself of it completely; that can be psychologically harmful and can cause all kinds of other problems. Instead I’ve learned to limit portion size and frequency of having pizza. It also helps to have friends & family to share it with when I do indulge!

@jc76 (it is me again, Cheryl). I just reread your post. That is impressive that your wife has an insulin pump. (I do too.) Does she also use a Continual Glucose Monitor (CGM). If so her endocrinologist &/or diabetes educator can help adjust the target ranges and settings so that she & you can receive alarms during the night if blood sugar drops too low. This is a godsend and helps make sleeping more peaceful without fear of undetected low blood sugars. You can also have a small bedtime snack consisting of a little carb and protein to ward off low blood sugar. My favorites are graham cracker & peanut butter, cheese & crackers, apple slices & peanut butter or cheese spread, a little frozen yogurt. Getting hungry now.

@cehunt57
Thanks for the information very very helpful.
I am going to forward your reply to my wife. I am set up to receive direct messages to my e-mail. So I can forward that to her. I am trying hard to get her on MCC and I think posts like this will help confince her to join.

She had that stomach test you mentioned. It is like a 4 hour test at Mayo. She is going to have another one next week. Your information on the juice is very helpful.

I am concerned now about the neropathy complications. She not only developed the digestive slow down but woke up one morning with double vision and has had it now for 2 months. All the test show a eye muscle and everything tried so far (except for high steriods which have a diabetic issue) and she is facing surgery. I hope this double vision is not diabetes but sounds like it may be. She does see a eye neurologist who has done so many test I could not name them all.

The information on the type juice is right on. I know a lot of posters mentioned orange juice and trying to describe it does not work for her because of the acid which her stomach does not like. She for a while was drinking full sugar root bear and I thought the carbonation was not good and her endoctronologist concurred.

A very hard disease to deal with so many things affecting it and everyone almost having a different path to what will work for them.
Thank you again for the information.

@cehunt57
Did not see this post first and answered the one below.
She does have the continual glucose monitor. She is constantly calling her endoctronologist about changing numbers.
And yes we get alarms at night for lows and highs. My dog loves the pings (just kidding he barks and that acts like another warning).

She sometimes does not wake up from the alarms. But I do. If I don't see her look at her device and take action I will wake her up. We purchased a device that works with her monitor and sends a number to a clock like device which shows her glucose number and wether is going up or down. This is on my side so I when I wake her up (if she does not repsond to alarm) I can tell her what her number is and wether going up or down.

I really like your advice on the snacks to have to bring glucose up. The snacks you mentioned are on her favorite snack list so using them for glucose raising suggestions should work.