I was wondering if some of you could give me some suggestions of some night time snacks you guys would recommend for low blood sugars? My sister is prone to having lows at night even with Omnipod, even if she doesn’t even have any active insulin.
I’m finding it’s becoming such a stress at nights to keep her blood sugar numbers from going low. She’s also had seizures due to low blood sugars in the past, so that makes the situation even more tense whenever she is low. I’ve been giving her glucose tablets which have 15 carbs each, but they are hard to chew and I can tell it’s very uncomfortable for her to be woken up at night (sometimes 3x per night) to eat hard glucose tablets.
I would really appreciate if you guys shared some of your night time low snacks that can work rapidly and aren’t as difficult to chew like the rapid glucose tablets.
Hi @arodric5002 if this is happening more than 1x a week then it’s time to talk to her doctor for better strategies regarding basal rates, pump auto settings, and dinner. Once the settings are good then perhaps a mixed carb dinner such as high protein with carbs would help. The proteins (as well as fats) mixed with carbs can help.
I’m not chewing anything at night I use apple juice. It’s a little slower than glucose but 15 grams is easy and done very fast.
I agree with everything @joe said. I would add that Greek yogurt was suggested as a good bedtime snack due to its “staying power.” YMMV so you’ll need to try it to see how it works.
Hi, if I’m approaching sleep with anything 150 or below, I will eat a yogurt cup. The protein bumps me into the 170s and I sleep much better than having alarms Go off at three or four in the morning. Hope this helps.
Haha, I’m not to picky. Usually I buy the BOGO offering at Publix. My favorites are Oui and Chobani reduced fat. The snack before bed does help me sleep longer. J
Thank you all for the tips. I had no idea that yogurt could be helpful! We contacted her endo to see if they can adjust her insulin. I’m going to hope it works, but she has always, always, been prone to having lows. The insulin adjustments only seem to temporarily work unfortunately.
Alexa @arodric5002, having not seen you here for so long, I’m assuming she is doing much better and adjusting well with her OmniPod - all thanks to your loving care. I admire you!
Keep in mind, and remind her doctor when discussing insulin dose settings on her pump, that the OmniPod is administering insulin continuously throughout the day [basal settings] and not only when applying a plus for meals. The pump "
“active insulin” or “insulin on board” is bolus only insulin.
Keep in mind, that a “piece” of that her basal insulin trickled into her between 11:00 and midnight is still active in her body at 3:00 AM, as well as some of the basal given between midnight and that 3 AM.
My method to "cure the 3 AM low has been to slightly lower each of the basal rates per hour between 11 PM and 3 AM. I can go into more detail with you if you wish.
I also endorse the late evening [different time for each of us] snack of complex carb whenever my BGL is lower than 120 at 10:15 PM. My preferred snack is five crackers spread heavily with PB, 15 grams of carb. I do not have food restrictions [allergies] or a weight issue.
It’s not unusual to need to adjust basal rates and/or carb ratios from time to time - our body’s needs change whether or not we have diabetes - we just have to handle it manually. I typically need to make some seasonal adjustments - down a bit in summer and up a bit in winter in my case - and occasionally other times as well. If your sister is a teen or tween and she’s needing to adjust frequently, hormones and body changes are probably the reason.
I’ve only been on Omnipod for a couple of years and haven’t had to worry about periods for a long time so I don’t know how smart adjust technology does during that time of the month. But if that seems to be an issue she could set up a basal profile to cover those days and switch to manual mode when she needs it.
Hi Alexa @arodric5002! My doctor recommended peanut butter crackers. The carbs bring you up slowly and the fat in the peanut butter keep the blood sugar up. That said, I have seen people post on other threads here about using ice cream because of the fat. I hope this helps!
FYI, I live in a small out of the way town in Florida. My Medicare Advantage plan doesn’t even have an endo here*, been T1D for 50 years. I stopped seeing an endo when I moved here 5 years ago.
Nighttime lows have been an issue for a year now, and becoming more common.
Being brittle, no interest in a pump. I used to take 30u Toujeo in the morning, when the lows overnight become more common, I tried splitting the Toujeo doses am & pm and now take it before bed. I still have lows around 3-5am. I decided something had to be going on, so I setup an old webcam and laptop.
I go to bed about 10-11pm and Boy I move around a lot at night. So I conclude I’m going low because of the physical activity, If you disagree with that OK, but be nice.
*I’m waiting for my Advantage plan to start in the next county where there are endos.
I agree with the OP about trying to eat tablets when you’re half asleep.
None of this is scientific, just my experiences.
I’ve been trying different before bed snacks.
Just milk didn’t seem to help.
So far IMO a glass of 2% milk with
a couple cookies (130 cal) or
!/2 half a ham or
peanut butter sandwich.
I tried frozen yogurt bars, didn’t seem to help.
I just tried “sugar free” ice cream bar (110cal) 3 nights over a week, those seemed to help.
I laugh at "Sugar Free"so many of those items have more calories and carbs then the items with sugar.
Good Luck,
We find an apple with peanut butter helps our son through the night. As well, at time we adjust his long term insulin by one unit based on highs or lows in the night. If he has been consistent for a week or two and experiencing nighttime highs we go up a unit, if keeps going low we reduce a unit. Obv everyone is unique but this seems to work for him. The apple and peanut butter have been the best snack for him overall. Good luck!
So true. A nutritionist told me sugar is replaced by fat for the sake of taste - you can’t win except by using moderation🤪.
Fat does keep blood sugar from dropping but too much can cause a delayed rise in numbers that can be tricky to dose for.
Per joslin (italics are mine): Fat is the third group of foods that your body needs. That’s right – your body needs fat! Not all fat is bad. It is only when we eat too much fat or the wrong kind that it becomes a problem. Similar to protein, fat does not break down into glucose. Foods rich in dietary fat such as avocado, nuts, seeds like flaxseed or chia seed; Oils such as olive, canola, soybean, sunflower and peanut oils are all heart health. Fat slows down the digestive process resulting in a “delayed” rise in glucose levels as it takes a longer time to digest. Fat when eaten in modest amounts has a minimal impact on glucose levels, however eating too much fat can cause insulin resistance, which may lead to prolonged high glucose levels.
