A Shameless Plug for Walmart...

I've finally found a glucose gel that I REALLY like.















I buy alot of ReliOn (Walmart Diabetes) brand stuff anyway, its cheap(er) and just as good as the
popular brands.
-Ketostix(50 ct-$6.87, vs Bayer's $10)
-Sugar Free Tussin-$4.50, vs $6+ other places...
- glucose tabs-cherry,grape, green apple, orange, fruit punch, watermelon, raspberry,and their newest addition..English Toffee
-$7.50 BG poker(it works just as well as those $25 ones-and doesn't scar up your fingers, I was able to draw blood on every finger on the lowest setting. Looks cool too.)

The other great thing about this product is, it's got a carb gauge on the side, and you can see how many carbs you've consumed(5, 10, 15 gram increments)















When it comes to glucose gel products, I've been around the block. The only one I can consume(without gagging) is Paddock Laboratories Lemon Flavored Gel. (but they're expensive) Small honey packets also taste good-but its impossible to find any in the stores. (my source is KFC, when I go there)
Can't stand Insta-Glucose(cherry).
Can't stand Gluco-Burst(Artic Cherry).
Can't stand cake frosting in tubes.(I don't know why, I have no problem with it on cake!)

At the Rescue Squad, we used Insta Glucose. Severely-out-of-it PWD's were miracuously brought back to life with the stuff, and no one (on my observations) ever spat the stuff out. It never got the chance to expire. As a EMT Basic, that was pretty much the extent of my saving-the-PWD's experience. Towards the end of my membership, Basics got the medical-go-ahead from the EMS MD(director) to use glucagon, but I didn't get the chance to do that. (on someone else) Of course, I was the only Basic (even some Intermediate's didn't know how!) who already knew the glucagon protocals frontwords and backwords.
I'd like to go back to EMS, if things ever get less hectic.
Insta Glucose was an excellent motivator to check my bgs REALLY frequently, I did not want to have that stuff shoved down my throat. I had juice/glucose tablets with me at all times. I was considering putting in a request (with the paramedics I knew) to skip the oral glucose and go directly to the IV-D50, but that would have sounded kind of weird, so I never did. Generally, people sit/lie around dazed and confused until the ambulance arrives (half hour or so later), checks their bg, gives them oral glucose + they snap out of it. I either recognize the low- treat sucessfully/unsuccessfully. If successfully, within 30 minutes its generally up. If unsuccessfully, within 15 minutes I'm out cold.(fortuantly, its 99% of the time succesful) No sitting around for me. I don't know how some people can wander around for hours hypo, and not pass out...


I'm glad I found it, I've had some pretty amazing low blood sugars recently. By "amazing", I'm referring to the fact that I can chug down over 100 carbs before my blood sugars break 100. Its kind of odd, I'll have a 200's blood sugar-bolus a unit(just for the heck of it) and proceed to drop 150-200 points. (NOT like me at all, my usual correction ratio is 1/40) It's a nasty spiral when you go high, take a corrective bolus, drop like all get out(low again) and eat even more, its exausting.
I worked today, spent it hanging out in the 200-400 range. Took 3 corrective boluses, none of them worked till after work(when I proceeded to drop like a rock in 1.5 hrs). Thing is, my meter didn't show me severely low, I just feel the need to eat like all get out.
So I drank 80 carbs of Sunny D, ate an ice cream sandwich(32 carbs) and fell into bed(pump off), slept 4 hours. In retrospect, I should have left the pump on, I woke up at 292 again.
Yesterday evening, I was 56-ate glucose gel, an entire Big Mac-medium fries combo (w/added ketchup), only went up to 200. I think something is wrong w/my test strips, they did spend a brief time in the rather Death Valley'ish temps of the confines of my car. I think I'm reading higher then I actually am. I'm not feeling my highs- just lows, and when it reads 80 or lower, I feel it. So I'm thinking its probably 20- 30 points off. 60 or lower, it really doesn't feel like a mild low blood sugar, it feels like a moderate.
I've got test strips coming(mail order), but it'll be a few days(sometime next week, hopefully).
I'm viewing my blood sugar ranges as just approximate(s) right now, its too darn risky to go "by the book". If I aim for my usual (dream!) range of 90-140, in reality, I'm aiming for hypo (or gonna get there pretty quickly) bgs.

Which makes this recent mail freebie pretty sweet.















It's a instant (up to) $25 Rebate on the new NovoNordisk Glucagen Hypokit.
Scans like a credit card, after insurance kicks in.
Which essentially makes my prescription free, if I get it as a one month supply.
All I have to do is convince my endo I need 3 kits in one month (probably not
as difficult as it sounds, due to my recent track record) at my appointment next Friday.