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Comment by bradleyy | Hacker News Reader

This is literally the reason I'm still on multiple daily injections (MDI). I'm sympathetic to the author, I spent 50+ years without Type 1, and a few with it.

Just this morning, I ended up bolusing correctly, but then an emergency caused me to perform a lot more exercise than I had planned on. Then, bam, I'm paralyzed in bed, thinking about calling the ambulance, eating sour patch kids.

And believe me, when sour patch kids are an effective medicine, you have a disease that must just exist for spite.

So yeah, I feel like I can control conditions better with MDI, and can't seem to make the jump to a pump, even though it'd almost certainly improve my health and long-term survivability.

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I'm having almost the exact same day as you today - except for the past 50+ years I have been t1d, and I'm back on MDI. I quit using a pump about 15 years ago. And it definitely improved my QoL just by not having to deal with all the insurance hassles. Removing that stress alone I think will extend my life longer than using a pump will.

> And believe me, when sour patch kids are an effective medicine, you have a disease that must just exist for spite.

Feel free to ignore below if spk's were just the closest, but there are better flavored non-melting options that also travel well.

I keep some Transcend gels (available from Amazon) on my nightstand and scattered all around my house. They'll "burn" if you need to suck down three or more back-to-back (I rarely need them, and when I do it's usually only 1) but they're a zillion times better than any candy with predictable (5-10 mins) time for the glucose to hit you - unlike candy. They recently changed the packaging design, so you'll need to snip a tiny bit off the corner (sorta like a tiny pre-cut) in case you need to open with the convulsions.

I always carry ice packs and a yeti cooler. I have some other carry rigs, but 99/100 times if you see me out and about, that's me: cowboy hat, wayfarers, and yeti cooler.

So I just keep sour patch kids all the time in my pack.

But I'm always up for something else, especially when the SPKs are in an "ick" season. I appreciate the recommendation. SPKs have an absurdly high glycemic index though and seem pretty predictable for me.

I really need to get proper glucose tabs and stuff, and be like a "professional diabetic"... but I'm working on time-in-range, not "did you swab with alcohol" at this point, lol. I just feel good that I'm not shooting through my clothes.

Sorry for the day, fellow traveller, hope you get things nailed shortly.

The best high-GI food I have found is Welch's fruit snacks. They are superior to glucose tablets: (1) Can be swallowed whole quickly and easily, or dissolved by saliva. (2) More concentrated, so you can pocket or pack more glucose in less space. (3) Can be compressed in a pocket or backpack without turning to powder that leaks everywhere. A packet of fruit snacks is 17 g of carbohydrate, which is small enough to catch moderate crashes and large enough when doubled to catch major crashes.

I don’t have diabetes, but I’ve heard from people with T1 that Welch’s work well for the reasons you mentioned.

When I browse the candy aisle at the store, I often wonder if certain treats tend to be better than others for administering glucose. In your experience, are there ever certain properties of candies that are more useful than others?

Ideally, you're looking for something that spikes blood sugar fast (i.e. high glycemic index). This is why e.g. Skittles/Sour Patch Kids/fruit snacks (mainly the kind that don't... actually have any fruit, lol) are a go-to for type 1s.

You're basically looking for something that's analogous: as crack is to cocaine, <low snack> is to sugar. Hits fast and doesn't last as long.

I have to admit, the fact that a 12 pack is the same as a case of energy drinks combined with my "goblin energy" doesn't bode well, haha.

I'm on a pump but always take backup insulin pens and needles when I travel, so that I can switch to MDI if needed. My QOL with a pump is so much better than it was with a decade+ of MDI.

I'm trying to convince myself. But then it's just one more thing that the medical community is gatekeeping (you didn't book your followup appointment in time, so you're treated as if you're no longer in life-threatening danger of hyperglycemia is a reality for me, because I have a hard time with medical appts).

We really need some version of "permanent prescriptions" for insulin. Not OTC, because then insurance doesn't cover it, but infinitely renewable, so you don't have to go see an endo just to continue living.

Yes, I used to carry scripts for insulin and needles in my wallet just in case. NY implemented all bbut mandatoery eprescribe so I feel I have to use a national chain so my script can be seen if I'm traveling. And yes the notion a script for Insulin can be stale is truly insane. Of course regular checkups are best especially with being insulin dependent, but with 2 million T1D just in the USA this is just bad for everyone.

I think I'm actually going to go talk to my congressperson/senator/anybody who will listen. It's such an insult, that I have to go to an endo, who in my case probably knows some technical ephemera better than I do, but has done absolutely nothing to help keep me alive besides write prescriptions.

Like didn't even warn me of the dangers of hypoglycemia. After I nearly went comatose one time, "oh yeah, we have glucagon you can get if you'd like a prescription". Which is cool after you've been passed out in front of a restaurant, with people looking at you like they're going to hit you with narcan.

One of my secret terrors is getting narcaned by a cop.

why not skittles...?

Skittles C4 is a Genuine Banger(TM).

Skittles candies are too grainy for me. I know they're a go to for many.

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