Being a caregiver to a brittle diabetic I have had to deal with sudden blood sugar drops on a frequent basis. With Reid these incidents happen without warning. My introduction to this was a nightmare. A Doctor wanted to do a colonoscopy on Reid and had him follow a normal prep procedure. He ignored the fact that Reid is a brittle diabetic and while these instructions are appropriate for a non-diabetic for a diabetic to be deprived of the proper nutrition and insulin it is dangerous. It almost killed Reid. Reid went all white, sweaty, shaking, and into what I call a zombie state. He didn't know who he was, who I was, where he was or anything else. He fell to the floor and went into seizures. I called 911 and multitasked like crazy. I followed 911's instruction, had the door open and listened for paramedics, kept Reid from biting his tongue, and tried to get his blood sugar back up. 911 said to try and find something to get his blood sugar levels up and that he wouldn't choke on.
I am a chef and always have lots of things in my pantry. I grabbed a bottle of Karo syrup. Karo syrup is a high fructose corn syrup that I use in recipes like Divinity Fudge. It is thin enough that it is easy to swallow. The reflex to swallow remains in effect no matter how bad Reid gets. I use about 3 tablespoons. I use it now anytime we have an incident. The paramedics that came said it was a perfect solution.
So now my routine if he goes into one of these incidents is call 911 first. Secondly I go get the Karo syrup. I also will get juice and put 3 to 4 tablespoons of sugar in it per 911's request. Sometimes this works and sometimes he doesn't get the concept of drinking this through a straw. I have glucose tablets and if I catch it early enough I can get him to chew these. When he is really bad he can't chew the tablets and might choke on them.
The Doctor prescribed a Glucagon Emergency kit. It contains one vial and a syringe. I haven't had to use this yet but it is injected just like insulin. You can now get it in the form which squirts into the mouth. This is what the paramedics used last time they were here. The problem with this is that it is thick and the patient might choke on it. You have to make sure they are able to swallow properly.
Once the sugars start going up and Reid is coherent enough to know what has happened I will make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This helps to regulate his system and gives him protein, carbs, and other nutritional elements. He has only had to go to the hospital once after a low blood sugar but that had extenuating circumstances as he had an infection in his leg that was going into the bone.
I always have on hand now Karo syrup, peanut butter, jelly, bread, and juice. I have saved Reid's life more times than we can count when his blood sugar drops.
So to summarize call 911 and get help on the way. Make sure the patient is breathing properly. Try to get them sitting and as comfortable as possible. If they can swallow get three to four tablespoons of Karo syrup down them. Have a glass with a straw and if they are capable of drinking mix three to four tablespoons in an 8 ounce glass of juice. I have also used soda and water for this. Once the blood sugar goes back up enough for the patient to be cognoscente of what is going on and can eat give them a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
I hope this helps others.