Should I stock up on Halloween candy for lows?

[WillowBean]

I was wondering if any one has a favorite Halloween candy they use to treat lows?

[spamid]

We like Halloween because of the snack sized packages of skittles and smarties. My daughter gets them sometimes when her sugar is low, and sometimes just for a treat.

[Mama2H]

I usually buy a few bags, the airhead ones are really easy and fast.

[Boo]

I don't generally use candy to treat lows...I don't want my son going low on purpose in order to get candy.

In a pinch I'll use it, but only the pure sugar stuff. Nothing with chocolate...the fat will take too long to bring his sugar up.

[Momof4gr8kids]

You know, even when it is something YUMMY, Julia doesn't enjoy it when she is low. She says her tongue feels like it has grown hair.

One night I woke her up to treat a low of 65. I wanted a raise, but more so wanted to maintain, so I got a half a cup of milk, and a cookie that was 10g and brought them to her. The next day I overheard her talking to her friend about being woken up to have milk and cookies in the middle of the night. Julia's friend thought that was way cool. Julia on the other hand did not like it at all.

So I know as parents we figure we might as well try to put some fun into lows but it just doesn't work that way. So if Halloween candy works well, go ahead, if there are things that work better, skip it.

[coni]

I use glucose tabs to treat lows. I don't like the association of candy with lows. However, certain candy, such as airheads and smarties, are better for treating lows than others if you decide to go this route. I save the candy to use as "dessert" with a meal and bolus accordingly.

[nantomsuethom]

I have a friend that goes to the store the day after halloween and stocks up on bags of sweet tarts (and the day after Easter). She usually gets them for 25 - 50 cents a bag, much cheaper than glucotabs. They are 3 carbs each. I use them for the kids at school.

[wendyc]

I just save whatever ones have a good sugar rush. Skittles, Starburst etc.

I do stock up on the snack size foods such as granola bars, pretzels, goldfish and pb crackers. They are the perfect portions for school lunches/snacks etc. I can't understand why they can't carry these year round!

[A&Ds Mommy]

I too don't use candy for lows; use glucose tabs.

[karonray]

The first year Adam was dx'd ....i thought oh great how i am going to deal with this. Well we went trick or treating and...... he went low from all the walking around, i just said " thank goodness we have all this candy" and continued with our walk. Thats when i started using sweetarts and candys for lows...... would you want to eat glucose tabs for the rest of your life?? If it brings the blood sugar up..... i don't care what i use.

[MySweethearts]

that is a good idea about getting candy after halloween. We usally use lifesavers for a low. But we haven't used them in along time because Luke usally wants food when he is low.

Carmen

[Mary Lou]

We don't do candy for lows, but we do go through a LOT of peanut butter cups for snowboarding. I'll repeat -- we don't treat lows with them, but the combination of fat, protein and sugar will give an extended boost when you use so much energy just staying up.

We especially love the white chocolate Reese's easter eggs, I haven't looked to see if they have a Halloween version yet (they have more peanut butter, and therefore more protein than the regular cups).

The pump goes a long way in keeping BG in check for boarding, but we seriously pack those peanut butter cups everywhere for sports. Before the pump we wouldn't leave home without a package of them. I remember while on Lantus, Brian must've eaten 8 packages (2 cups each) to keep his BG up for a hot baseball game!

[munsonklein]

I stock up on Skittles and Fruit Snacks in Halloween bags- it's very convenient to have just the right number of carbs in the little package. I don't know about anyone else's kids, but my daughter would never even consider going low just to get candy. Being low is scary and uncomfortable, not fun. She has treats anyway when appropriate, it's not like she needs to do something sneaky to get them. And, she gets sick of the various things used to treat lows- after several times in a row, it's not a treat anymore anyway. Why make her eat something she doesn't like, like glucose tabs, when she's already having a hard time? I keep soda, skittles, Sweettart Squeez, maple sugar, honey, etc. on hand so she doesn't have to eat something she's sick of on top of already feeling bad.

Cathy

[allisa]

I defitniely have done this in the past. Peeps....are a great thing to buy discounted ( 10 cents ) but as of late have been using tabs more than candy.

But, I like to have stuff everywhere....so every pocketbook/bag I own, my car, backpacks, etc....we have sugar stored all over the place !!