Any Hypoglycemics here?

Geri · Post by **Geri** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 5:14 pm

Karen,

Hey, you! Good to talk with you again. I just saw your above post, we must have been posting at the same time.

Polly often mentions a feeling of well-being that comes after eliminating gluten. I never found that even after stopping all gluten. It was after I gave up sugar that I experienced that feeling for the first time in my adult life....maybe sugar plays a bigger role here than we are aware of.

Regarding the feelings of panic..see my post under Katy's thread. Women sure go through a lot of things, and if we are not informed, it is easy to convince yourself that you are "loosing it".

I hope we get a lot of response to the sugar discussion.

Love,

Geri

Mars · Post by **Mars** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 6:04 pm

My sugar levels (blood tests) have been questionable the last few times I've had them checked and we are continuing to watch them.

I find this thread very interesting also. I will be watching and learning!

kate_ce1995 · Post by **kate_ce1995** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 6:46 pm

Thats whats odd about me...I've never had a questionable blood sugar test, and yet I still have these weird feelings that food helps.

Sugar is addictive. I don't drink a lot (alcohol) because I know that that addiction runs in families (my grandfather was an alcholic), and I feel the same craving/need (or maybe the same...I'm just guessing here) when I eat sugar. Geoff can have a small dish of ice cream and be satisfied. Not me.

Katy

Mars · Post by **Mars** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 6:49 pm

I also get the "bottom outs" that food helps - nausea, light-headed, weak and get the shakes. If I eat a few bites of food or drink something like juice, they tend to go away.

Sound familiar?

kate_ce1995 · Post by **kate_ce1995** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 6:53 pm

Oh yeah, I've had those shakes. And never seen a pattern to them, except they usually happen before lunch.

Katy

Sue777 · Post by **Sue777** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 7:08 pm

OK, OK, OK!!!! Sheesh! What was I THINKING when I suggested Geri and I take this conversation into e-mail!

LOL I'm sorry - I'm not used to being surrounded by so many people who are truly interested and caring of others.... but I guess I BETTER get used to it.

Now I just feel bad that I don't have a whole lot of info to offer yet, but I'll just start pouring out my guts and maybe someone can relate to some of it. Anyway, the way this whole thing started was with my follow-up visit to the GI doc. He ordered some blood tests to make sure the Asacol wasn't doing bad things to my liver(?) A few days later they called my house and left a message that everything looked fine EXCEPT that my blood sugar looked low and I probably should tell my GP. I did, and he agreed it was low and ordered more tests for thyroid, hormones, sugar, etc. While I was waiting for those results to come in I started reading, reading, and reading everything I could find about low blood sugar and it was like "oh my word - THAT is why I have always felt kinda yucky most of my life!" I just assumed EVERYONE felt the way I did, but I found out that everything I suffer with is a symptom of blood glucose fluctuations.

As luck would have it, the second set of blood tests came back showing that everything was fine (officially in menopause, and a thyroid that is still borderline "OK"). My GP kinda poo-pooed my self-diagnosis of low blood sugar and told me to eat more protein and less carbs and I'd be fine. I did tell him that all the symptoms I've always complained about used to be manageable, but that lately that were really becoming severe, and he said that when the hormones are out of whack (as in peri-menopause) "all bets are off" because so many things are regulated by hormones, including thyroid, pancreas, insulin release, etc. and that perhaps in a few years this would all settle back down again. But just watch what you eat and you'll be fine.

Well one of the things I learned from all my reading was that it's very common for doctors to make light of low-blood sugar and dismiss it as nothing, but that you CAN die from it or do some serious damage. So rather than shrugging it off, too, I got myself a blood glucose monitor and some test strips. It's been really fascinating, and I'd recommend it to anyone who's got a few bucks to spare who wants to see how their body reacts to certain foods. In the week I've been testing I've found that my blood glucose levels SPIKE real high after I eat something, especially sugars and carbs, and then I guess my body says "oh no - too high!" and pumps out a bunch of insulin to bring it down, and it brings it WAY down. Now, having a low level of glucose in your body can make you feel bad and produce "hypo" symptoms, but I find what REALLY causes the symptoms I've been experiencing all my adult life is the sudden CHANGE in the glucose level.

I'm doing some experimenting (from the safety and comfort of my home only) on which foods cause me to spike and which don't, so maybe someday in the future I'll have a better handle on how to NOT feel badly.

I could go on and on, but this post is going to get long so maybe I'll start a new one on just my "hypo symptoms".

See you in the next post.

Sue

Geri · Post by **Geri** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 7:09 pm

Hi, Mars and Katy.

I've never had an abnormal blood sugar test either, that does not mean that you don't have a problem. My fasting bs is normal. It is after I eat too many carbs that my trouble begins. There are different types of hypoglycemia. I began to check my blood at home, and noticed really low readings after eating a meal high in carbs.

If you are feeling shakey, disoriented, anxious and hungry, and you improve after eating something, it is low blood sugar.

Love you guys, and mars....are you on yahoo???

Geri

Post by **tex** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 7:30 pm

Shirley,

Yes, any guest can read the threads. Your sister is welome to register, and join in the discussion, if she wants, since this is an issue related to MC.

Katy,

I never connected alcoholism and sugar cravings, until I read your remarks, and you know what? That probably applies to me. My maternal grandfather was an alcoholic, and while my father wasn't exactly an alcoholic, he did tend to overdo it on a somewhat regular basis. Because of that, I always avoided the stuff, just to be on the safe side.

I was however, a sugarholic. I probably mentioned this before, on the old board, but I'm convinced that sugar was the cause of my MC. It's my opinion that the immediate physical mechanism, that allows MC to present, is Leaky Gut Syndrome, (and I believe that Dr. Fasano's research with zonulin validates this concept).

LGS can be caused by various habitual chemical overloads, the most common being alcohol, followed by sugar, I believe. Thinking out loud, now I wonder if maybe those of us who have a gene that makes us more susceptable to, say, alcoholism, might also be more susceptable to other chemical addictions, (such as sugar), and therefore predispose us to MC, because of the tendency for this class of addictions to lead to LGS.

Wayne

Sue777 · Post by **Sue777** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 7:47 pm

OK, let's see if I can stay focused and ONLY talk about my symptoms in this one:

For MANY years now I have gotten used to "the shakes" and thought everyone had those, but now I find not everyone DOES. It would feel like my legs were kinda weak and could possibly buckle on me if I didn't stay focused. My hands would FEEL like they were shaking, but if I held my hand out to watch it, it looked fine, but I'd have a hard time holding something or doing anything that required fine motor skills. It's almost like the shaking was on the inside, where no one else could see it, but it sure FELT like I was quivering all over.

Overwhelming fatigue. I mean the type that causes you to fall asleep sitting at your desk at work! I used to regularly pretend I was reading something on the monitor while leaning my head on one hand, and would actually try to catch cat naps because I just could NOT stay awake. Or the type that causes you to never see a full movie through to the end! I can't remember the last time I've been able to stay awake on the couch for more than one hour at a time. If I sit and get comfortable, that's it - I'm gone, no matter HOW HARD I try not to fall asleep. Gets rather annoying to hubby at times, so I hope that improvement will make me better company. LOL

Brain fog. You know from experience that you're normally a well-organized, multi-tasking, efficient person, but there are times during every day when you just CANNOT grasp anything in your head, nor recall anything you KNOW you know. You can't follow a conversation, and your mind won't stay focused on what you're trying to do. It's like you want to shake cobwebs out or something. SO FRUSTRATING, especially when you're in a meeting and someone asks you for info. You want to say "I'm brilliant - trust me - but get back to me another time!"

Feeling "puffy" or pressure in your head/behind your eyes. I can see that improvement every single morning after breakfast. I used to think it was normal to feel all puffy-eyed and groggy after eating breakfast, but if I don't have a bagel with jam, I don't get 10 pounds of stuffing in my head! It actually feels like my eyes are puffy, but I don't usually have the energy to go look in a mirror.

Hot flashes. Well I've been writing those off to menopause, but guess what? They're NOT! It's very common to feel hot/sweaty/clammy/overheated when your glucose level is either rising quickly or falling quickly. I've had a LOT less hot flashes in the past few days. What a surprise.

Dizzy. OK, I've spent my entire life dizzy. I just live with it. I've complained about it for years, and have blamed it on panic attacks, blocked ears, sinus problems, labrynthitis, hormones, lack of sleep, too much caffeine, etc. etc. I had finally given up on ever getting rid of that feeling, but it looks like I'm onto something here, too. I didn't even notice that I did this, but for the past few days I found myself bracing myself and getting ready for a "spin" and am shocked to find it not happening. I really had no idea that I have grown so accustomed to being dizzy that I would prepare myself for it during the times it would normally happen, but now when I "brace" and it doesn't come, it's like... woah.... what's wrong?!

Brain shocks. This might be part of "dizzy" but it's a kind that makes you almost jump for a sec. I will be reading the monitor at work, or reading a book, and BAM something lightening fast makes me feel like I'm gonna fall for a sec, or like I'm going to be dizzy, and then it's over. I don't know what those are, but they feel like brain shocks, and they are happening a LOT less.

Panic attacks. I've had them since at least the age of 16, and have been to shrinks, group therapy, tried dozens of meds, hypnosis, etc. and finally found relief in Prozac, but NOW I find out that that's like the commonest symptom of low blood sugar! Anxiety, dread, depression, obsession, compulsion.... anything to do with the nervous system goes awry when your blood sugar drops, because your brain needs that fuel.

Crossed Eyes. Betcha that's one that surprises you, right? Shocked me, too. For about 5 years now I've been telling my husband during the summer that after a long hard day out by my ponds and garden, I have a hard time "focusing". It feels like my two eyes do not want to work together, and if I have to look at something right in front of me I feel like my eyes are crossing. We always chalked it up to being out in the sun too long. Lately it's been happening when I'm on the computer at night, so I figured it's happening when I'm tired. Surprise! It's happening when my glucose level is too low, and that is definitely a symptom! I was really shocked to find that one out!

Can't wake up? That one is SO much better already. There were many days when, no matter how good or how much I slept at night, come morning I just was comatose. I've always said "I'm not a morning person" but I think now I know WHY. Seriously, my husband and kids know not to even TRY to talk to me for the first two hours I'm awake. I either can't answer them coherently, or I somehow force myself to but the effort makes me crabby and irritable, like "just leave me ALONE!" that they stopped bothering. I assumed I just wasn't human til I had coffee and breakfast. Not only didn't I feel "sociable", but it was really, really a struggle to go through the motions of grooming and dressing, and I would drag myself out to the car still in a haze. What happens is your blood glucose drops if you don't keep re-supplying it, so during the night when you're not eating, it dips and you wake up foggy and weak. In my case, not knowing any better, I would always have my "sweet treat" right before bed for comfort and reward. I enjoyed it! But that was causing my blood glucose to SPIKE right after I fell asleep, and then as severely CRASH. I really WAS too weak to function in the morning after putting my body through that roller coaster while "resting". I have experimented three times in the past week and if I have some high protein snack right before bed, I wake up HUMAN! I can't believe that this is how normal people feel, but I actually can talk/communicate while getting up and going about the activities. I'm not snapping and b*tchy, I actually am coherent!

OK, off to get some food, because I am getting cross-eyed as I type this and am having a hot flash from hell. Time to check my blood and go re-fuel.
Sue

Geri · Post by **Geri** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 10:11 pm

Hi, Sue.

If you don't mind, what was the highest reading you got, and the lowest? Just curious. I would keep a log, if I were you, and take it to your next doctors app. He may take you more seriously then.

Sounds like you are on the right track, I hope you continue to feel better..I know I do.

And Wayne, your theory makes so much sense..maybe we could take a poll to find out how many of us were high carb, sugar consumers prior to MC, and how many were meat eaters.

Love,

Geri

starfire · Post by **starfire** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 10:32 pm

Wow Sue,
Some of those symptoms sound just like me!!!

I'm REALLY GLAD you are finding some relief. That's a LOT of symptoms to deal with.

Shirley

Joyce · Post by **Joyce** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 9:41 am

Boy Sue what a lot of symtoms to deal with. You are doing a great job on getting yourself to feeling better. I wish you the best with your journey!!

I'm a sugar "FREAK" the sweeter the better. I could sit there and just eat the frosting off of a cake. Whenever anyone says it's to sweet you won't like it I'm like oh I will. As far as I know I don't have any blood sugar problems.

Love,
Joyce

Tessa · Post by **Tessa** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 11:08 am

I am very glad you are continuing with this post here. It is very interesting...

I could have such a kind of problem too, or could have it in the future... It seems I have low sugar level...
Sue777 said:
For MANY years now I have gotten used to "the shakes" and thought everyone had those, but now I find not everyone DOES. It would feel like my legs were kinda weak and could possibly buckle on me if I didn't stay focused. My hands would FEEL like they were shaking, but if I held my hand out to watch it, it looked fine, but I'd have a hard time holding something or doing anything that required fine motor skills. It's almost like the shaking was on the inside, where no one else could see it, but it sure FELT like I was quivering all over.
I have the same symptom (not always, but it happens) and it dissappears when eating or drinking something.

Overwhelming fatigue. I mean the type that causes you to fall asleep sitting at your desk at work! I used to regularly pretend I was reading something on the monitor while leaning my head on one hand, and would actually try to catch cat naps because I just could NOT stay awake. Or the type that causes you to never see a full movie through to the end! I can't remember the last time I've been able to stay awake on the couch for more than one hour at a time. If I sit and get comfortable, that's it - I'm gone, no matter HOW HARD I try not to fall asleep. Gets rather annoying to hubby at times, so I hope that improvement will make me better company. LOL
There was a time at work that I couldn´t avoid falling asleep leaning my head on one hand and pretending I was reading the monitor or a document...

Brain fog. You know from experience that you're normally a well-organized, multi-tasking, efficient person, but there are times during every day when you just CANNOT grasp anything in your head, nor recall anything you KNOW you know. You can't follow a conversation, and your mind won't stay focused on what you're trying to do. It's like you want to shake cobwebs out or something. SO FRUSTRATING, especially when you're in a meeting and someone asks you for info. You want to say "I'm brilliant - trust me - but get back to me another time!"
It is frustrating too, yes, because I am doing my best to remember things & finally, I need to take note or I will forget.
They think I just don´t care of things, but I cannot remember them... Sometimes I even forget for a while how to write a common word...

Feeling "puffy" or pressure in your head/behind your eyes. I can see that improvement every single morning after breakfast. I used to think it was normal to feel all puffy-eyed and groggy after eating breakfast, but if I don't have a bagel with jam, I don't get 10 pounds of stuffing in my head! It actually feels like my eyes are puffy, but I don't usually have the energy to go look in a mirror.
I agree, I have to go to bed around midnight. Otherwise I am feeling sick the next day... And when I am using the computer for too long (my work and my hobbies requiere a lot of computer typing) I am feeling a soft headache, puffy eyes, groggy (need to drink or eat something)...

Dizzy. OK, I've spent my entire life dizzy. I just live with it. I've complained about it for years, and have blamed it on panic attacks, blocked ears, sinus problems, labrynthitis, hormones, lack of sleep, too much caffeine, etc. etc. I had finally given up on ever getting rid of that feeling, but it looks like I'm onto something here, too. I didn't even notice that I did this, but for the past few days I found myself bracing myself and getting ready for a "spin" and am shocked to find it not happening. I really had no idea that I have grown so accustomed to being dizzy that I would prepare myself for it during the times it would normally happen, but now when I "brace" and it doesn't come, it's like... woah.... what's wrong?!

Dizzy is also something I have suffered long ago... No idea why it happens. But usually after exercise, going stairs up, etc.

My sugar levels have always been right, except when the specialist tried to check it by having me 48 h. without eating and drinking (monitorized)... I could not be more than 1 day... My sugar levels went down a lot, I started to...see lights...

And they had to give me Glucosade... The diagnosis was I had to carry sweets, biscuits, etc. and had to eat often because of having Hypoglucemia when not eating for a while...

Would you think this can cause diabetes in the future if not prevented?
I am worried now.

Love,
Tessa

kate_ce1995 · Post by **kate_ce1995** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 11:20 am

Yes, yes, yes and over whelmingly yes to many of those symptoms. In fact right now I feel all icky again. Its just like yesterday after lunch, except I just started eating lunch. I've had bad breakfasts the last 2 days because my yogurts are all expired (I tried one yesterday and it was sour).

I get slightly blurry vision too, and a tightness in my chest although I still breath okay and my pulse is okay/normal. Definately not a fun feeing. HA HA and I'm treating it right now with a slush puppy. Probably not the smartest move in the world. I will have to try to supress my cravings.

Katy

Sue777 · Post by **Sue777** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 5:19 pm

Well, geez..... maybe we really ARE losing posts on this board, because I could have sworn I SUCCESSFULLY answered Geri's question about my high number and low number a few days ago!!! That's really odd.... but anyway, sorry Geri - I thought I already did this:

The lowest number I've gotten on my home test kit is 71, but during my routine bloodtest (non-fasting) the lab got a 51, which is why they called me and said I had better go see my doc. When I did, he sent me for a whole bunch of fasting blood work, and that only came back as low as 74, so he said I'm fine. I know I'm not, so I'm glad that "fate" or some higher power was watching out for me by fixing my original blood test to 51 to get my attention.

The highest I've seen on the home monitor is 174, and I often get highs in the 160's after eating. And yes, I go up FAST after a meal, and then back down FAST, so that's when I feel lousy.

But now I have some questions for you, if you don't mind:

First, I'd like to know what kind of BG numbers you see.

Secondly, do you feel hypo symptoms FAST after eating something sweet???? That one is amazing me and I'm not sure it's even possible, but it keeps happening. When I tried having a piece of cake with frosting last week, I actually had to stop eating it and throw it away (sob) because I was feeling "drunk". And just now I came home from work after not having snacked for an hour or so, vacuumed a rug, and then decided to check my number before I had an apple. I was at 73. I then ate the apple, and before I even finished it, I felt my eyes kinda not focusing right and started getting waves of "off balance" feelings. I feel very drunk, actually. So I grabbed the monitor, and I'm only at 96. I wouldn't expect to feel this bad at 96, some people would kill for that number. Now I'm sweating like crazy and generally feeling awful, but the number is only.....(checking again) 103. But wow I feel lousy. Waves of nauseau, and all I want to do is put my head down somewhere. I don't want to sleep - I just need to lie down. At 103????? I can only assume that the fact that it's RISING is what's making me feel so bad, but I really thought your number had to be out of range low or out of range high to feel like this. Ever felt glucose-related sick even though the number was OK?
Sue