Symptoms of hypo and hyperglycemia

[Buono]

Hello, I've had both extreme symptoms of hypoglycemia (chills, intense hunger, rapid heartbeat, etc) and type 2 diabetes (frequent urination, thirst, rashes, fatigue) and have had several blood tests done but haven't been diagnosed with either. I was wondering if there were any specific conditions that could cause both symptoms of hypo/hyperglycemia. Thanks.

[JDRF-Team-sgg]

You may not know that a dry mouth which can feel like thirst is one of the symptoms of hypoglycemia as well as diabetes. And logic tells us that if your mouth is dry and you are drinking lots of fluids, you will urinate often. I am a tightly-controlled type 1 diabetic, and the dry mouth feeling that I get when my glucose is low is almost identical to the sensation of having high blood sugar. I find the thirst (which truly is  more of a dry mouth, or cotton mouth feeling) is actually more noticeable when low than when my glucose levels are high. Other symptoms that correlate are dry eyes which can get sort of scratchy feeling.

Sensations can be similar because in both situations the body is not being able to use the carbs that you have eaten. In the case of hypoglycemia this is because you have not eaten enough carbs. In the case of type 2 diabetes, this is because your body is not able to use the insuln it makes to properly convert the carbs you have eaten. The symptoms you describe for type 2 diabetes can all be attributed to hypoglycemia  except for the rashes.

Now, I am not a doctor, and so I am not trying to diagnose you as being a hypoglycemic. I am just stating some facts that you may not know about some symptoms of hypoglycemia that don't tend to be written about. The reality is that you could easily be going from elevated glucose levels to low glucose levels as your body tries to stabiiize its glucose. This situation is fairly common when people are dealing with insulin resistance. It can lead to type 2 diabetes, and many people do suffer from hypoglycemia before developing type 2 diabetes. Other people never develop type 2 diabetes at all, but remain hypoglycemic.

Your best actions are to do what you can to prevent the lows while also doing what you can to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes. This means avoiding foods with high glycemic index and avoiding caffiene (caffienated beverages and foods can wreck havoc with people who suffer from hypoglycemia because caffiene stimulates the pancreas to increase its insulin production, thereby making the hypoglycemia worse). Another thing you can do to protect yourself and to stabilize the ups and downs is to make sure that you stay in your ideal weight and to nibble small meals all day rather than gorging on the traditional three large meals per day. Many hypoglycemic people find that they do well to eat protein with any carbohydrates in order to slow down the digestion of those carbohydrates. This can help your body to keep from overloading your body with large amounts of carbohydrate all at once, which can cause the pancreas to over-react by secreting too much insulin.

[Buono]

To be more specific: a couple of weeks ago, I went to have my blood sugar tested because I feared that I might have type 2 diabetes. The night before, I ate an apple and steak and the next day all I had to eat was a couple of crackers and water. The entire day I was urinating constantly and was extremely thirsty, but when they took my blood sugar I believe it was at 67. When I had the GTT 7 months ago, I was a few points away from being a Type 2 diabetic, and I'm pretty sure I suffered from low blood sugar during the test as well. It seems like often my blood sugar will get too low and I'll get extremely hungry and dizzy, but when I eat something it goes up too high and I start having to urinate/get real thirsty and it feels like the sugar just sits in my system, and it's a very uncomfortable feeling. The only thing I could think of is that I might have both insulinoma and type 2 diabetes, but that isn't very likely. I'm stumped.

[Buono]

Thanks alot. One more question: is it possible in severe cases of hypoglycemia for diabetes-type symptoms to occur when the sugar level gets too high, or would they only happen when the sugar gets below the normal level?

[matthewe]

just wanted to say that I have the same symptoms as you ....but i am not taking treatments .my parents are both diabetic and have tested me and say i am fine,but i know i suffer from hyper or hypo.

[JDRF Team SGG]

Symptoms could happen in either case. The reason that sometimes the symptoms are similar is because your body is lacking in carbs-converted-to-energy no matter whether you have not enough insulin or whether you have too much insulin. So by symptoms, sometimes you really cannot tell which is the problem. I am speaking in somewhat generic terms here, for there ARE subtle differences in how you feel in these two different situations. But some of the same sensations appear in both situations.