could I have Hypoglaciema

[Rachel6072]

Hi
I've thought maybe I've had blood sugar issues all my life, so I started monitering them with a blood glucose testing moniter.  I find myself feeling dizzy headachy, grumpy, mood swings etc and I've even been known to faint or get severe cramps.

Anyway this morning I took my blood sugar and even after eating foods high in sugar got a reading before getting out of bed of 3.0 mmol/L (554 mgdl)  then before meals the average is 4.0 mmol/L an hour after meals around 5.8 then I find I battle to keep it up.  either I eat constanly then my sugar levels go up and plumet down.  I see my doctor on Monday and I am not sure whether he will be of help.  I feel everywhere!!!

what do you all think....
Tanks in advance
Rachel

[JDRF-Team-BL]

Rachel,
Sounds to me like you may be experiencing hypoglycemia, though i certainly am not a doctor. i would advise checking as frequently as possible before your doctor appointment. He/She should be able to make sense out of your readings, a couple of day's worth should give a normal pattern of how you range.
    With blood issues like this knowledge is power, which is why i advised checking as completely as possible for the doctor and also write in meals and snacks also. Because it all boils down to how your body can/can't digest carbohydrates.
    Hope you find a program that works for you, bret

[Larry68]

Hi Rachel,

Two of my daughters are hypoglycemic. One fainted a work due to low blood sugar and suffered a significant head injury when she fell. It is a real condition with real consequences, including the potential to increase insulin resistance leading to type 2 diabetes.

The most common treatment for hypoglycemia is to adjust diet, and this you could try  to see if your symptoms and BS swings get better. My daughters have learned to avoid refined sweets and juices that raise blood glucose quickly (orange juice is one of the worst. To avoid the swings, and fix  the lows they eat protean based energy bars and nuts as snacks. This require the body to produce insulin at a much lower rate. It is the rapid overproduction of insulin in response to rapid glucose rise that causes the wild swings from low to high and back to low. Trying to correct with a sugary snacks will just repeat the cycle.

It is sometimes hard to find physicians that will recognize hypoglycemia as a disease, and it is often hard to catch high or low readings in lab tests. Making your own measurements is certainly is a good step towards allowing your physician to determining whether you are hypoglycemic. To properly understand and formulate a diet that can help you verify and, if necessary, control hypoglycemia, I would recommend seeing a dietician. They are more open to recognizing and treating this condition. There are probably also a number of books on this subject that may help. Be careful to look for books on hypoglycemic diet and not just a low carb diet. The focus of weight loss books is not blood sugar control.

Good luck,
Larry

[Rachel6072]

Thanks Bret and Larry appreciate your adivce.  I did test myself yesterday and did fall within normal limits.After breakfast 4.9 (88mg/dl), 2 hours after lunch 4.3 (80mg/dl), Before Tea 4.6 (85) and two hours after 4.9.  Then before bed 4.3 about 80.

Although yesterday at the shop I had an overwhelming headache was clumsy, felt faint and had difficulty concentrating.  so I brough a scroll to eat in the car and 15 minutes later felt perky and fine.  I should have mentioned before the morning I got the 3.0 the night before was an 0.7 but I figured it was'nt right since I did'nt feel like passing out.  

I've run out of strips but just wondered if it was worth mentioning to my doctor anyway?  The reason I went to the doctor is because I very suddenly lost 30 kilos blood tests show nothing wrong but I feel awful!

Rachel

[Markie]

Rachel,

Your readings are generally in the normal range. But the symptoms you describe sound like hypoglycemia. And you could be missing something because of the gaps between tests.

A 5 hour Glucose Tolerance Test would give you a better handle on what is happening. After doing an initial test, you consume 75 grams of glucose. Then you test every hour for the next 5 hours.

For more info about the GTT see this page : http://www.endocrineweb.com/diabetes/diagnosis.html . If you have reactive hypoglycemia, you could expect to see your blood sugar levels dropping below normal levels after 3 hours.

If you think that low blood sugars are an issue, ask your doctor to arrange a GTT for you.

Cheers,

Mark

[Rachel6072]

Thanks Mark!  I did go to the doctor today and he says I may hav elow blood sugaar but unfortunatley does'nt really believe in hypoglaciema and unless there is further evidence does'nt consider further testing warranted.  I've had a reading of 2.9 tonight the doctor feels 3.0 is nothing to worry about.

do you know about how our glucose levels flucuate????  Can it be different from one moment to the other????? or is it one hour to another.  I found I can do three blood tests in five minutes and every one is different.  My moniter has been tested and is accurate and I am using it correctly.  do you know if this is normal?

Rachel

[JDRF Team SGG]

Some fluctuation is very normal, but being as low as you are all day is not. Even if your overall glucose levels average out to the low side of normal, at a glucose reading of 80, most folks start to feel crummy and when below that, may lose ability to concentrate, muscle coordination, and even reaction time, making you dangerous if you drive a vehicle. Many doctors tend to not take hypoglycemia seriously, but it can affect quality of life or even put you in danger at times, such as when driving a vehicle.

The web site posted here may be very helpful to you, and the advice to try protein snacks and avoid high-carb foods is the usual advice given. Some folks find that when they start to eat lower-carbohydrate meals, the hypoglcemia make get WORSE for a few days as the body continues to over-produce insulin, but then may improve greatly as the pancreas ceases to be stimulated to produce insulin because there are fewer carbs being consumed.

[Rachel6072]

Thanks for that after over a week of monitering my bloods this is where I've got to.  My syptoms (symptoms) on days that my blood sugar is low is very
hypoglycaemic but I've just discovered days where my blood sugar is unusually high, i.e. one day it was 24.9, 5 mins later 12.9 then another five 10.1  How is that when the day before I hit a 2.9 and could not get past 4.8????even thou I'm testing a thte same times. Thats with little change in diet.  Oh and this morning after sleeping the highest yet 10.1, 10 mins later it was at 5.0.

Now feeling confused over all of this and wondering whether I'm even on the right track.  It seems bizzare, I've tested my moniter to make sure its functioning properly, and in some cases tested twice.  My doctor does'nt seem to worry about the lows and in the blood test he took there where no signs of high blood sugar.  what do you think?  I hope I'm not frstating you I'm just trying to figure it all out!!!!
thanks for your patience
Rachel

[maxe]

i am unsure if i have hyperglycemia as i have all the symptoms but i also have low blood pressure normally it sits at around 100/120 of late it has been 90/50 this means i can just stand and i get a dizzie spell of some sort or great feelings of fatigue, and alwys tired, i have little concentration and suffer from headaches alot but never used too until about 6 months ago i have little or no appetite at times and have been under no extra or unuasual stress that could explain this. I have seen another doctor for second opinion as i felt dissatisfied with my original doctor who seems to have no answers for me???? I don't know what to do anymore??? Have so many ???questions??? But not finding any answers? On top of this i suffer from a genetic lung disease upon which my lungs collapse spontaneously I have under gone an aptical bullectomy where they stapled my right lung to my chest in order to stop it from collapsing. But know there are other problems this is affecting my job and my life as i'm afraid to walk my dog for fear of fainting again in which i suffered a concussion??? PLEASE HELP ME?????? CONFUSED????

[Markie]

Rachel,

Have you done the glucose tolerance test yet? It will definately clarify your thinking. And it will provide you with hard evidence to take to the doctor. Go to this page for instructions :

http://www.endocrineweb.com/diabetes/diagnosis.html

Highlight the address above, and copy & paste it into the browser address field. And press return. Doing the test is very easy. And the results show just how your body responds to a glucose load.

It sounds like you are getting blood sugars readings all over the place. Be sure to wash your hands before you ***** your finger.

Cheers,

Mark

[freecuddles]

hi im johnny i have 3 monitor meters and they all give different readings lots of doctors say  there bull waist of time  makes u more panic best way real way get blood test ever year