could it be hypoclycemia?

[cjsjellybean]

Hi.  I am a 20 y/o girl and I have been having problems since last week Sunday.  Saturday night, I went out and had apx. 4-6 beers.  Then Sunday played an exercize game having very little to eat during the day.  That night, my entire face went numb.  It felt as if I had been shot with novocaine.  On Monday, some of the feeling has come back, but no feeling on the inside of my mouth.  I was randomly loosing feeling in my arms and legs as well.  By Wed-Friday, when waking up from my naps, both of my legs would be feelingless.  Now, it is mainly only in my left leg.  I have not regained all my feeling anywhere in my body.  When I scratch it, it feels as if I am scratching through a sweatshirt or something.  I have some feeling, but not all.  I was told I have a mix of anxiety and hypoclycemia from one of my moms friends who is a nurse.  But I haven't been tested.  I didn't eat any meals between Saturday and Wed. of last week.  Since i Have began eating, i feel better after I eat and as time passes, it gets worse until I eat again.  I also get worse when I am under stress.  For example, during a test last Friday it got really bad.  Could this be low blood sugar?  I think I have noted all my symptoms but if there are any questions, I can let you know more of what I am experiencing.

[JDRF-Team-wak]

I am not a physician; I am a volunteer and a mom of a type 1 diabetic.  I would suggest 2 things; the first is you start eating regular meals. It is not healthy to go with out eating for days, even if it is just a simple snack.  Your brain cannot function properly with out food.
The second is to see physician and have him/ her run some blood tests to see exactly what  is going on. The longer you wait the more damage you could be doing to your body.

Good Luck

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

Hello,
As you may know, none of us here is a physician.  We all have a lot of experience with diabetes either because we have it or we are related to someone who does.

I urge you to call your doctor .. right away.  Tell him/her exactly what you've shared here.  Discuss your symptoms and patterns.  You seem to be a very bright young person and very perceptive -- at least after the fact -- about issues relating to your well-being.

You've likely heard from other adults that it is both unwise and deadly dangerous to not eat for many days at a time.  Our bodies have been designed for periodic refueling.  Not eating is a possible sign of an eating disorder that likely has some painful but deep underlying cause.  If you can possibly muster the courage, please discuss your eating with your doctor.  (I can't tell from your msg if you were, in fact, snacking but just didn't have any normal meals, but I got the feeling you were not eating at all).  You may be dehydrating yourself if you are only drinking alcohol and not drinking water & other healthful fluids.

Your "anxiety" feelings might be tied to a physical reaction to hypoglecemia, if, in fact, you have that condition.  It takes motivation and self-respect to manage hypoglycemia in healthy ways that limit the danger you expose yourself to.  For those of us with diabetes, anxiety feelings are sometimes the symptom of our episodes of hypoglycemia (blood sugar that's too low).

The rest of this reply is not something you asked for directly, but as a parent of a young woman your age, I'm telling you what I would tell her.  She was in a near-deadly car crash resulting from self-destructive behaviors like you describe.  She will wear a scar on her beautiful face for the rest of her life because of it.  We're grateful she's alive and she has a constant reminder of her mistake.

You may be accustomed to drinking 4-6 beers at time, as many young people seem to do.  Underage drinking is a deadly dangerous activity, in part because of the physical damage it does to saturate our body and brain with alcohol.  For a young women, binge drinking puts her at much greater risk of being raped or worse.

Since many young people drink -- not as an accompaniment to a good meal -- but rather for the purpose of getting drunk, there are grave dangers lurking as well.  This year, in my home town another young person died from alcohol overdose at a party celebrating his 21st birthday.  About a month ago, a young woman fainted while waiting to get into a club here.  She had been drinking.  She died a few hours later.

Your request for info here is a very positive step toward cherishing your self and nurturing your self into adulthood.  Even if no one else does this for you, you've taken a good step to take care of you.  Please please please call your doctor in the morning.

[cjsjellybean]

Thanks for all your help.  I wasn't eating because I didn't want to.  I would get hungry, but as soon as I saw the food, I would begin to get nausious.  Once I got home, to a more familiar environment with my family, I was able to relax a lot more and I began to eat and start feeling better immediately.

I will assure you this drinking was a one time thing.  It is definatly something I don't do all the time.  Maybe 2 or 3 times a year...although, I do realize I did do it in a bit of excess at this time.  It is not something I am proud of.

I called my schools Health Services last week and described all of these sypmtoms to them and they gave me a similar diagnosis of just anxiety and stress.  I didn't hear about the hypoglycemia until I talked to my moms friend this past weekend.

I have eaten a lot today and I'm not 100% but definatly noticing changes from the previous week.  

Thanks again for all your help.