hypoglicemia

[Abeybaby]

Tks for taking my questions. I notice that almost everyday at the same time around 2pm I get shakes and trembling. Its often relieved by some coke or something sweet. This has been going on for a year or so but now its almost daily. I check my blood sugar and its around 90-95 when this occurs. My 3 month sugars are in line but my fasting sugars are up now to around 105 range. My doc told me to loose some weight- I am not overwieght, age 41, male but both parents are type 2 developed late in their 50's. I am under lots of stress- building a home but I am concerned about the readings here. I have not been formally diagnosed but warned that I could be on the road to diabetis. Rarely does my sugar go below 70 but I get the shakes around 85-95 range now. Am I glucose interant and is this the same as being hypoglecimic? I have lost weight but typical of me when under stress. I read somewhere about pancreatic tumors and scared to death about this. My glucose is managed well- normal just that recently I feel lousy around the same time of day and especially if in the sun? Is their a sun relationship here? Pls comment and tks.

[JDRF Team SGG]

LRS has once again given a great answer to you. The complex carbs and protein at lunchtime may help you. You may also want to just plan a very small snack at about 2 in the afternoon, or even a nibble of some small snack at around 1:30 to see if this staves off the hypo feeling. I know that I definitely can feel a glucose drop, even if my numbers are normal, but just happen to be dropping fairly quickly. That may be what is happening to you, and a half cup of juice or the equivalent amount of carbs of Gatorade (which I have been told is the quickest-possible carb to digest) may help you prevent the awful 2 pm sensations.

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

Good to hear your voice again Abeybaby,
As you know, we're volunteers and not physicians, so it's important to review your symptoms and concerns with your own doctor who knows your history and perhaps more of your family history, too.

Your fasting blood sugar is in a range called "pre-diabetes."  According to American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org), normal fasting is below 100; pre-diabetes is 100-140, and above that is diabetes.  Of course, a single reading doesn't provide enuf info for a diagnosis and only your doctor can do that (some meds cause blood sugars to rise/fall, too).

Given your family history, you are wise to be mindful of your symptoms.  You mention feeling hypoglycemic even when your blood sugar is within a normal range.  That's not uncommon and a few situations can cause those feelings.  First, if our blood sugar drops rapidly from any number, we will get those feelings.  Diabetics can even experience it when their blood sugar drops from one high number to a lower-but-still-too-high number.  Other times, folks can have those feelings if their blood sugar has been high for a while -- then, getting into a normal range can feel simply awful.

I hear your concern and it seems that you're reading a lot to make you even more scared.  While it may be scary to meet with your doc and lay out all the info you've provided here, it'd really be good for you to do just that.  

I'm not aware of any direct association between heat and feeling hypo, but there are plenty of folks whose blood sugars drop during stress (others get high blood sugars).

Since you're noticing a time-of-day pattern, you might consider increasing the complex carbos adn proteins you eat at lunch.  
Complex carbos (whole grains, fresh fruit, etc.) and proteins take longer to digest and their inherent glucose enters our blood stream more slowly than a highly refined carbo.  As a result, many folks have steadier blood sugar readings than those eat a lot of refined sugars.  We need the quick sugars to treat hypoglycemia, of course, but we can sometimes prevent hypo feelings by eating differently.

When can you see your doctor next? or can you consult with him/ her by phone?  Do your patterns sound at all similar to what either of your parents experienced prior to their diagnoses?

Hope this helps.