ER for hypoglycemic attack ?

Oh and FYI I don't have a blood/glucose testing thing as I never really needed it.

Do you have any sort of ketones strips on you? I know you probably wouldn't need them becasue you don't go hyperglycemic, but that would give you a decent idea of what your number might be and it's not as expensive.

Do you have glucose tablets? I use those in an IMMEDIATE emergency. How long have you been feeling like this? If it's been going on for awhile, call the nurses hotline or...yes, go to the hospital. I find it odd that you've been feeling low for so long.

If eating didn't relieve your symptoms in some time then it's unlikely that the problem was a low blood sugar. You need to go to your doctor and explain what happened.

The symptoms of low blood sugar are common to many conditions, it could have been one of any number of things, even your blood pressure.

It sounds like you were diagnosed with a fasting hypoglycemia? If you feel this is getting worse then speak to your doctor, depending on the cause there may be ways they can help you more now.


Are you feeling better now?

I finally did get relief last night a few hours later... it did start to get better or plateau after a while and finally a few hours later I was feeling oka and I slept good.

Got up today and felt like utter crapola same things but quicker results with some turkey and cheese so I'm bringing that to work with me today.

I think that is what I was dx with but it was a very long time ago and it was only boderline then.

I am feeling 'okay' right now, not the best but def not really bad or anything.

Made a doc appointment for Friday that is the earliest they could see me.

As fr something else going on... I had a full physical about 2 months ago everything is fine completely and my BP has always been 120/80 rarely fluctuates even a few numbers but it does on occassion but nothing alarming high or low always in the normal range so I'm not concerned in the least about that.

I could get some keytone strips at the pharmacy I'm sure, how would I read them to know?

If I feel that bad again tonight at work I'll be leaving work and going in... it was scary for me and I'm sure my panic over it was a culprit into it staying low for so long.

Do you eat a lot of sugary foods usually, or just when you feel your sugars might be low?

If it happens again then go to ER. It sounds like low blood sugar, except for the symptoms persisting for hours, you'd usually feel relief within 20 minutes or so. Whether it's low blood sugar or not, still go to ER so they can check you over.

There'll be instructions on the packet for using ketone sticks I'd imagine, if not check with the pharmacist for how to use that particular brand. Usually, you'd wee on a stick and depending on the shade/colour, it'll indicate roughly the strength of ketones in your body. I'm not entirely sure how they'd help indicate low blood sugar, but if your blood sugars are high and not enough glucose is being transported then you may have a high ketone reading. Also bare in mind that your diet and other factors may influence the reading.

Between now and Friday I'd advise you to have small, frequent meals, every couple of hours at least. Try and avoid sugar/junk food unless you feel symptoms again.

As much as I hate to admit it I'm a candy junkie... I seem to crave them intensely like an addiction and will get shaky without them. I'm sure this is related and if I ate better and more on schedule this likely wouldn't happen.

So the strips don't actually tell you what your sugar levels are? but if the ketones are low then the glucose (sugar) is probably low and if they are high then glucose is high is that how it works?

Have you had your blood sugar checked lately? It could be that you're experiencing hyper, not hypo. Although the symptoms would be slightly different. Do you feel thirsty often? Do your muscles ache?

Your doctor should order a fasting glucose, this will help decide if your problem is blood sugar related and he can go from there.

Well, when your blood sugar is high you'd likely find a high level of ketones. But other factors affect ketone readings and not just your blood sugar. For example your diet, or even the time of day you take the test. The test isn't guaranteed to be accurate either, some people can have high levels of ketones and still show normal on ketone sticks.

It can be an indicator, and possibly worth doing anyway if the sticks don't cost much. But obviously it shouldn't be used in place of an actual blood glucose test.

I had my glucose levels checked via a urine sample at the lab when I had all the blood work for everything else. I thought it was very odd they used urine instead of blood but that is what was ordered. I will look up the results but I know it was within normal range normal on the low end or high end or middle range I don't remember, but I wasn't feeling sick that day either.

I think what I'll do is ask for the GTT

Okay I'm feeling icky again now the begining symptoms that I felt yesterday.

I am not over thirsty or achy muscles. I AM feeling constantly hungry though like I can't eat enough and when I do feel full I start feeling this way again in like an hour an intense hunger and then the results are what happened last night. Sometimes not extreme.

I don't know what is wrong but I feel like crying and I fel crazy... and Friday seems eons away.

Go to ER. Explain how long this has been happening, exactly what is happening, what you are trying and that it isn't helping.

The GTT is typically done to test for diabetes, fasting hypoglycemia won't show up on the test itself (that's not to say you haven't developed something like type 2 diabetes, so it's worth having the test). However an abnormally low fasting blood sugar (done on it's own or at the beginning of the GTT) would indicate fasting hypoglycemia. Your doctor can also order a 72 hour fast which is the test used to diagnose fasting hypoglycemia.

Hypoglycemia may not even be the problem, so go on over to ER and get checked out

Did you go to ER after? How are you doing?

Sorry Victoria for just getting back to you.

I was able to get more stable throughout the evening the other day finally. I have upped my protein intake and as long as I eat even if it is just a few nuts like 5-6 every other hour or every 2 hours or so I'm doing okay. So I decided that Friday was okay to see my doctor.

A 72 hour fast... no eating for 72 hours? How would a hypoglycemic survive that? I'd def get sick if I did that.

What is the difference between fasting hypoglycemia and reactive hypoglycemia. Those are the two types right?

I guess I won't know until I have more tests done but I'd like to 'treat' it like this is a sugar issue for now since that is what seems to be helping. I haven't had to use sugar to help me get back up since the end of the night on the 28th.

I've had the 3 hour tests in the past sometimes my glucose levels are normal and sometimes they are low.. it really is hit or miss. I know though what will sort of 'force' me into those symptoms and I wonder if I should talk to my doctor about that and see if that is something I should do before the test. I hate to get a test that will show nothing at all because I'm not having an 'attack' so to speak.

Yes eating every two hours is a good way to go, I'm glad it's helping.

Fasting hypoglycemia is usually caused by something like an insulinoma (insulin secreating tumour), but it can be removed. Reactive hypoglycemia is usually diet related, again usually the reaction would be around 2-3 hours after eating sugar. There's many causes of hypoglycemia, it's not a condition on it's own but a symptom.

You can generally tell if your hypoglycemia is fasting of reactive, depending on whether you feel symptoms when having not ate for some time, or if you feel symptoms 2-3 hours after you eat.

The 72 hour fast is something you'd usually have to go through to be diagnosed and treated. Yes it's horrible, you're in a hospital and supervised for the whole time and once your blood sugar drops below 2.4mmol then a sample is taken for the lab and you're treated and released. If your blood sugar drops in 24 hours then it'll just be a 24 hour fast, you stay there only until your sugars drop or you hit the 72 hour mark. It can be uncomfortable if you're having symptoms but are not yet as low as 2.4mmol, but it's worth it when the cause can be treated. Hypoglycemia in non diabetics is rare, and this test is rarely positive.

I find it odd that sugar doesn't relieve your symptoms. It doesn't matter who you are, sugar (glucose) raises blood sugar levels and will do so in around 20 minutes, not hours and hours *scratches head* This makes me think it's something that's producing similar symptoms, but not actually hypoglycemia.

Keep doing what works for you until you get to a doctor

He ordered a whole panel of new tests.. liver, kidney's, thyroid, insulin resistance/antibodies.. he said that it is interesting that when I'm sleeping I don't have these problems and I wake up feeling icky but not as bad as throughout the day. It is also intresting that the initial 'attack' happened about an hour or so after I ate. He wonders if my body is not producing enough insulin or in a sense attacking the insulin or what is going on.

He also rx'd a glucose testing kit... of course my insurance doesn't cover diabetic testing supplies so I had to pay out of pocket. I do have a discount plan so that helped some. I also have FSA so I'll be turning in this $91 receipt for reimbursement, still my money but not as big of a hit ya know?

I have to force myself into the symptoms I have and test several times and test when I'm feeling fine. He wants all the results for a weeks time.

I did buy the better of the monitoring systems in case I do have to use this system for the long term and if not I'm sure I can sell it on ebay and get some of my money back. Plus ya know I have to spend the FSA money or loose it anyway. I didn't want to 'waste' money on the cheap one that I'd only use this week and find out I needed to buy another one because I was using it all the time because even the cheap ones... aren't all that cheap.

So that's it for now.

Well it sounds like your doctor has his head screwed on, you're lucky!

Having the glucose machine will be a great help. You'll have to let us know what readings you get

It'd be interesting if your body is 'attacking' the insulin, it could be that it's being rejected which is why sugar didn't make you feel better - it may be more a case of your blood sugar being too high at times. HypErglycemia.

I'm really interested in what your doctor finds. Be sure to keep the thread updated!

attacking is the word I could come up with at the time. Sorry I was in the midst of re-reading my autoimmune disorder research and write up for a paper from last semester to give to a friend and typically that is what they do is attack cells ect... so that word was fresh in my mind.

Today just shy of 2 hours after eating and right when I should have eaten I got a 78... okay good. Just after eating I got a 125 still good too that was about 15 mins after eating.

I'll test first thing in the am.

I'm wondering how often I should test... tomorrow will be the day I kind of try to make myself go into an 'attack' so I can test.. if I have time and don't have to leave the house that is lol

There is one test you should include if you're not thinking of doing it already. Basically it's a variation of a GTT, where you'll drink a sugar solution and record your blood sugar levels.
Test before drinking, again half hour after drinking, 1 hour after drinking, then 2 hour after drinking. Might want to test at the 3 hour mark too. You can do this with a high energy glucose drink (not sure if you have Lucozade there?), make sure it's around 75g glucose (check the sugar content, some sports drinks are so high in sugar/glucose that you only need the one bottle!).
You should be able to see from this test if your blood sugar is going too high, too low, or if you have an insulin resistance and so on.

Unfortunately the sticks are the most expensive part (over here they are anyway), so use them wisely.

Make a spreadsheet or some kind of record for each test which includes what you ate, what time, and all blood sugar readings with what time you took them. I assume your doctor has told you to do something similar already.

Do some random tests, in the morning before breakfast (fasting) and in the night before bed, but you shouldn't need to do these every morning/night, just the once unless you're having symptoms.

And make sure you get the readings when you're having symptoms! When you are having symptoms, do your blood sugar every half hour at the most, every 15 minutes if you're feeling particularly bad and your blood sugar is high/low.

While you're testing make sure you have snacks and someone at home with you if possible.


Can I ask what it is you know brings on the symptoms?

78 at 2 hours is within range, but you should check the 3 hour mark next time to see if your blood sugar is continuing to drop. My blood sugar is around 140 after 2 hours, but only 40 after 2 and half - 3 hours!

If your blood sugar is 125 after 15 minutes then you probably don't have a problem in the digestion part of the process, your body has broken food down into glucose. At the 15 minute mark your blood sugar would have just started to rise, I'd give that one a miss in future and save a stick, just check at 30 minutes or 1 hour instead.

And for the record...

I'm diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia, I've been through the home glucose testing saga myself. It's not very nice having to bring on symptoms but it's worth it when you find what the problem is