Hypoglycemia Symptoms - Not Hypoglycemic?? Posted: 04-19-04 14:37pm
For 8 years I have had difficulty in my
life that has been diagnosed as everything
from chronic fatigue to adhd to
generalized depression and more. My
symptoms seemed to stem from foods I ate
or low blood sugar reactions. Doctors
told me I was hypoglycemic at a very young
age, maybe 17, and just told me to stay
away from sugar and eat an extra meal.
Needless to say I did this for years but I
still had dizziness, loss of
concentration, shakiness, fatigue, even
fainting spells, shakes, and the like. A
friend of mine, who is diabetic, was
asking me if I monitored my sugar at all.
I said no because doctors always told me
just to eat more. However it seemed the
more I ate, the worse my symptoms became.
I could eat a balance meal and 30 to 45
minutes later I was feeling sick, dizzy,
and yawning and having to nap.
My friend let me borrow her glucometer and
showed me how to test my blood sugar. I
started making note of my bs levels when I
was feeling shaking and unable to focus or
stand up and when I was feeling ok. I
tested before and after meals, waking bs
levels, and before bed and kept good
records. I noticed that after a well
balanced meal my bs would never get above
100 an hour after a meal but then 45
minutes later would drop to around 80 ...
By the time my bs gets to 75 or lower I
start to fall apart. I have mood swings,
I get very tired, I start to tremble, I
cant focus or concentrate. When I eat
something I get a bit of a head rush and
start to feel better.
According to standards however.
Hypoglycemia is 50 or below and that my
numbers are considered normal (between
70-100). How can this be? All my life I
have been feeling like this. This
horrible feelings. I dont drink alcohol
or take any medications. I try to eat
right but i'm not exactly a perfect eater
but I don't eat junk either. I try to
have balanced meals when I can. All of my
symptoms are in line with hypoglycemia.
The rapid drop in my bs I can feel. I can
feel the shakes coming on. I know when I
need to eat and this is several times a
day.
Someone suggested that what I might be
experiencing is not hypoglycemia but a
thyroid problem. That I may be
overproducig insuline or something to that
effect. Looking up information on
hypothyroidism I see the symptoms are very
similar.
Does anyone have any information on
thyroid problems? Could this be my
problem? I really find it hard to believe
that how I feel is normal. Just because
my readings are normal I know how I feel
and have felt for years. Since I was 17
(i'm 29 now) and I know that while I may
not be hypoglycemic according to numbers,
I know that there is definatley something
wrong. How do I get a doctor to listen
and not just dismiss my symptoms? Should
I see a specialist of some kind?
Thank you for any advice.
|
gedler
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Posts: 6 Location: Louisiana
Hypoglycemia Symptoms Posted: 04-21-04 09:34am
Hey! Sounds exactly like me!! I've
been fighting this for as long as I can
remember. I know when I was in 1st
grade, my mom had to tell the cafeteria
that they weren't feeding me enough
because I was shaky and weak when I got
home from school. I never had success
with treatment from doctors. Like you,
low blood sugar not low enough to be
considered hypoglycemia, they keep telling
me it's normal.... But I sure could feel
it. Many times my family and friends ask
me, "when is the last time you ate?"
because I am snapping at them.
I have had a great deal of success with
limiting carbohydrates. I started this
august 2003 and have not had one episode
since. I limit my carb intake to 10
grams or less per serving. (i use the
net carb calculation like in the atkins
diet... Subtract fiber from total carbs).
I feel great, have lost weight (i needed
to ), have lots of
energy, and haven't been accused of not
eating. Try it for a couple of weeks,
see what happens.
Good luck!!
G.
|
Sonya
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 Jul 2004 Posts: 1 Location: Scotland
Low Carb Diet Posted: 07-28-04 14:14pm
Ive had exaclty the same experience.
Apparently my blood sugar levels are
'normal' but I get all the symptoms. I
have been following a low carb diet (not
more than 40g per day) for 2 months now
and I feel so much better. Its got rid of
the shakes and the horrible feelings. I
no longer get irritable or tired. I tried
going back to my previous diet last
weekend and I was constantly hungry, so im
convinced the low carb way is working.
I Suffer From the Symptoms Too Posted: 07-29-04 07:12am
Hi...I found this forum because I think I
may be hypoglycemic.
I have had this happen every so often, but
almost constantly since I had
mononucleosis in march.
Whenever I go out walking or exercizing of
any kind (even going shopping!) I will
start to shake and feel dizzy and
disoriented. I was on a walk with my
finace, and my heart was beating very
rapidly, and I felt very faint...He said
my eyes had a glazed over look. I
couldn't stop shaking. The symptoms are
alleviated when I drink or eat something
sugary.
I also have insomnia (it's really
terrible!), muscle pain and tension, and
mood swings.
I have been tested for diabetes before,
and its always come up negative.
The frequency of these symptoms seem to
have increased since I had mono. I read
that hypoglycemia can be caused or
aggravated by viral infection, esp a virus
that attacks the liver (like mono does).
Does this sound like my self diagnosis
could be right?
And if so, is there anything I can do
about it?
I have been trying to loose weight all my
life (i am not obese but over my ideal
weight) and I can't...No matter what diet
I go on or how much I exercize...Could
this also be related to hypoglycemia?
Thanks for your help!
|
purple333
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Dec 2003 Posts: 1420 Location: Sydney
Posted: 07-29-04 10:23am
There are many things beneath the medical
ocean - so research everything, ask
questions on a search engine like what
causes........ & what medical
cnditons cause........ & treamtment
optoins for ......... Etc.
One thing re thyroid conditons which can
cause many things including weight gain
despite eating right & exercising is
hashimoto's hypothyroidism - which we now
think my dauhgter may have along with ibs.
I found this by researching conditions
which cause weight gain.
I would do some research based on your
symptoms then take your list of what you
believe could be wrong & why along to
the dr & ask to be tested - many tests
are only blood or urine so reallly so long
as you don't go in wanting a million tests
& so long as you have valid logical
reasons for thinking this or this could be
your problem the dr should run the tests.
|
PistolOpera
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Jun 2005 Posts: 2
Posted: 06-20-05 16:47pm
This is what i've been going through also
for quite some time. I'm almost postive I
have a blood sugar/thyroid problem, but
the results have come back fine everytime
and the doctors and my parents always
label it as "depression" which makes me
even more angry. I'm no doctor myself,
but I know this constant dizziness is
definitely not a sign of depression. I
feel so tired throughout the day that
sometimes I don't feel like I can really
do anything at all. Eating wheat does
help regulate my blood sugar, but it also
makes me feel bad at the same time because
of my wheat allergy. I'm pretty much
trapped here and don't know what to do.
|
dexi
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 25 Aug 2005 Posts: 40 Location: aberdeenshire
Hypoglycemic? Posted: 08-25-05 07:31am
Hi to all, I was told I was hypoglycemic
many years ago when after a night on the
tiles (actually I hadnt even started!!!) I
felt so awful and I mustve looked worse
luckily the managers were both diabetic so
let me use their tester I was 0.7 which
frightened the life out of them a normal
reading being 4-7. I also had bad
reactions whenever I ate white bread, I
fell asleep!! For anything between
1-4hrs..Most afternoons.
I became a veggie at 21, a vegan at 26,
and since then have been discovered to
have multiple allegies I now class myself
as a wheat free, fungus free vegan who has
lots of dislikes!!!!!I am convinced that
the majority of peoples complaints can be
helped in some measure by alterations to
their diet...I am at present being tested
for thyroid dysfunction as the doc thinks
I am no longer hypoglycemic as like you I
can get all my hypo symptoms when at 6
which is the cut off for me and anything
below I feel c**p even tho it is a normal
reading . We should know how we feel
better than any doctor .
|
ru_627
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 25 Aug 2005 Posts: 3 Location: US
Posted: 08-25-05 12:24pm
I had those same symptoms, but only when I
was pregnant. They tested me for
gestational diebeties (sp) but I didn't
have that. I read about hypoglycemia
online and decided i'd experiment w/a few
things. Someone told me to try raw
almonds, so I did. I found that if I ate
raw almonds, just a handful or so, before
I went to bed and a couple times
throughout the day, my symtoms decreased a
ton. Just something you could try. Good
luck.
|
Stan
Moderator
Joined: 01 Jan 2006 Posts: 1696 Location: ,
Thanks: 3
Thanked:0
Posted: 01-01-06 16:36pm
If someone said this sorry, I didn't read
everything. Ignore all assumptions on
levels of blood sugar for hypoglycemia,
because no one agrees with what they
actually mean. The importance is not how
low it drops, though it can matter, but
how fast. If it goes from 100 to 70 in
an hour, you have hypoglycemia, no
questions asked. Reactive type, to be
specific.
|
Vox
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 May 2006 Posts: 1
Probably Is Thyroid Posted: 05-28-06 20:55pm
Hi. My guess is that you do have low
thyroid. Here's why: every person I
know with thyroid problems suffered for
years while seeing the best medical
professionals before someone actually
properly diagnosed hypothyroidism.
For me, low blood sugar ruled my life for
4 or 5 years. I would eat 6 gigantic
meals a day, towards the end, plus snacks,
and still was a stick, with every jerk and
jealous friend saying I was anorexic,
notwithstanding the huge amount of food I
was forced to eat and carry with me,
instead of helping me through a terrifying
time without accurate medical care.
It is very common for women in their 20 to
have low thyroid. Esp. If they have
grown up in stressful environs.
Other symptoms besides weight, or edema
issues, low blood sugar symptoms, orange
skin on bottom of feet or palms, hair
loss, eye changes like gritty feeling or
sunken or bulging eyes, large or slight
bulge in middle of front of neck, hand
tremor, night mares in morning when you
wake up, muscle pain and joint pain.
Facial hair, cognitive or memory
problems.
This can be very serious as it only gets
worse.
I think it is wise to see a doctor that is
a natropath and an md. They seem to be
able to diagnose problems like these that
traditional doctors miss. Or else see an
endocrinologist for thyroid and adrenal.
Good luck. Your post was so long ago, I
hope things have finally been properly
managed. I good news is once you receive
competent care you will feel better so
quickly! I started taking natural
thyroid medicine and within a week much of
the joint pain disappeared!
Btw: I have noticed that on every mystery
diagnosis episode, that show on discovery
health, at least one patient has thyroid
or adrenal problems that go on for years
while the doctor is saying tht the patient
is making it up or something equally
contempuous.
|
Stan
Moderator
Joined: 01 Jan 2006 Posts: 1696 Location: ,
Thanks: 3
Thanked:0
Posted: 05-29-06 07:46am
One thing to keep in mind with a disease
like hypothyroidism is that it will not
respond to dietary treatment, as
hypoglycemia will. So, if anyone does
notice that after a period of time (three
months at most) that no progress is made,
this is a possibility.
), have lots of
energy, and haven't been accused of not
eating. Try it for a couple of weeks,
see what happens.
