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Jennyflower

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Appetite Posted: 03-16-06 09:19am


I never desire food, I only eat food becoz I have to. For example, it takes me 1 hour to eat a meal. Snacks are obviously much quicker. Im sure its partly to do with the fact that I dont really like the food im eating....But im just wondering....Do loss of appetite and hypoglycemia go hand in hand? Because I strongly suspect they dont. And if they dont...Im wondering if I have something else wrong with me that makes me not want to eat - such as whipple's disease or a malabsorption disorder. I just cant understand why im finding it so hard to eat! And this has been going on for a while now..... Any ideas?

DianaJJ

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Posted: 03-16-06 09:49am


Hi jenny, that's exactly what happens...You have to eat by the clock instead of your hunger, if you want to get well. I feel my blood sugar slipping long before I feel hungry. That's why low carb diets work so well for people who want to lose weight. They don't feel the hunger but then again they never feel stuffed either. People are really happy that they lose their cravings for the bad stuff - sugar, junk food etc. You still need to eat every few hours so you don't lose weight either. Try to find foods you like so it's not so difficult. Maybe you need to concentrate on the hypoclycemic diet first and work on the others later when your feeling better. You're taking on quite a bit by trying to cure so many things at once. Dj

Stan Stepanic

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Posted: 03-16-06 11:17am


Loss of appetite is quite typical during the early stages of treatment, don't be worried by it. If you ever have any questions about any other symptoms, make sure to do that here before you start wondering about other diseases. Many hypoglycemics become worried and start to look through the internet for possible diseases they might have. Be careful of this because it only causes more anxiety, you start to read through symptoms and feel you have this disease and that. This is all the low blood sugar, if it wasn't, it would be continuous for weeks, not intermitent, which I guarentee it is for you. These things are a sign you're getting better, keep that in mind, you can make it, this is the hardest time.

yukja

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Posted: 03-16-06 11:29am


Hi jenny and diana, jenny, i'm the opposite of you; I get hungry just one hour after I eat, but I don't have cravings for sweets. Occasionally, I crave for salty food, so I sometimes sautee shrimps in olive oil with salt and pepper, which seems to satisfy my salt cravings. For breakfast, I usually eat one serving of oat bran with half a cup of unsweetened soy milk and a hard-boiled egg. For snacks, I eat celery, peppers, cucumebers with some kind of cheese, either stick cheese, cottage cheese, or cream cheese. And of course, I eat lots of nuts thoughtout the day. I know that you cannot eat nuts and cheeses, but these foods do help me stay energized. For lunch and dinner, I eat mostly lots of greens with a few pieces of tomatoes with chicken, tune, fish(mahi-mahi or salmon) or turkey. I try to stay away from beef because of mad cow desease, just to be extra carefull. I eat tofu for snack and for meals too. I know my diet doesn't have much variation, but somehow i've been able to stay on this diet for two months. Initially, I lost weight about 4 lbs., but i've gained it back, so I don't think you should worry too much about weight loss right now. Just as stan recommended, lots of fat will probably help prevent undesired weight loss and help relieve constant hunger for me, so I will add more fats into my diet. Thank you for your recommendation for coconat oil. I will try that too. I have constant dizziness and faint feelings too, so I understand how you are scared of faiting. I'm always scared to go do any shopping or errands, but I have never fainted so far. Luckily, I sleep very well at night right now. I used to wake up in the middle of the night feeling scared and noticed my heatbeat being faster than normal, but that doesn't happen any more. I guess i've gotten better. I'm still trying to figure out what foods are better and stuff, I hope we all can help each other out, and I really appreciate the fact that there is a forum like this where I can talk to other people with the same condition.

Jennyflower

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Posted: 03-16-06 11:48am


Hi yukja, yes I am so glad that there are people here I can talk to! It makes me feel less alone. Did u have your hypoglycemia diagnosed? I havent actually been diagnosed with it yet. Yes theres not much variation on the diet. Well done for sticking with it for 2 months! Ive only been on it 2 weeks and im already finding it so hard....Do u still get faint and dizzy? And are those your main symptoms? I can't wait til I can eat nuts and cheese again! It will help so much!

yukja

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Posted: 03-16-06 13:16pm


Jenny, i took glucoe tolerance test in last december, and the third hour reading was 45, and my doctor said that that's the full-blown hypoglycemia. I never dreamed that I have sugar metabolization problem, so it was quite a shock to me although my father has type-2 diabetes. My major symptoms are feeling faint and dizzy. Yes, I still have these symptoms to different degrees. I sometimes feel worse after some physical activity such as vaccuming the house or light exercise, but these symptoms are less intense and shorter duration. Back in december, I could not drive my daughter to school in the morning, let alone go grocery shopping or cook ( i'm a stay-home mom). Now I can do all that almost with no problem. I see it as a big improvement. I purchased a revised/update copy of the book stan and diana recommended, hypoglycemia the classic healthcare handbook. That explains the four stages hypoglycemics go though in their treatment, which I find really helpful to stay motivated and focused. I read 5 other books, and i'm glad I did because they all have different yet helpful pieces of information. I know it's very frustrating, but all the books say that hypoglycemia can be treated or reversed by a diet and exercise, so let's be positive and patient!

Jennyflower

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Posted: 03-16-06 13:29pm


I ordered that book today! Along with the low blood sugar handbook by edward krimmal and the low blood sugar cookbook to go with it. Yes those are my major symptoms too! The faintness was so bad that soemtimes I would be lying on the floor for 30minutes until I felt able to get up. Horrible. How long did it take u to see an improvement after being on the diet? Ive been on the diet 2 weeks and this week ive been ok, then had a major crash today... :(

yukja

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Posted: 03-16-06 14:51pm


I have both the low blood sugar book and the cook book by krimmel too, and I haven't used the cook book yet, but once I got my condition under control, I will try the recipes. The low blood sugar book is very good, but the krimmel diet is high complex carb, low protein diet, and I followed his diet 4 weeks and got better, but I stopped there because my symptoms weren't stable, and I worried eating more fruits, crackers, and yogurt (he recommends yogurt for a morning and bedtime snack) will worsen my symptoms. I might have gotten much better by now if I had continued on his diet; I don't know, but I don't feel up to adding more carbs into my diet yet. I tried the stan's diet too, but I went on a short trip, and that threw me off the diet. Now I just follow the basic hypoglycemic diet; low-carb, high protein. Sorry, stan! >how long did it take u to see an improvement after being on the diet? Ive been on the diet 2 weeks and this week ive been ok, then had a major crash today... :( i got immediet good results, only 4 or 5 days after I cut out all the sugar and carbs. Initially, I completly eliminated all sugars and carbs (except veggies and nuts), and I immediately felt much better. Fortunately, my symptoms never got worse, or I never got new symptoms though, it's just they come and go. There have been definitely big ups and downs in my energy levels, which makes me think that I might be in the second recovery stage. Today, I went to a my daughter's school function, where I had to be on my feet for about 40 minutes, and I felt so very dizzy and weak that I had to sit down on a bench for a while to feel better. This is very typical of me, when I wait in line at a store or anywhere, I feel faint and feel like I have to lie down somewhere. So I know exactly how you feel.

Stan Stepanic

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Posted: 03-16-06 17:12pm


It's okay! Besides, that's pretty much what my diet is, low carb high protein, I just give a nice regimen to try. The high carb thing can work, but it takes much, much longer. I actually was on this at first without even knowing it, and it took almost eleven months to work! Even then, my system was so sensitive a small plate of spagetthi led to another downhill spiral of doom. With carbs still in the diet in significant amounts, it is my theory that this makes the body too sensitive to changes in the future.

Jennyflower

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Posted: 03-17-06 06:09am


Mayb thats y im not noticing huge improvements yet after being 2 weeks on the diet - becoz I still have shredded wheat and brown rice..... Yukja u saw improvement very quickly! Thats so good! I hope it gets better for me soon.

Stan Stepanic

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Posted: 03-17-06 09:27am


Don't worry if it takes more time for you, everyone is different! The thing to always realize is the bad symptoms mean good ones will be coming.

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