After about 12 years of feeling horrible,
10 months of seizures and being
mis-diagnsed with Epilepsy, I have just
been diagnosed with Reactive
Hypoglycemia.
I had thought it odd that the only thing
which helped with my "epilepsy" was the
Atkins Diet for seizures. I finally saw an
endocrinologist, and now I know why..
I am still waiting for lab results on
insulin levels and other stuff, but during
the GTT my blood sugar plummeted to 47 in
the third hour, so somethign is definitely
not right.
Since the GTT (only last Thursday) I have
been following my Dr's guidelines
regarding foods to eat and to eat tiny
amounts very frequently, I have been
feeling better. I even lost a pound or
two.
I have some questions tho:
My really bad symptoms and seizures
usually start about 1-1.5 hours after I
eat. However in the GTT, my blood sugar
didn't drop until the third hour, by which
time I was starting to feel better (then
worse again.. <sigh>).
Is there any other process which can take
place and cause these horrible symptoms so
soon after eating?
Also, I have two other rare conditions:
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Syringomyelia.
Could my hypoglyemia be related to these
conditions?
I have multiple vitimin and mineral
deficiencies, most notably calcium,
vitamin B12 and Folic Acid. Could these
have any bearing on hypoglycemia (or
vice-versa)?
And lastly (I promise) The drug Lyrica,
given to me as an anti-epileptic back in
the days when I was a diagnosed epileptic;
caused my seizures to go completely and
utterly out-of-control -to the point where
I ended up in the ICU. What processes does
Lyrica impact in order to do this to me?
I am sorry to come in and bombard you all
with questions. I have been struggling
with health problems for many years, and
accused of all kinds of hysteria. Now I
finally have three confirmed diagnoses,
and I am trying to figure out -not only
how to live with all three- but how to get
over all the misdiagnoses, rubbishing of
my concerns and other crap to which I have
been subjected over many years.
-Paula
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Stan
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Joined: 01 Jan 2006 Posts: 1696 Location: ,
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Posted: 05-22-07 23:01pm
You can probably sue in this case I would
think. I'm going to go to bed now, and
tomorrow I'll give you a detailed talking
based on the questions you asked.
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Stan
Moderator
Joined: 01 Jan 2006 Posts: 1696 Location: ,
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Posted: 05-23-07 19:46pm
1. Your sugar didn't drop until the third
hour during the test because of the huge
amount of sugar you drink to take the test
(100g). Now that you're eating healthier,
but with less sugar, your body has not
adjusted yet and is assuming you're going
to eat a ton of it, thus it's shooting out
insulin early, which is probably what it
was doing before, but had a bit more sugar
to stay just a teensy bit more level.
2. No other process, it's your pancreas
and body reacting to the new diet, it's
trying to get you to eat sugar again.
3. Those diseases you mention could be
directly tied to your sugar problem, in
fact it may be causing them. If you've
had this for awhile and didn't know it, it
can do plenty of damage, but it's luckily
reversible.
4. The deficiences are being caused by
the hypoglycemia. You will need to find a
good vitamin to take for awhile, and I
don't mean centrum, which sucks.
5. I'm not sure about that drug, but
taking something you don't need for
something as serious as seizures would
certainly have an effect on the brain.
You can probably sue for that one.
We'll help you, just keep trying, it may
take over a year until you feel back to
normal because I assume you have years of
unknown abuse to make up for.
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specialmomx2
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 22 May 2007 Posts: 29
Posted: 05-23-07 21:34pm
Stan,
Thank you for your help.
My primary health condition is
Ehlers-danlos Syndrome, which is a genetic
connective tissue disorder (a collagen
deficiency, actually). I think that
caused the syrongomyelia (SM), which is a
buildup of spinal fluid within the spinal
cord, ripping the cord apart lengthways
(not recommended).
I have been to the top SM specialists in
the world (I happen to leave near them)
and they could not find a cause for this
condition in me. All of the known causes
were ruled out.
So I don't think the sugar problems caused
these isues -although I do wonder if they
are somehow interrelated. -particuarly the
SM, which is a mystery, -not to mention
the disease which will probably kill me.
Thinking back, I think you are right that
the vitamin deficiencies were caused by
the sugar problem and the resultant poor
diet I kept for many years. I knew that
food could make me fall asleep. I worked
fulltime, and could not afford to nap on
the job, so I simply didn't eat a lot of
the time. I know, I know: Bad choice. But
what's done is done.
I had some more questions (sorry).
I have been having lots of problems with
memory and other functions: Not just
short-term stuff like where I left the car
keys, but more deep-rooted things like
face recognition and remembering the way
to get somewhere (especially in changed
conditions, such as day vs night)
I was told that the 'epilepsy' caused
these cognitive issues, but of course, now
I know it wasn't epilepsy. Could these
problems be related to long-term
hypoglycemia? If so, Is it reversable?
it is really embarrassing not to recognise
my kids' friends and their moms.
Is there a genetic link to reactive
hypoglycemia?
and lastly: Is it true that there is a
strong link between hypoglycemia and
alcoholism? Most of my family are
alcoholics, hence the last two questions.
-Paula
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Stan
Moderator
Joined: 01 Jan 2006 Posts: 1696 Location: ,
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Posted: 05-24-07 08:13am
First off, I don't know much at all about
the diseases you mentioned, but if they
found no cause, trust me, it's likely
hypoglycemia is at least a major factor.
People don't seem to understand how much
your glucose levels can effect eveything
in your body. I found it was the cause of
my earlier cystic acne, among other
things. The cognitive problems are
directly related to hypoglycemia, it's one
of the first areas to go because the brain
realizes these things aren't important to
basic functioning. Hypoglycemics usually
always get this feeling of 'being nowhere'
or not realizing where they are, which is
called depersonalization/derealization.
Read about it online, I'm sure many of the
symptoms will match up for you. There is
a genetic link, yes. You can probably
think back to relatives that had blood
sugar disorders, diabetes or otherwise.
My grandfather had hypoglycemia, so I got
it. There is a link to alcoholism, yes,
it has the same functions, so your
relatives may actually have a form of this
and not know it.
