| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/7/2008 1:35:22 PM | I have all the symptoms of a hypoglycemic but without the actual low blood sugar readings. Dr's have done blood test after blood test and tell me I'm "fine". Certainly not fine as I experience symptoms of hypoglycemia basically every 2-3 hours. I have read that this can be refered to as "pseudo hypoglycemia". Has anyone out there experienced this same problem? I am at the end of my rope as to what to do. No Dr seems to be able to tell me what is wrong. They are convinced, because I don't have the low blood sugar, that I am not hypoglycemic, yet they cannot tell me why I am experiencing the symptoms.
Any help from out there in POF land would be much appreciated. | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/7/2008 3:20:26 PM | what are your symptoms? Do you have a glucose testing kit to take with you to check your blood sugar levels when you feel the symptoms?
Also whats your current nutrition and exercise regime like? | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/7/2008 5:04:59 PM | Yes, I am a hypoglocemic.
Blood glucose levels are NOT static. Your blood sugar can drop if you wait too long to eat, if you don't drink enough water, due to hypothyroidsim, because of what you eat , vigorous exercise, or other things.
The trouble with counting on a doc is that they only want to check your blood sugar after you have fasted the night before. During the night your liver will raise your blood sugar a little to keep you from starving. The doc will expect your blood sugar to be in the range of 70 to 99. And it probably will be.
If you suspect you are having hypoglocemic episodes -- like me, get a glucometer, and check it yourself. You need to do a base check in the a.m and 1 hour after eating. If you think it is dropping check it then.
I will tell you this -- if your blood sugar drops very rapidly the results may feel a lot worse than they actually are.
If you do have hypoglocemia as you suspect, a doc will not be able to treat it all that effectively with meds. It will most likely have to be done with diet, or giving up caffiene or alcohol.
I used to use amino acids L-cysteine, and L Carnitine, along with manganese. You may be able to use L-Glutamine which improve insulin release in case you are glucose intolerant. These helped me get my hypoglocmia under control until my diet changes kicked in.
Good Luck ! | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/7/2008 7:24:44 PM | | yea, that sounds like reactive hypoglycemia to me. My sugar levels won't always be detected as below normal, only sometimes. However, I always get the same feelings, the lightheadedness, the weird stomach feeling, sometimes panic symptoms. It took a while for them to diagnose me, so I can understand why its frustrating. Try to eliminate all simple sugars and eat every few hours. I know it could be depressing, hopefully they'll have a cure for it soon. Does your family have a history of Diabetes II because many times it's an indication that things could head down that way. If not, then just try to keep control of it. Definitely hit the gym if you get a chance, it really helps. Your lucky that your figuring out your symptoms. Many people with hypoglycemia get misdiagnosed as having panic disorder, being bipolar and just crazy and, unfortunately, end up in mental institutions. Others end up homeless because their parents think there insane and throw them out of the house. | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/7/2008 9:30:14 PM | As I mentioned in the other thread, cinnamon is a known glucose stabilizer. Some companies have built on this fact to goose up and patent their own versions of cinnamon.
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/12/3215
.... with lots of other links cited for cinnamon.
other naturals that help with glucose management/stability: ashwaganda, bitter melon.
As in the another, breakfast thread, a breakfast of whole, raw grains like whole wheat flakes, oat flakes, wheat bran, oat bran, pearled barley, all help stabilize glucoe FOR HOURS as they move through the GI tract.
I take 1t cinnamon morning & evening. bulk cinnamon here:
http://www.bulkfoods.com/search_results.asp?txtsearchParamCat=37&txtsearchParamType=ALL&txtsearchParamMan=ALL&txtsearchParamVen=ALL&txtFromSearch=fromSearch&txtsearchParamTxt=4263
Ask your doctor, without exception, but as you seem to have found, the docs don't take much $time with us.
SO MANY diseases and metabolic problems are caused and/or affected by systemic chronic inflammation. see that thread. | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/8/2008 9:30:47 AM | burnleybabe; If you want accurate feedback you're going to have to provide more specific information.
1. Exactly what symptoms of hypoglycemia are you experiencing every 2-3 hours ?
2. What are your blood sugar readings when you are having symptoms ?
3. How long do your symptoms last ?
4. What relieves your symptoms ?
5. Do your symptoms go away after eating ?
6. How long has this been going on ?
7. Is there a history of this in your family ?
8. Have you gained or lost any weight prior to or since the onset of symptoms ?
9. Have you changed your diet or started taking any drugs prior to or since the onset of symptoms ?
10. Are there any enviornmental , social , emotional , physical , medical factors that coincide with your onset of symptoms ?
11. Have you gotten any second opinions ? | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/9/2008 3:26:21 PM | yea, that sounds like reactive hypoglycemia to me.
yes, New York -- the re-active kind is what I have. Can you imagine eating a huge meal, and having your blood sugar drop rapidly the whole time you were eating. Before you finished you were MUCH hungrier than before you started . You felt like you were "starving to death" and having a panic attack! happened to me!
I have had it since early childhood, though, so in my case it is NOT pre-diabetic (as the doctors want me to believe) I went on Atkins, which is definately not for everyone, but easy for me to follow.
I work out and do cardio -- so I have moved up to the point where I could have 1 bread, grain or starch a couple of times a week. But I save that for when I just can't get anything else to eat.
Which ever way you go -- ditching the refined starches and processed foods (as much as possible) is key.
Plenty of water and fresh veggies (not beans and potatoes) helps the metabolic process a LOT | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/9/2008 7:32:29 PM | Chop up some veggies, put em in a ziplock. Raw almonds, walnuts, I get the Sargento cheddar cubes, get some natural yogurt. Take a little insulated bag with you, it also keeps ya from eating crap during the day.
I try to eat something every 3 or 4 hours anyway. | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/12/2008 9:29:14 AM | | To get a true blood sugar analysis for hypoglycemia, you need the 8 hour test, not the little quickie in the doctor's office. That's the true test of blood sugar patterns. As a lifelong hypoglycemic I have been through the mill with doctors. Back in 1972 they told me that I didn't have enough sugar in my blood & that I shoule EAT MORE SUGAR!!! I literally almost died as a result. Through trial & error I came up with a pattern of eating that keeps my bloodsugars level. Now it is closely matched by what doctors & nutritionists recommend. High protein, complex carbs (as in whole grains), no sugar or low sugar, chromium piccolinate, & the herb gymnema sylvestre. Cinnamon is helpful for many but it's too harsh for my digestive system for me to use it in any quantity to be effective. It is worth trying if you are one who can handle it. Some people have differing opinions about which form of chromium has the highest efficacy, but I think that has to do with individual physiology. For me, the piccolinate form works best. I use 400 mcgs. with a protein & complex carb breakfast & that keeps me pretty stable. If I start the day off with a solid foundation, I seem to remain more stable throughout the day. If not...it gets iffy. Also, keeping the protein snacks going throughout the day. The various nuts that were suggested earlier are a great idea. My office desk looks more like a grocery store inside. lol Also, Diet products do not keep your blood sugar stable over the long haul. | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/12/2008 9:52:39 AM | "High protein"
What do you mean by "high". I agree with everything you say, except the protein angle. Americans are famously perversely pre-occupied with protein, and germs. 
"If I start the day off with a solid foundation"
This is what I've "discovered", too. Twice I've lost 50+ pounds, 30 years apart, and each time was based on a solid, even large, natural foods breakfast as the basis of my day's nutrition, which, when you add it all up, is the basis for a entire life's nutrition.
As mothers's used to say (before Kellogs, General Foods, etc corrupted them),
"Eat a Good Breakfast". | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/12/2008 11:05:44 AM | Whoah...lots of questions...
@17456
1. Every 2-3 hours I get dizzy, light-headed and shaky. My eyes get slightly blurry and I begin to sweat. I have a hard tiem concentrating and my head starts to ache. As time passes, if I don't eat, my facial muscles go numb, I get extremely tired and I start having panic attacks. As time passes I get more and more sleepy and become barely responsive.
2. My blood sugar reads about 6.7...which is totally normal
3. It lasts until I eat, but the first 20 minutes of it is the worst
4. & 5. Eating stops it, but not always. Sometimes eating only seems to relieve it partially
6. been going on for 20 years
7. Nope it doesn't run in the family, the only close association is diabetes which my Grandma had and now my aunt has it
8. my weight has gone up and down. But for the last 8 years my weight has been the same, won't budge more than a few pounds
9. Yep, tried changing my diet, taking herbal remedies....I have only experienced some minor relief of some symptoms but nothing very notable
10. I do have panic attacks sometimes...but otherwise I don't have a particular stressful life. Good job, good friends, supportive family. I dont' smoke, I drink moderately, don't do drugs.
11. I have gotten every opinion under the sun. One Dr laughed at me and said to consume more sugar, one told me I should see a specialist but never provided me with one, others seem to think that I am making this up....those are the ones I want to punch out.
Once again my present Dr has sent me for a battery of blood work and I am sure that it will come back again saying that nothing is wrong....that's just the way it is.
I have a glucometer at home and I have tested myself on numerous occasions and I never get a low blood sugar reading, yet I suffer from all the symptoms of a person that is. I have gone through the go-to-the-gym, eat-really-healthy routine and it did not help either. These days I don't have the energy for much exercise beyond walking anyways. It's a very frustrating condition to have and made even more frustrating as I have never received a real diagnosis or help in controling it.
So, people, any advice? | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/12/2008 4:01:14 PM | Have you taken (been prescribed) a lot of antibiotics throughout the course of your lifetime? It sounds like it could also be symptoms of systemic candida. I don't mean a vaginal yeast infection. I mean yeast (candida is the most common yeast family that likes human hosts, but not the only family of fungus by any means) that has gone systemic; in your brain, muscles, blood, ....everywhere! There are generally deposits that like to collect where the illium connects to the large intestines. It's where the chime enters the colon & it's the chime that contains the macerated foodstuff. The yeast gets at the nutrition before the host does.
Word of warning if you decide to investigate & work on yeast erradication. There is what is referred to as "die-off symptoms" which make you feel like you have the flu. If you go too hard core for your body's strength capacity you can suffer pretty rough symptoms for the first 2 weeks. Headaches, nausea, body aches, etc... It's pretty rough. In general, I would recommend that you find a good Doctor of Naturopathics & work with them to discover the root causes of your ailments, whether it happens to be an odd form of hypoglycemia, candida, or environmental issues, or whatever. It could be sooooo many things & the ususal allopathic doctors don't have a clue about many chronic ailments. I hate it when they tell people that it's just all in their heads. How demeaning! What they really mean when they give you that 'specialist' reference...is that they're insinuating that you're a hypochondriac & need a shrink, when the truth is that they're trying to cover for their own ineptitude & were taught not to admit it to patients. Don't give up on figuring out what this is just because regular doctors don't have a clue. That doesn't mean that nobody knows; it only means that they don't. | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/12/2008 4:15:06 PM | To: satx78218
By high protein, I mean that I often eat eggs & whole grain toast for breakfast. Sometimes if I'm in a bit of a rush I may eat peanut butter on whole grain bread. Just eating fruit & cereal isn't enough for me without the protein. The deal with protein isn't that I'm all about the protein diets to the exclusion of proper carbs. I consider that an unhealthy fad that is not sustainable as a permanant lifestyle. It's that protein has the physiological effect of using up a lot of the insulin in order to digest it, thus taking some of the pressure off the body with overloads of it. Sugars just eat it all up really fast, causing a rebound effect of a hyperglycemic sugar high which then causes an even worse insulin crash. Protein stabalizes blood sugar levels in ways that nothing else I have found will.
If I'm headed into insulin shock I may use a bit of sugar to prevent going into insulin shock, but only to buy time to get some protein in me & allow it to get to work. Allowing the body to go into full blown insulin shock can cause blackouts that can result in a permanant coma.
Real high sugar or simple carbohydrates (which are a form of sugar) just send me on a roller coaster for the entire day & I don't seem to recover unless I do something with serious protein for lunch. If I do a sugar based breakfast, even the nuts I snack on won't save me. Fruit has fructose (fruit sugar) & I don't find a whole lot of difference in my body's response to one form or another, although I understand that some people do fine with it. Honey; same thing. What carbohydrates (sugars) are consumed by the body should be whole grain, complex carbohydrates. They take more to digest, are higher in nutrition, & stabalize blood sugar levels in a healthy manner. However, there is so much more to eat than just protein & complex carbs! Any truly healthy diet will be from a broad spectrum of foodstuffs. | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/12/2008 5:56:13 PM | | Have you done a Glucose Tolerance Test? It's a test where you fast then get a load of sugar and they take your blood once an hour every hour for how every many hours the doctor wants to run the test for. They monitor through the changes in levels how your body reacts to sugar and only sugar since you won't be eating or exercising to effect the levels. The test is usually done to find out if you are diabetic. | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/12/2008 6:00:00 PM | @Aurora
Y'know that was one of things I was looking at on the internet today. That it might be that I have candida. That is definitely something I want thoroughly investigated. The symptoms of it are certainly along the lines of my problems. Thank you for that insight.
Yes, it is demeaning when they look at me like I'm crazy. Like, honestly, how could I make this up in my head? I want to feel normal, I want to be healthy and have the energy of other people. It's like having this constant ticking time bomb that goes off every few hours and you never know how bad it is going to feel. In having this problem for the last 20 years I can hide it quite well. Looking at me you would never know how bad I am feeling. I guess that's the problem. If I had a visable physical ailment I think Dr's would take it more seriously. But because it can't be easily pin-pointed I get lost in the medical shuffle.
But I ain't giving up.
Thanks everyone for your concern and helpful advice. | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/13/2008 10:51:43 AM | "candida"
Virgin coconut oil could help cure/prevent fungal infectons. It's anti-fungal, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory ( and has a slight metabolic revving effect, for all you meta-revvers).
Some people report curing foot/toenail fungus by consuming coconut oil plus topical application. It solved my crusty elbows/knees and itchy scalp, gives skin a sheen without oiliness. Amazing stuff.
A couple T morning and evening.
http://www.naturodoc.com/library/nutrition/coconut_oil.htm, among others.
A source of coconut oil:
http://www.naturodoc.com/library/nutrition/coconut_oil.htm
Don't worry about buying bulk, eg, a gallon.
Coconut oil is naturally saturated, won't go rancid (oxidized), and has a shelf life at room temperature of over a year, maybe two. Anyway:
1 US gallon = 256 T
256 T / 4 T day = 64 days, 2 months.
"4 T of coconut oil/day? Won't that make me fat?" Magically, no. | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/14/2008 8:32:14 AM | If they decide to lump you into the "Fibromyalgia" category & try to tell you that your depression caused all this...don't buy into that either. Fibromyalgia is a real problem, but docs don't have a clue what causes it or how to truly treat it; much less cure it. I personally am of the opinion that it's a c0cktail of issues most likely. Candida being at the top of the list of potential causes. Lyme's Disease is another potential issue & the only way to test for that is a "dark field stain." Very few docs bother doing them. I think they run about $500 a pop. ouch! In any case, I have personally become a huge fan of Rife technology. Google it. It's pretty impressive. I have been using Rife treatments for a long time for various things & it is the most effective thing I've used. Note that I use it in conjunction with other homeopathic & naturopathic options. There are so many wonderful options available.
BTW, The coconut oil information is very good. Coconut oil is extremely stable, as mentioned. That is part of the reason olive oil has been so widely touted for cooking. The deal with stable fats & oils is that in those that aren't as stable are more prone to breaking down into undesirable components & releasing a lot of free radicals. Those are molecules that have broken apart & the pieces of them reattach to other molecules, forming God knows what. They also steal pieces of other molecules which is a major part of the damage referred to as "the aging process." It's like they cause the body to rust. In short, coconut oil is pretty cool stuff! | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/14/2008 4:37:37 PM | burnleybabe; First of all let me say for future reference that the answers you get to questions are for the most part dependent on the information provided in the question. The more comprehensive the information you provide the more accurate your response will be.
A blood sugar reading of 6.7 makes little sense to me. Normal blood sugar readings range from 70 to 120. A reading of 6 or 7 would likely mean you were dead or that your glucometer was malfunctioning either because of the test strip or faulty calibration. Recheck your glucometer or get a new one.
You describe a cluster of symptoms within the parameters of hypoglycemia that occur every 2-3 hours. There is a history of diabetes in your family (grandmother and aunt ).
Eating makes your symptoms subside.
You can easily rule out diabetes or hypoglycemia by taking a blood sugar reading every two hours for a couple of days. Write it down along with the times you eat and the times you are symptomatic. This will give you an accurate baseline to compair to the norm. If your numbers remain within normal parameters then you do not have diabetes. If your numbers remain normal during times when you are symptomatic then you do not have hypoglycemia. If you are overweight and diabetes runs in your family then you may be at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
You stated that you have panic attacks. The symptoms of panic attacks or anxiety are very similar to those of hypoglycemic reactons. If in fact you have exhausted any physiological basis for your symptoms it could be that you have an anxiety disorder. These are treatable with counseling or medication or a combination of both. Sometimes these resolve on their own with time and some people manage this with lifestyle changes.
Hope this helps | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/16/2008 7:30:20 AM | @17456
The reading of 6.7 is correct as my metre measures in "mmol/L" not "mg/dL " (U.S. measurement). Nothing wrong with metre.
A reading of 6-8 is considered normal. | |
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| Pseudo Hypoglycemia
Posted: 5/16/2008 9:05:59 AM | burnleybabe; Thanks for the info, it's always nice to learn something new.
You might consider exploring the avenue of Panic Attacks. Anxiety disorders are at least as common as blood sugar disorders and without the risk of neuropathy , dietary restrictions, vision problems and sore fingers.
Generally speaking anxiety disorders if persistant over time will tend to continue so think in terms of managment rather than cure. Should you decide to seek medical help for this condition consider that benzodiazapines like valium, xanax, ativan etc are addictive and withdrawl can include seizures, they do successfully reduce and in some cases eliminate anxiety but only for the time they are active in your system. Tolerance does develop over time and since anxiety is a motivating force in and of itself your sense of drive and motivation will be affected. Drugs like buspar, visteral and even low dose seroquel reduce anxiety without an addictive potential and may be better when considering long term use. These are not as effective as benzos but they do take the edge off. Coupled with counseling or psychotherapy these may be of help in managing the panic attacks which you might be experiencing every 2-3 hours. | |
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