I am a male, 31 years old, and of German descent. Eight months ago I moved from the US to Japan and started working out again by lifting weights and running. I have been an athlete all my life (collegiate tennis, weightlifting, surfing) and although I was approximately 185lbs at 5`11”, I was by no means out of shape. With a very clean diet I began losing weight and quickly getting back in strong athletic shape (pressing 225lbs, fast paced runs, etc). Then the trouble began…
After weightlifting for 15 minutes I noticed that I felt very strange, like anemic and unstable. Over several weeks the feelings persisted but I kept working out thinking I was just a little out of shape and it would pass over time. Sometimes after coming home I would feel so anemic and imbalanced it would lead to full body convulsions/shivers. My hands and feet would be cold and sweaty and I would also feel hot with a slight fever. Possibly important, were the recurring muscles twitches often in the same areas, around my right eye and left chest muscle. The episodes usually persisted for about 45 minutes to 2 hours. Finally, one day after lifting, I passed out in the gym and was rushed to the emergency room. Explaining circumstances as well as I could I was held there for several days and run through the following tests which all turned up clear: Brain MRI, brain CAT Scan, spinal tap, detailed blood tests, heart monitored for 2 day stay. The doctors could not diagnose my condition. At this point we knew I had all the symptoms of hypoglycemia but did not know if it was related to some underlying condition. With the strength of the episodes I thought I may be pre-diabetic or diabetic but the doctors said the bloods tests were clear. After a few weeks of being released, I was once again rushed to the emergency room by ambulance. I had the strongest of my full body convulsions, sky high blood pressure and all the other hypoglycemic symptoms. Eventually my body calmed down and the doctors still had no diagnosis. Since the average diet is so good here in Japan, not many people have hypoglycemia or diabetes. Fortunately, I found the Mariya Clinic which is the leading authority on hypoglycemia in Japan. Once again I went through detailed blood, urine and stool tests and a 9 hour hypoglycemic fasting blood test. The doctor referred to my hypoglycemia as `severe`. (graph attached) She also diagnosed me as having `hemolytic anemia`. I was prescribed a lot of vitamins to take three times a day. Heavy with the B-complexes, C, A, Calcium/Magnesium, Kalium and EPA. I also take soy protein shakes 3 times a day. The core of my diet is brown rice (never white), soba noodles, miso soup, soy products and lots of vegetables. Meats are eaten sparingly, sometimes fish or pork, rarely beef and no chicken. All forms of sugars are completely avoided. I have followed the supplement and nutrition regimen diligently.
Over about eight months now my weight has decreased -25 lbs to 160 lbs. Granted, quite a bit of the loss was from my efforts to get back in top shape with an extremely clean diet. It seems that I have stabilized at 160 lbs for the past month, thankfully so as I don`t have much more fat to lose. Often I continue to feel so weak that I can`t even walk to the store anymore without symptoms. I rarely leave home now as my body just can`t take it. This is quite the change for someone who has been a hardcore athlete all their life. For the past two months the convulsions/shivering have stopped but the episodes are still very strong and the severe weakness persists. My sleep patterns also continue to suffer. I wake up most mornings and have to lie in bed for at least 30 minutes gathering the strength to get up. The doctor says my body is producing too much nor-adrenaline and I am sensitive to it which causes many of these problems. I have completely eliminated sugar from the diet for over four months. The past experiments with trying to `lift` blood sugar with fruits or other healthy sources have been unsuccessful often leading to the convulsions, cold sweats, crashes and more trouble the following days. I literally cannot even eat an apple anymore…
I hope that someone familiar with this condition can help. I have run out of ideas or options here in Japan and am doing everything I can to treat `hypoglycemia`. With how powerful my symptoms and episodes have been it forces me to question if there is something else going on. I hope this is enough information but if not I am more than happy to answer questions. Thank you so much for any help or ideas.