Hypoglycemia Forum - Hypoglycemia Symptoms

Conditions and Diseases > Hypoglycemia Forum > Hypoglycemia Symptoms - Not Hypoglycemic??

Q: Hypoglycemia Symptoms - Not Hypoglycemic??

asked by: techrev on April 19th, 2004

New User

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.

Replies(10)

gedler

replied on April 21st, 2004

New User

Hypoglycemia Symptoms

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 Wink

), 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

replied on July 28th, 2004

New User

Low Carb Diet

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.

ladyofshadows

replied on July 29th, 2004

New User

I Suffer From the Symptoms Too

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

replied on July 29th, 2004

Extremely eHealthy

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

replied on June 20th, 2005

New User

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

replied on August 25th, 2005

New User

Hypoglycemic?

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

replied on August 25th, 2005

New User

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

replied on January 1st, 2006

Moderator

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

replied on May 28th, 2006

New User

Probably Is Thyroid

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

replied on May 29th, 2006

Moderator

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.

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