Hypoglycemia Stages of Recovery

Based on what you said, according to her statements, you might not notice any changes really until five weeks. Then again, you've said you've noticed some. I for one think her "stages" are a bunch of crap. I actually was on her diet before I got sick again and I can tell you I pretty much felt like total trash nearly the entire time. I was really, terribly bad for at least four or five months (and I mean bad, like sick and crying or rolling around like a person almost every day), okay for like six more (i still couldn't even drive at this time), and then fine until I screwed up (i didn't actually know I had it yet). I don't believe she went through enough people before she wrote that, something tells me she didn't. She does seem to admit that there are plenty of exceptions when she says something in there about "everyone is different," but she should have given more examples of this. I think she does give one, saying something or rather about someone going through all the stages in a week or something. I can tell you that me, on my diet, was pretty dang good after two weeks, with sweeps in emotion and physical symptoms for about two months and then evened out until I had one bad day a week, then one every two weeks, then two days in a row every three weeks and currently none. I wouldn't take what she says to heart, it can be frustrating if you do. I did not follow her phases at all and I don't think anyone on here has. The more I think about that book she wrote, the more it kind of angers me off, I think she's just milking it for cash now and not updating it.

Stan,

i'm not on her diet. I'm on yours. I was just wondering what you thought about her "stages".

R

Oh, hahahah! Sorry, reading that up there it makes it seem like you're doing hers. Yeah, as I said, I don't agree with them. It's too exact to apply to everyone. If that were true, it would be like saying everyone reacts in the same amount of time to a drug. Not true. Maybe she was trying to make people hopeful with that, who knows? Might have done the opposite for those unfortunates, however, who go up to a year without feeling back to normal. I noticed quite a few people in airola's diet book were not back to 100% for up to 13 weeks. Some didn't even show any improvement at all for up to six months. Sucks.

Stan,

yeah I know what you mean. A lot of her book is controversial to say the least. I also find it odd that she is a lecturer for the love boat cruises or whatever it is that she does besides writing about hypoglycemia. ? Her daughter's story did touch me though. Sad. I guess that's why she feels led to try to educate about hypoglycemia and one thing i'll give her is that she does acknowledge that it is an actual condition. Lots of md's don't.

That said, I actually think her "stages" made me feel a little bit better because it's been a month and i'm not 100%. I have that problem with impatience remember?

I think my biggest problem with this is the "crash" that seemed to come out of the blue a month ago. Sure I had some signs and symptoms before but nothing like the big crash and burn. Is that how it hit you? All of a sudden? I think I read your story that it kind of came on suddenly too. I mean when it got really bad.

Thanks for being there,

r

Do you mean when I first got sick or when I got sick after following her diet?

Yeah if your talking about hypo suddenly hitting you. I can say I had my symptoms along time ago but they were tolerable. I could go on with my day no problem. I thought I had an anxiety disorder. Then out of no where one day I got hit with fatigue, leg aches, and constant yawning. Thats when I feel hypo kicked in affect and thats when I went to see a doctor.

I was tired all the time and kind of loopy but thought it was just me, never really worried about it. I had some sense something was coming because of some weird symptoms that cropped up, but the day was in the morning on a february day, I remember it well. I just woke up in a state of panic for no reason at all and life wasn't the same until I finally got the diet right.

Ok...That makes me feel better. I had symptoms but just thought it was anxiety too or "the flu" or whatever. I'd get dizzy occasionally, be very tired in the afternoon, have headaches. Then a month ago I was in a stressful work environment, very busy, long hours, not eating well, etc. And I went to bed one night "ok" and the next morning could barely get out of bed. I had no energy, so fatigued I felt like someone had pulled a plug and all my blood had drained out of me. I was constantly hungry, so thirsty I couldn't drink enough water along with achy legs and arms, a stiff neck and panic would just come out of nowhere. It scared me and I made a Dr. Appt. Which basically told me nothing. Everything was normal.

Thanks for the input. I just don't seem to have energy yet and it's got me down. Most of my other symptoms are much better though. My legs and arms just feel so lifeless and heavy. Yuck.

Yeah it was very hard for me to get up. My body would be aching all the time. I used to be late to work cause I just didnt care to get up and was so tired. I remember being constantly hungry also. Its funny you seem like you were going through the same symptoms and got the same results from the doctors, everythings normal. Took me 3 years going to the doctors once a month and doing tons of blood work. My fatigue has finally lifted a ton, you just have to get the right diet. But of course everyones different and some people do take longer to get results. Just keep at it.

Thanks guy

i will keep at it. This morning I feel really good. It's weird how the tiniest thing seems to affect our energy levels. I never used to be this way! I think that maybe i'm not eating enough or often enough. I can't tell yet when or how much to increase the time between meals and snacks. It's inconvenient and so tiring to eat so often. How can you plan a day around so much eating!? Especially when you're not even hungry. My constant hunger is gone now.

Yeah, it does suck and just takes time. I wish there was more to say. So many times I thought I wasn't eating enough but it was just another symptom that went away in time. I don't mean thinking like that I mean actually feeling like I needed more. Obviously the body fighting for more sugar.

Fatigue - it is a tough one. I am on stan's diet and really started feeling quite a bit better after a few days and lots better at the three week point. I continued to have an unexplainable bad day occasionally - and still do now at the 9 week mark, but rarely. I described my fatigue to my endocrinologist. He tested for vitamin d deficiency, which I had, and placed me on a prescription form of vitamin d. It has helped tremendously!
While following this diet strictly helped, I had an issue outside of the hypo. There was an underlying vitamin deficiency. My thoughts are that if this diet does not fix it, there is something other than just hypo causing the symptoms. The vit d test was expensive - $308.00, but it was so worth it because I would probably still be very fatigued.
(just to mention - I was on a multivitamin with vitamin d - not enough to make up for my deficiency obviously.)

It should be noted that my diet does not provide all of the vitamins you should be getting, so it is advisable to get a good multi (cut into thirds and only taking one part of it a day) to balance it out. My calcium tablets have vitamin d in them. I need to fix my diet and make sure I add this info in there, but you're definitely right. I'm not sure though whether it's the hypoglycemia causing the deficiencies or if it's something else entirely.

Thanks for the info on fatigue mendi and stan. I will remember your advice and if i've not seen a big difference by the time I go for my follow-up appt with my doc i'll ask about testing for vitamin deficiencies and the like. I see her in about 3 weeks.

The thing is - the fatigue I experience can be traced directly to eating most of the time now. If I eat regularly (every 2-3 hours) and follow the diet, i'm mostly ok. If i'm busy and my meals are a bit further apart or if I skip one altogether or if I don't eat enough food....Boom i'm hit with fatigue within a few hours. It's clearly tied into what i'm eating. I can say that it's not as severe as it was at first and it doesn't seem to linger as long as it used to so that must mean my body is starting to recover? At least somewhat? Do you think?


I'll look into vitamin d deficiency and see if it sounds plausible.

Thanks! R

Yep, sounds like recovery to me!

Well it's no fun. I do see light at the end of the tunnel though at least....75% of the time. :)

Most of us have been like that at the start, sorry to say. There were days in a row I was so tempted to say screw it and eat candy or when i'd doubt everything I was eating and worried I was dying. I wish there were a way to avoid this craziness at the beginning.

Renni, I wanted to give my input on this as well.

The "craziness" stan talks about does stop and it's a slow process. I, too, doubted everything I eat, including vitamins. I became so obsessed I was dying, I would check my heatbeat. I think it's funny now, but then, it wasn't.

I thought I would never get better but i'm better everyday. The heavy arms/legs was the last symptom to go. So, hang in there. You will get better but you can't skip a meal or eat later. That "confuses" you're body and slows the recovery process.

As for the fatigue, I bought sugar-free sublingual b-12 tablets. I would take it first thing in the morning, just so I can function. Now, I feel so much better, I sometimes forget to take it.

Thanks tygrbabi,

i am exactly like what you described yourself as in the beginning. On most days now, I feel "better" enough to think that there's hope and it's all just hypo....But there are still times (i'm 5 weeks in) when I think maybe it's something else and I really am dying of something. Logically if I think about it though, i've been having these symptoms so long i'd probably already be dead if it was going to kill me.


You're right and I know I have to make eating the priority and not skip or delay nutrition. With my profession it's hard to do a lot of times and I look forward to getting far enough along in recovery that I have a little more slack. I'll keep plugging along and coming here for encouragement and information. You're all great!


Ren