I've heard of it action in another drug, this girl who I worked with had taken something like it but I didn't know much about her background. This is going back 10 years ago when I started with this. I don't know anyone whose taken this drug personally unfortunatly.

However from my understanding unless I misunderstood it. Its used to treat type 2 diabetics like you said. Im a little weary of its use for this unless you specifically know you are a certain way with having high sugar levels spike after meals. Since usually despite many caues of hypo, most over secret insulin. Causing the crash in sugar from that. Slowing the digestion isn't going to correct an already spastic pancreas response since it starts in the stomach secreting the horomone.

Just being known type 2's they usually have higher sugar levels circulating at a time to afford what this drugs does- slow glucose uptake, giving their little insulin a chance to do its job. I can see how they would benefit then from that. However, if its too much insulin you know you have, I would fear a really bad sugar crash from lack of enough absorption/delayed absorption. Especially on a low sugar diet we keep anyway.

They state that people taking this drug alone for hypoglycemia that it wouldn't cause hypoglycemia. But those who are taking insulin could risk a hypo attack since the insulin level is increased in drug form and you need enough sugar acting already to resist a crash. Since you can get a hypo reaction purely from not enough eating or over insulin output its hard to label it I would think, good for all forms of hypo.

So if you already secrete too much, I would only guess that could happen too. Whether you are reactive hypo or not. It depends of whats going on in your system causing it. Also what you are eating, slower digested foods and fat like our diets already consist of I cant imagine it being good on ur gallbladder, having it sit there and liver/colon too. I would think it would be okay eating quick carbs, fruit and pasta. But not anything slower broken down.

Also, the drug is heavy on your liver and kidneys and gastro tract after a few months. I wouldn't believe this would be a safe long term drug considering already having a metabolic malformalty. I wouldn't want to purposely mess with the kidneys/ liver farther already since it can impact sugar metabolism if harmed from the drugs burden on the system.

Don't want to be negative, hell if it works it would be wonderful. But im just trying to look at it in a different preventive perspective since hypoglycemia is still considered in the medical community as "idiopathic" they don't know much either and I would be very cautious with it.

Yeah, you're totally correct. Glucose starts to enter the blood in the mouth, esophagus and stomach, which is way before the intestines. In addition, the pancreas reacts to type of food as it passes it, so there's really nothing this would do other than keep the carbohydrate load for the day more stable.

I already was told a yr ago by my gastro that I have some malabsorption that they detected thru a stool speciman which means if there's fat detected in the sample, it's malabsorption. But malabsorption to what?
He's put me on enzymes which I stopped because I couldn't tolerate it.
I don't know if the culprite causing all the problem was due to a particular ovarian cyst that was chronic and wouldn't disipate for a yr.

This is before I was even tested for hypo which I was having symtoms all along but they never tested me.
My first gtt test 3 months ago that was suggested by my gp referred me to an endocronoligst after seeing it dropped down to 27 in the fourth or 5th hour.
She couldn't believe it and told me she wanted to perform one in her office just to make sure the lab didn't mess up.
She gave me only a 3 hr test compared to the longer one and on the last hour, I dropped down to 42 by the meter testing and lab reading came out to 32.
I haven't been back to her yet for a follow up visit yet and she prescribed the meds to me over the phone.
I don't think i'm going to take them after reading your response about it.
Doctors are so quick to write out scripts in western medicine.
There's a scientist named Dr.Young, have you heard of him? The inner light company of supplements and tinctures. He has proven that diabetes type 2 is caused by over growth of yeast and that if we diligently change our diets to eating less acidic foods and more alkaline that our blood cells and tissues and organs would be in a healthier state therefore preventing the body from disease.
He suggests loads of greens, legumes, no milk products, no yeast or wheat products, etc.
I find it extemely strict to follow but once you gradually take things out of the diet slowely, like meats, and add fish and other forms of protein, and take out sweets and sugars and flours, the body starts improving.
His wife shelly even made a cook book for the public to follow if they'd like. Her entire family eats so healthy. He is a microbiologist or some type of dark field microscopist. Very expensive equipment such as the type of microscope they use to see the damaged blood cells and all the yeast floating around.
These organisms feed off the sugar and junk we eat and when they excrete their urine and feces into our bodies, it makes us feel sick, lethargic, causes food allergies, causes skin conditions, and much much more. I can go on and on.
I find this very interesting and was wondering if anyone else here has read his work? I saw my own blood and the yeast that was floating around in it.
That's how I met my boyfriend whom I now with for 6 yrs. He met Dr.Young at a seminar and I met my b/f through a freind who referred him to me because he was worried for my health.
I went to him for an enlarged lymphnode on my neck

where I can find the post here about foods we should and should't eat.
I see alot of mention of it but I can't find it.
Can you direct me?
Thank you for your input,

linda

Look for stan's diet version 8, there's a list in there of foods to avoid. I've heard the yeast theory, and really there is no one thing that causes this, it's often a number of issues. If you really have a yeast problem (which he's saying is candida albicans), you'd have bad yeast infections, especially in your gential region, mouth and armpits. If you don't have this, forget it. The overgrowth of yeast in our case is usually caused by the overall imbalance and subsequent sensitivity to a variety of things. I actually had it for a short time, then it went away, but it can't be blamed for everything. The whole akalinity/acidity thing is a bunch of crap too; unfortunately, there is no way to regulate that because everything you eat is first made acidic in the stomach, and then neutralized by the pancreas. It is not possible to adjust the alkalinity/acidity of the blood without causing serious harm to the body. Allow me to explain. Your entire body is geared to keep the ph at an appropriate level, if it deviates, severe, serious illness can result and even death. If our bodies reacted in this way to foods, we'd be in trouble. To actually change the ph of your body, you'd have to seriously, no joke, eat an entire bottle of antiacid tablets at once. Then you'd die. You have to seriously overload your body to cause the adjustment, foods will not do this, otherwise human beings would all have to eat severely limited diets. It's just simple with blood sugar problems, the body is very sensitive to change and the glucose mechanism is so faulty that minor alterations can cause major problems, but it has nothing to do with what you said. If you look at the diet he prescribes, all it is is the typical blood sugar diet for hypoglycemics or diabetics, it doesn't do anything other than keep sugar stable.

Stan I cant find this diet??

Not to sound rude, I really don't care, but why do people keep saying that? If you look on this forum you will find it. Stan's diet version 8.

Linda,

how do you make it at work? Im like constantly dizzy, what do you eat in a tyoical day?

Thanks,

dana

Hi ,

i am new to this forum but have suffered from hg since I was about 10 or maybe even before, it has stolen so much of my life and I am so grateful to have found this site, thanks so much stan and others. I feel like finally someone out there knows what I have been suffering with. I have felt like I was going crazy, especially as a young child with no one to tell this to. One of my symptoms is muscle fasiculations all over when my sugars are low,due to magnesium deficiency, before knowing this I always thought I was just a freak.
Linda, I have taken precose, I am from the bahamas and in this region it is called glucobay. It has not done much for my symptoms. I have to agree with stan and nypumpkin due to its mechanism of action it may only help someone who has a problem with carbohydrate metabolism but you still have to adhere to a low carb regimen due to the gi effects of this drug. I feel my hg is due to hyperinsulinmia and insulin secretion starts to increase even before glucose levels start to rise, just by smelling food. By the time I took the drug (with the first bite) it was always too late.
Stan your info about the sawtooth curve, not being able to eat anything in the morning, feeling better later in the day and about being so sensitive that you can eat very little has liberated me thank you, thank you so much. This is a wonderful site and I feel a lot of people are being helped by this. For those who can't find the diet just type in "stan diet version 8"into your browser and it will pop up.

Carrli

Dana,
how long have you been suffering with your symtoms?
Do you follow a low carb diet religously like stan suggests?

I have to admit that i've been sick for over a yr now jumping from doctor to doctor and not till last month did we find out the problem. I'm not a firm believer on taking medications right off the bat, but because i"ve been sick for awhile with no diagnosis, just maybe, maybe I should give this medication a shot. If this is the answer sitting right in front of me, why wouldn't I want to give it a try?
If it doesn't help, then I just stop it. I already eat a healthy diet yet feel so weak, lethargic, light headed and horrible horrible memory problems that are only getting worst.
I already eat healthy, it's not the food that i'm eating that's making me sick, but something else is going on inside and i'm going to give it my best shot to at least try the medication. It's not set in stone that I have to take it for ever if I choose not to.
It;s my choice and my well qualified doctor's choice
are you a doctor stan? Or a certified nutritionist?
Just curious?

After 2 hours I must eat something, my head is spinning I guess from the diving glucose or it just cant stablize, and yes its yeast related I have that too to complicate matters, be glad you dont have that, and the worst is no docotor understands .

Do you eat often, whats a tyoical meal for you? Im also gluten intolerant
life is not grande........

Dana

I was just given precose as well, for what they think might be either hypoglycemia or glucose intolerance. I'm afraid to take the medication, because I don't know if it will help or just make me feel worse. Especially because the doctor isn't even sure what it is. It's been rough trying all of these different medications that the doctors have been giving me. I also feel really weak, lethargic, light headed and am having horrible memory problems. I can't concentrate and I can't remember what someone told me just a few minutes ago. I just feel like total crap, and don't know how much longer I can take it. I've changed my diet and am eating healthy and it doesn't seem to be doing anything... but I know Stan said it takes time. I ate fresh vegetables last night, with fish, and some cheese. I woke up in the middle of the night with being slightly sweaty, feeling dizzy, feeling sick to my stomach, and almost instantly passed out as soon as I stood up. I had this wave of anxiety come over me, it was terrible. I took 1/4 of a Klonopin just to go back to sleep, and I still feel terrible this morning. I don't see another doctor until Monday but I almost called 911 last night because of my increased heart rate and how terrible I felt. If the Klonopin hadn't relaxed me enough to go back to sleep, I would have ended up back in the hospital.

Sadly, going to the hospital like this is something all hypoglycemics seem to experience at least once. I know I did. This is all part of the healing process. As I say in my diet post, expect to absolutely HATE life when you start this diet. You'll swear you have cancer or worse for the majority of the week.

Haha! You read my mind - that's exactly how I feel. I'm really beginning to worry and am having an MRI done today. I was thinking - what if they find a tumor, or cancer?? It has to be something awful.

You'll regret doing it, but it's not like it hurts you in any way. I made such mistakes in the early part of my days with this, CAT scans and all of that. You'll find nothing.

This seems to be close to a dead thread, but if anyone else reads this it's still worth posting. I've had problems with "hypoglycemia" for at least 20 years. I'm 35 now. The reason I put that in quotes is that it's not clear whether my blood sugar actually drops to clinically low levels or not. An alternate diagnosis for what I have is "Postprandial Idiopathic Syndrome", which orignially kind of meant "doesn't have real hypoglycemia and we don't know what else to call it."
Whatever it is, I am extremely sensitive to sugar. A teaspoon can obliterate a month of my life (shakiness, constant hunger, brain fog, memory problems). I long ago cut out all sweets and fruits and almost all bread/pasta/rice but continued to have some symptoms and carbohydrate sensitivity. I've tried everything from antidepressants to antibiotics to meditation.
Acarbose has transformed my life over the 3 weeks I've been taking it. My energy level is up tremendously. I'm waking up in the morning without a problem. I feel social again... I see a point in life. I did not expect to see an effect with this drug, but within days it was absolutely inescapable.
Acarbose does have some potential side effects, mainly gas from bacteria doing the job, further down the GI, that your own enzymes used to do, but it's overall an incredibly mild medication.
I can't vouch for it working for anyone else, but it does, by lowering the glucose peak following a meal, correspondingly lower the insulin secretion and therefore the potential for a blood glucose nadir. My own symptoms, I think, may not have been caused by actually low blood sugar, but possibly from low blood pressure, high epinephrin or cortisol, or one of the other consequences of insulin secretion. It's a complicated system, and your doctor probably doesn't understand it well at all, but precose is definitely worth a try.
Note that this drug is sold by "life extension" websites for its ability to lower insulin. Not advocating buying without a prescription, but there is evidence to back this up. This medication improves triglyceride and possibly other lipid status and may have anticancer effects in the colon. I really could care less about the above, though. What I care about is feeling like a human being again.

I am trying to find out if anyone had success with this medication. My Doctor wants me to start it this week and I would like to have all the info that I can obtain before starting. I had an esophagectomy last year and 50% of my stomach pulled up and is now my esophagus creating problems with eating. I eat six very small meals a day and believe this is my problem and wonder if this med is going to help or hurt me more. Any input would be greatly appreciated . Thank you all in advance. Phil6817

I'm not a physician and don't have personal experience with your issue. You didn't describe your situation, but if your issues are related to quick "dumping" of the contents of your stomach into the small intestine, resulting in a spike of blood sugar followed by hypoglycemia, this drug may help. No medicine is without risks, but this one is quite safe compared to many.

Structurally Acarbose looks like four sugar molecules in a chain. This similarity to carbohydrates allows it to bind and occupy the enzyme that normally breaks down carbs in your intestine into glucose, slowing down this process. Flatulence is by far the most common side effect, and occurs when high carb foods are consumed and are broken down further in the intestine by resident bacteria This effect also tends to diminish with time, as the body adjusts.

For the most part, Acarbose acts locally, meaning that it doesn't enter the bloodstream or interfere with other body systems. In some cases, especially at higher doses (above 300mg per day) it does cause an elevation of liver enzymes and has to be stopped. For most people this does not happen, and the drug generally maintains its effectiveness and lack of side effects over time. From what I've learned, Acarbose is one of the "good guys": a drug with a unique action (not a copycat drug) that is reasonably priced, doesn't have lots of terrible side effects, keeps working over time, and is in fact generally good for you (may improve vascular health by keeping blood sugar levels from spiking after meals and may also help intestinal health according to a few papers).

serz4u thank you for that info, it helps me. I am sorry that I did not describe my situation which is, I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, had the entire esophagus removed and my stomach was pulled up and attached to two inches left of my esophagus. I lost a little better then 50% of my stomach and was pre diabetic prior to this surgery. Then four months after I became hypoglycemic and have been for nine months now. I have seen three endo.Doctors, several dieticians, and just spent this last Friday night and released Saturday from a Hospital emergencyRoom for not being able to raise my blood sugar. I appreciate your info for it is a great help. Thank You and all other on the forum. Phil6817.

No problem--glad if I can help. I would start slow on this medication to keep GI symptoms to a minimum, and work your way up (hopefully your Doc prescribed it that way). Also, keeping your sugar/sweets intake down to a minimum might help both with the hypo and with insulin resistance/pre-diabetes (of course you may need to take in sugar if blood glucose drops too low--and you should know that table sugar WON'T be able to raise your BG level quickly once you're on Precose--you'll need to take dextrose or D-glucose in that case).
Best of luck with everything!