Man, that really sucks. Hmmm, you may find that after eating properly for awhile most of the symptoms disappear, but if the vagus nerve has been damaged in some way it will be more difficult. Have you tried supplementing with lemon balm? Any indication what's causing your digestive problem? How long have you had it?

Hello,
Just know that you are not alone in this. I have had reactive hypoglycemia for over 10 years. Right now I am going through a relapse and it's worse than ever. My symptom list is very long. I am trying to stay on a strict diet but it doesn't seem to be helping right now. All I can tell you is to read, read, read. That has really helped me a lot. I didn't do very well during the holidays, with my diet and now I am really paying for it.
Take care and I wish you good health,
JaniceW49

I find that I get hypoglycemic attacks when I'm on holiday - were I tend to spend a LOT of time in front of teh computer. I don't take enough breaks and apparently, it's causing my body problems with insulin production. I am only 17 and I am not overweight, so it is very unusual... The first attack I had, I had skipped breakfast and I honestly thought that I was going to die. I started to lose sensation in my hands, then my cheeks and lips, then I got very weak. It was so scary. The second time (I had it today actually) lasted about 2 hours and It was horrible, I also got a headache. I've had 2 in the past 2 years... So it's not exactly frequent; I guess I have to do something about my sedentary lifestyle.

Can you tell me what exactly the Vagus Nerve is and how can it get damaged?

Thanks,

JaniceW49

It runs down from the brain along the esophagus and such into the abdomen. It's responsible for a number of things, and in some rare cases damage to it can cause gastronintestinal problems, though I'm pretty definite there will be obvious heart related problems as well since it has something to do with heart function. Severe trauma to the torso could do it, but usually it's only a severe disease or illness that effects organs around it. It's incredibly hard for it to get damaged, so don't worry about it.

Thanks to all who replied to my earlier post (in January). For some reason, I wan't able to access this earlier (problems with my computer?).

Fortunately the gastroparesis has remitted. It's a mystery as to what caused it, but I suspect that it was three weeks on a protein only diet per the recommendation of my then endocrinologist. At that time I also had horrible muscles aches and my hands and feet went numb.

Although that too has gotten better, my blood sugar issues persist. I just saw a new doctor who put me on Metformin and Gyset to try to get my blood sugar under control. Has any out there used either or both of these drugs to treat reactive hypoglycemia? I was initially given Metformin at the Mayo Clinic (was there for the neurological stuff) in February. It did work in that I no longer entered into that insulin fog after eating carbs, but my blood sugar was still going really high, and it was staying there for hours (whereas it used to come crashing down). So now I've added the Glyset, which is supposed to slow the absorption of carbs so that my glucose doesn't go as high.

Anyway, I was just curious as to whether anyone has had success (or not) with these drugs. My take so far is that the Metformin does help. In fact, when my blood sugar drops it levels off at about 85 rather than 65. For me, that makes a huge difference in terms of symptoms.


Thanks,

Liz

You should still be eating healthy when taking an insulin suppressing medication. If you take it and eat pizza, your sugar can go dangerously high, you need to watch how much you eat.