Does anyone else suffer from low blood sugar - I can't seem to get

[Bobbieo]

a handle on it and the Dr is awaiting the results of the blood tests, etc. I took last week.

[gateley]

1. What are you doing for it? nt

[Bobbieo]

4. Taking glucose tablets, eating snacks, drinking fruit juice and milk, eating regular meals

but I cannot escape the damn dizzy spells. The are driving me bananaas and yes I am eating them, too. We are testing right now for diabetes but I don't think that is the problem, I do suffer from high blood pressure but am taking meds for that.

[Sparkly]

6. No fruit juice!

Too much sugar at once.

[gateley]

10. Agree -- and no simple carbs either, if possible. nt

[just a girl]

19. I've had severe hypoglycemia for years....

... and I find that if you get a small amount of sugar and carbs (say an apple or yogurt) at the same time as protein (jerky, cottage cheese, peanut butter, etc) that it stabilizes me. I have to eat this combo about every 4 hours, but it keeps the dizzy spells away. The key is the small sugar spike followed by the protein to maintain it.

[Muttocracy]

2. not myself, but I've had friends who did - try this website

http://mayoclinic.com/health/hypoglycemia/DS00198

[Sparkly]

5. Well now, THAT is a bit scary...

:scared:

[Muttocracy]

7. well, Mayo Clinic is rather serious

My friend HAD to have something to eat the second he got up in the morning or he turned into an angry monster. I tend to get cranky when I'm starting to get hungry, so I snack all the time, but he was something else.

[Sparkly]

8. My first husband was like that, but

it turned out he was just a chronic asshole. :)

[Muttocracy]

9. well, he was my boyfriend for a while,

and he had other issues too! ;)

[Sparkly]

3. Yes!

I just saw your post in the 'latest discussion threads' -- haven't been to this forum before. But yeah -- not formally diagnosed, as the doctor said it's not specifically treated here (she said it is in Europe). Or maybe that was my low blood pressure -- lol! Can't remember.

I get shaking, unfocused vision and see black "spots" like I'm about to pass out. It usually happens in the morning. The doctor gave me a hypo-glycemic diet plan, but the main thing that helped me was cutting out sugary cereals. (There are VERY few that aren't loaded with sugar!) And, I carry food with me constantly, and often have to eat emergency cheese crackers. I'm like a fiend when I need them. (Found out my three sisters get shaky and do the same thing, and I know my Mom did.)

Have you tried managing it through your diet?

[Bobbieo]

12. Yes I am trying to manage it through diet. Have discovered dark chocolate takes

away the dizzy spells for a while but one cannot live on chocolate, alone - darn it. The spells leave me very weak. Yes, my daughter has the same problem and think my mother did too. They called her spells mini strokes but now I'm not so sure that is what they were.That as almost 30 years ago.

[KarenS]

11. My Husband has bouts of this,,,,

when he gets dizzy he gets a spoonful of peanut butter.

Good luck to you!!

[Warpy]

13. Your best bet is to wait and find out what the doc thinks it is

The treatment will proceed from that.

In the meantime, complex carbs and protein snacks will help you maintain your blood sugar longer and without those infuriating highs and crashes.

[grasswire]

14. I recommend a glass of milk.

And do you have a glucometer? How do you know what's going on when you pop that sugary juice/other stuff? You may very well be see-sawing between low and high, and that's a bad thing. You can get a glucometer for about sixty bucks and start checking.

I carry a ziplock of low-salt mixed nuts and some lifesavers with me all the time. If I feel a little out of whack when away from home I take or buy a small carton of milk.

I hope you get some response from the M.D. soon. I know that I hate feeling dizzy or loopy or blurry or any of the other sensations from a blood sugar high or low.

[Bobbieo]

15. Yes, I am going to get a glucometer next time I go to the store. I am beginning to get a

leery of what is going on inside me as I think this has been going on now for more than two and a half years. My doctor has been blaming it on high blood pressure and he has been spending the time trying to regulate the blood pressure.

I get the feeling there is something more going on as the lower my blood pressure seems to get the worse I feel with the disorientation, etc. Crazy sensations!! I also have an abdominal aortic aneurysm!!! Shit still happens!!!!

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

18. Hypoglycemia is usually caused from too much insulin and poor diet.

Very rare to see it in patients not taking insulin. I had to lower my dose of blood pressure medicine when I started playing racquetball again. It was causing my blood pressure to get to low and causing blackouts (not fainting, just vision going black) if I stood up to fast. So you need to check your blood sugar and your blood pressure. Has your AAA (abdominal aortic aneurysm) been treated?


David

[Flatulo]

16. It's best to get some protein in with all your meals and snacks.

I suffered from hypoglycemic symptoms for years. I was eating a muffin for breakfast every day at around 8:00 and by 10:30 I was feeling ready to pass out. I'd drink a glass of juice, which would alleviate the symptoms for a few hours then BAM I'd get hit again.

My doctor recommeded I read the "Zone" diet book by Barry Sears, M.D. The zone recommends that each meal contain just the right amount of protein, carbohydrates and fats. You should avoid simple carbs like white bread, and give up the sugary treats.

The theory is that our metabolisms evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to subsist on a diet of lean protein and leafy vegetables. 20 th century diets (especially American) introduced loads of simple sugary foods that we are not equipped to digest on a regular basis. Each time you ingest a simple sugar, your pancreas has to release a shot of insulin to turn the sugars into glucose. Over time, your body becomes less effective at using its insulin production, since you are forcing it into overdrive. This is essentially the cause of Type 2 diabetes.

The perfect food as far as protein/fats/carbs go is 1% milk or cottage cheese. I eat the Cottage Double product by Breakstone every day and have never felt better. I also stick with a salad and some chicken breast for lunch every day.

As a side benefit, I lost 20 lbs and my cholesterol is at 150.

[grasswire]

17. I really like non-fat cottage cheese.

It still tastes very creamy to me.

And I REALLY like Trader Joe's non-fat greek yogurt in pomegranate or honey flavor. No fat, 14 grams protein, 11 grams sugar, lots of potassium and good stuff. And it's delicious.

[leftyladyfrommo]

20. I had low blood sugar for years and years.

My blood sugar stayed at just about 50 most of the time. No one had any idea why. And the metabolic specialist I went to just sent me to a shrink. I'm not sure what emotional problems may have had to do with low blood sugar.

I just stayed on a very strick high protein diet - ate lots of protein with every meal. And stayed away from sugar. I think eating protein really did help. I just felt so awful all of the time.

I finally kind of outgrew it or something. My blood sugar is normal now.

[grasswire]

21. did you eat many carbs when you were so low?

Just wondering. And how do you eat now?

[leftyladyfrommo]

22. No, I didn't eat many carbs.

That was a long time ago and I don't think doctors realized that good carbs can help blood sugar. Honestly, I lived on baked or fried chicken, hamburger and fish and some vegetables. I hate vegetables to that was hard for me.

I used to check my blood sugar when I had the weak spells and you know it wasn't any lower then than any other time. It was always just about 50.

Now I just eat like everybody else. I still can't stand vegies so I eat a ton of fruit - mostly peaches and all kinds of berries - and mostly frozen because they are lots cheaper than fresh.

I still seem to need a lot of protein in order to stay up and going without feeling week and weird.
I used to just have a terrible time. I would get weak and dizzy and crabby. And a lot of the time i would eat and eat and still feel weak and awful.

I also read about a type of low blood pressure - not the kind that you get checked at the doctor's office with a cuff - that will cause you to feel weak and dizzy. It's some kind of blood pressure that can be checked on a slant table. Your blood pressure drops and you can just take a hit of salt and it will get better really quickly.

[2hip]

23. Cinnamon regulates glucose and cholesterol

Check out the research via Google then read the product reviews here: http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Cinnamon/pd_section-pr#ProductReviews

I take two 500mg capsules of cinnamon daily. Simple, inexpensive, effective.