Can you be hypoglycemic without being diabetic?!
Question: I have had conflicting answers from two doctors. here 's the situation: One doctor sent me for a glucose tolerence test where my blod sugar crashed to a 55 before they ended the test. I was diagnosed as a reactive hypoglycemic. my doctor sent me to an endocrinologist who had me stay in his office for 12 hours and get my blood drawn every hour. I did not have a sugary drink with him and my blood sugar dropped only 2 points.He told me that I did not have low blood sugar. I have also read online (I know its not the most valuble source of info), that some doctors do not believe that reactive hypoglycemia exists. Can anyone help me unravel this? Does it exist?
Answers: I have had conflicting answers from two doctors. here 's the situation: One doctor sent me for a glucose tolerence test where my blod sugar crashed to a 55 before they ended the test. I was diagnosed as a reactive hypoglycemic. my doctor sent me to an endocrinologist who had me stay in his office for 12 hours and get my blood drawn every hour. I did not have a sugary drink with him and my blood sugar dropped only 2 points.He told me that I did not have low blood sugar. I have also read online (I know its not the most valuble source of info), that some doctors do not believe that reactive hypoglycemia exists. Can anyone help me unravel this? Does it exist?
Reactive hypoglycemia exists. Some doctors do not believe it does, and chalk it up to a bunch of morbidly obese people looking to eat more than they should, using the excuse that they might pass out if they do not eat.
And indeed, I have seen that. But those doctors have never hit the floor in a faint from a blood sugar of 68. It is the sugary drink, and the blood sugar crash that comes after it is swallowed that is the hypoglycemia. The pancreas revs up from the sugar, and does not know when to stop, it just keeps burning sugar.
And yes, I have it, I was tested for years for diabetes, and was negative. I got to be a nurse, learned about hypoglycemia, and knew that was me. I even passed out several times in the doctor's office before I was diagnosed. I know hypo symptoms very well, and have used the knowledge many times in life. The doctor showed me the test results, the sugar levels are graphed, and it shows the steady upward climb of the sugar, and then the crash.
Treatment is 6 small meals a day, and never ever eating sugar by itself. You don't have to over eat.
I get slow mentally, then confused, then cold and shivery, then nauseated, then I'm on the floor, passed out. Somewhere in there, my blood pressure decides to follow my blood sugar down. 60/40 during one very worried co-workers experience with hypo me. She made me go home. Told her I would be fine as soon as I ate and moved around, sent me home anyway. And then there is the post hypo lethargy, and headache.
The liver, when people are not eating, sometimes decides it will dump stored up sugar into your system. That is why your sugar only changed 2 points. the last time I was NPO for a surgery, I could feel my sugar dropping, it was 110. Told them to watch me during surgery. They didn't.
Had a really bad one after the surgery, could not even tell the nurse what was the matter, she called the doctor, and by that time I was staring into space. They gave me diet jello, diet 7up, and broth for lunch. 10 calories. It is sometimes hell to be obese, people think you should just starve and die.
Don't let anyone tell you that hypoglycemia is a panacea for the obese. It can be, but not neccesarily.
what i understand of it, and i've met people like this, is that you're over producing insulin. which means that right now, your sugars are low, but after a while your poor lil overworked pancreas will kick out and quit producing at all. just drawing out the process of getting diabetes i think. i bet it's still reversible now...take it from all of us...reverse it if you can!
It is controversial. When i was working we were taught that yes it does exist without being diabetic.
Many of the younger endocrinologists do not believe that it can occur unless you are diabetic.
If I was you I would stay with my family Dr. and follow his advice and his suggestions on what to do when your blood sugar develops.
He may want to send you to a dietitian for a better diet and how to deal with the symptoms you develop. Good Luck sweetie.
Yes, you can have hypoglycemia without being a diabetic. Yours would be reactive: taking sugar in a drink makes the sugar level in your blood rise quickly, your pancreas overreacts by making to much insulin, and your bloodsugar comes crashing down, so avoid mono and disaccharides (see a dietician about this, it means no short chain sugars that will digest fast and cause the symptoms such as normal sugars, glucose etc.), maybe taking a lot of small portions of food over the course of the day. Alas, having hypoglycemia can be (but is no proof of) a symptom of having type II diabetes later on in life, especially with your family history. So have your fasting bloodsugar checked like every year, it should be less than 126 mg/dl. (6,9 mmol/L).
Absolutely I have had times of serious hypoglycemia for more than 40 yrs and am not and never have been diabetic.
What you describe is not uncommon. Doctors do disagree with each other and theories differ. The clue to my understanding is that you did not have a sugary drink and your blood sugar did not drop. That sounds exactly like a person who has low blood sugar reactions. As someone said earlier your pancreas can over produce insulin in reaction to certain triggers which are normally low glycemic index foods (like that sugary drink). To avoid that stay away from simple sugars, white flours, potatoes etc. and go with comples carbs whole grains, veggies) and low fat proteins. Learn the glycemc index and live by the 4 to 1 rule. 4 things that are good for you (or 4 times as much of 1 good thing) to balence the 1 high clycemuc indexfood. For example that piece of white bread or small slice of cake is OK if you are also eating maybe a salad, grilled chicken, green beans, and some apple slices. Read up on the glycemic index www.glycemicindex.com, find books by Phillip Lepitz like Naturally Slim and Powerful or The Good Calorie Diet, keep some whole grain smacks, peanut butter sticks, an envelop of peanuts, etc for thise times you start feeling yucky.
If you get severely out of balence you can restore it by eating about 2 oz complex carb (slow cook oatmeal, 100% whole wheat crackers, soy nuts, or protein like a cheese stick every 2 hrs or so and avoiding sugars AND artificial sweeteners like the plague for a while. Artificial sweeteners are actually worse for the hypoglycemic as well as the diabetic than a moderate aount of sugar because of the way the pancereas reacts to them causing highs and plunges in blood glucose.
Lepitz books have the most sensible explainations I have ever read of ho0w our bodioes work,what makes pancreas over react or under react and how to feel good despite whatever tendencies our bodies may have to mess up. I had dealt with my own situation 30 yrs,been married to someone who is diabetic and done diabetic ed programs with him for more than 20 yrs and they still were like a light coming on for me. before I knew what after reading his book I understood why and how.
Chances are very good that if you begin now to eat a sensble low glycemic menu,exercse reasonably and take care of your stress level as much as possible that your blood glucose will stay in normal range and you will stay healthy.
yes my dear it does exist. i had the gtt done and mine crashed to 33. which means that if i dont diet and exercise that it is guaranteed i will be a diabetic. sounds like the 2nd doc you went to was very mis-informed. diet and exercise if you are overweight and keep a close watch on it. good luck.
I was hypoglycemic from the time I was a teenager until I was 49. Then I developed diabetes type 2. My doctor had always told me that many times a person who has hypoglycemia for many years, can become diabetic. My dad was the same way and also developed diabetes. 3 of my 5 kids are hypoglycemic. It really bothers them more in warmer weather when they are more active outside. They have learned to eat the right things during the day and what to do when their sugar drops too low. None of us ever had the test you speak of, we just went to the doctor and followed his advice. There's nothing more than watching what and when you eat that you can do about it.