Saturday, October 3, 2015

Hypoglycemia or Low Blood Sugar ~ What Is It?

Let me say first off that I am not a doctor and if you are having medical issues please seek medical assistance.

I have had low blood sugar for many years but it has gotten worse lately and I am struggling to get it under control.  It has gone from just weakness, tiredness and headaches that eating a large amount of protein will cure quickly, to a variety of other symptoms.  I am going to post a part of a good article on hypoglycemia here that I found on Natural News

(NaturalNews) Hypoglycemia is probably one of the most widespread disorders in America and the civilized nations today.

It is not a disease as such, but rather a symptom that arises from a wide range of hormonal abnormalities and imbalances reflecting the irregular function of many glands and organs.

Unfortunately, it often goes undiagnosed and its multitude of symptoms are frequently labeled as emotional or psychological in origin. The symptoms are usually episodic, being related to the time and content of the previous meal and are usually improved by eating.

Symptoms include nervousness, irritability, emotional problems, fatigue, depression, craving sweets, inability to concentrate, cold sweats, shakes, palpitations, tingling of the skin and scalp, dizziness, trembling, fainting, blurred vision, cold extremities, nausea, midmorning and mid-to-late afternoon tiredness, anxiety, indecisiveness, crying spells, allergies, convulsions, and hyperactivity, for openers.

Often undiagnosed is an understatement, misdiagnosed is closer to the mark.  Look it up at WebMD and after about 2 sentences you get all kinds of information on diabetes.  It is NOT diabetes.  Please follow the link to Natural News and read the whole article and especially the comments at the end.  It's not long but will give you a much better idea of what you are dealing with.

Everything except the last 2 symptoms I have experienced.  And lately it hits me in the night when I am asleep and I awake with shivering chills so bad I can't do anything but lay there waiting for it to end.  Then it is a day or 2 before I can bring myself to eat as I get nauseous.  After about 4 days I almost feel normal and can eat again.

Low blood sugar levels can affect different people different ways, just like any other medical issue.  I agree with the commenter on the original article that said this:

It saddens me to read a valuable article like this and find suggestions to eat the very foods that harm me as a Hypoglycemic.
By time I learned that the following foods have a grave impact on my health:
Whole wheat bread (free of sugar or not)
Quinoa, brown rice, buckwheat, millet, legumes (they all turn quickly to glucose and raise my BGL dramatically in a short time)
Dried fruit, fruit, fruit juices, and fresh vegetable juices are all rapidly absorbable but should be consumed in moderation. When eating fruit it's best to be taken with some protein in the form of nuts or organic cottage cheese. (I totally agree with this)
Oatmeal, rice milk, baked potatoes, baked sweet potatoes (raises BGL rapidly which causes energy drain and "crash" after that)
Grapefruit and bananas (and absolute NO for my body. Same case as above)
This is my experience with the foods above so far, and I've been in the healing journey for 5 years now.
For me, I need large amounts of protein, high protein foods, like beef.  It helps the fastest and the best when I am having issues.  Once my protein reserves are back up to normal then I can eat the complex carbohydrates with no problem but I need to keep the protein up as well.
I'll be posting again on this issue with some things that may help others.  Please do add your comments and let us know what works for you and what doesn't as well as your experiences.

2 comments:

Judy said...

As a type 2 diabetic before your pancreas quits working correctly you will have hypoglycemic episodes. The diet for hypoglycemics is the same as for diabetics. low carb/high protein/fat diet. We are talking 6 to 12 carbohydrate grams for breakfast; 12 to 24 carbs for lunch and supper to keep your blood sugars stable. The only macro-nutrient that doesn't affect the blood sugar are fats. 60% of the protein you eat is turned into carbs by your digestive system, so protein counts in your blood sugar reading with your glucose meter.

If you don't have a glucose meter I would try to get one because it really helps to chart your lows and highs for regulate your eating plan/diet.

Recycled Cottage & Garden said...

We've got a glucose meter that was my grandmother's and I plan to use it to see. Thanks so much for your insight!

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