My friend has recently been having extreme boughts of tiredness, weakness, disorientation, shaking and irritability. This is accompanied by extreme hunger. Despite eating great quantities of food (and I mean that!) as well as many large date squares she remains in this state or it is only slightly alleviated. This will reoccur in another 2hrs or so. I am a diabetic and tested her sugars on my glucometer. After several glasses of OJ, a chuckwagon, date square, cashews her readings were 3.3mmol. ( Note these are Canadian measures, I understand in the US reading are different-never the less, this is very low and at those numbers I would feel most unwell). I should add that she is normally a very healthy eater, but is unable to manage any other way at present. Other than seeing her Dr of course, what can she possibly eat/do to help manage these levels. We are only assuming at this point that hypoglycemia is the issue. Any other ideas?
Also, I know where excess sugar goes in diabetics, hence the high B.S. levels but where does all that sugar go in a hypoglycemic?
well, here’s a medically oriented summary of hypoglycemia.
http://fpnotebook.com/END51.htm
I see by the standard definition, a glucose level of less than 2.2 mm (40) in women, and 2.8 mm (50) in men is necessary to diagnose the condition.
I’d recommend she deal with this with her doctor. The possible reasons behind the symptoms are too myriad to dissect out on the board. At least for me, they are. YMMV.
QtM, MD
She does have high blood sugar if this is glucose intolerance/insulin resistance. Depends when she’s testing. In theory, her body isn’t use the sugar well. The cell walls don’t respond to normal insulin levels as they should. The body produces more insulin to kick in the cell doors, as it were, so that sugar will be taken into the cells. The high insulin level overcomes the resistance and as a consequence, there then isn’t enough sugar in the bloodstream. Thus your friend feels hungry again in 30-120 minutes.
Your friend should see a doctor and ask about glucose intolerance/insulin resistance. She should have an A1c test and a fasting glucose tolerance test.
IANAMD but I have fun with glucometers nonetheless, so perhaps your friend would enjoy this experiment:
- With a clean lancet (it should go without saying), test upon arising (fasting glucose).
- Eat breakfast.
- Test 30 minutes after eating.
- Test 120 minutes after eating.
#3 may be high (sorry, I don’t know Canadian norms); #4 might be high but ought to be lower than #3.
If she’s still enjoying herself, she could
- Test before lunch.
- Eat lunch.
- Test 30 minutes after eating.
- Exercise briskly for 30 minutes.
- Test again.
#9 may be lower than #7.
Your friend may, with her doctor’s agreement, want to try a diet that is lower in refined carbohydrates than what she eats presently. Atkins didn’t work for me for other reasons, but my blood sugar was lower after eating than before. She should also consider building exercise (aerobic + weight-bearing) into her day.
If her doctor determines that she is glucose intolerance/insulin resistance, she should have eye and foot exams.
A Type II diabetic can feel as if he or she is suffering hypoglycemia when they’re really not.
If one lives with elevated blood sugar continuously, then when the sugar levels are reduced to a normal range, one feels the symptoms of hypoglycemia: irritability, fatigue, shakiness, weakness in the limbs, nausea, loss of mental focus, loss of motor control, unconsciousness.
Many diabetes drugs work to increase insulin levels, causing blood sugar to drop dramatically. This feels like crap. I know.
The key is to lower the blood sugar levels gradually. The first step is to eliminate sugar from the diet. This means NO candy, NO sweets, NO donuts, NO sugar in coffee or tea, NO ketchup… and look out for hidden sugars in things like salad dressing and sauces. Next, eliminate foods with high glycemic indices, like white bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, etc.
One cannot manage Type II Diabetes without managing their diet. I know some diabetics who use their insulin pump as an excuse to pig out on sweets – they can just crank up their insulin pump… but this is a mistake. It just makes them pack on the pounds and they wind up even more overweight and at higher risk for heart disease, etc.
I’ve gone on the Atkins diet, and this is working very well to control my blood sugar. Sometimes I get mild shakiness and fatigue, but this just means I need to eat smaller meals more frequently.
It’s very hard to control diet, I know. I didn’t have a sweet tooth until I had to cut back on sugar… then I began to crave things like Creme Brulee and Fifth Avenue bars. Now that I’m on Atkins, I want chips and bread and french fries and… and…
And a big bowl of chocolate frosting. With powdered sugar on it… and hot fudge on the side.
Damn, the holidays were the worst time to start on Atkins!
I was hypoglycemic until my pregnancy, and just recently became mildly hypoglycemic again - my fault, I’d slowly gotten back into the habit of eating refined sugars again.
Hypoglycemia is often caused by your body overreacting to high blood sugar levels - too much insulin, as opposed to too little. All the symptoms you named are typical, but they can also be indicative of a candida problem.
What worked for me was a no sugar diet. Eat complex, unrefined foods that take your body time to digest, stay away from white flour products, anything with excessive sugars (pretty much anything that’s premade in the grocery store). Eat high sugar fruits with proteins or dairy - plain yogurt with berries etc. Drink lime perrier instead of pop. Use decaf coffee - caffeine temporarily raises your blood sugar, as does most alcohol.
If she wants a recipe, the Atkins maintenance diet works extremely well for most hypoglycemics - the induction part is a little extreme for anyone who’s not specifically trying to lose weight - but the Atkins philosophy of proteins, fats and complex carbs such as veggies is perfect for keeping a steady blood sugar all day long.