# Occasional hypoglycemia **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occasional-hypoglycemia/415581 "2007-08-14T17:54:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occasional-hypoglycemia/415581/1 "2007-08-14T17:54:56Z")
I’m not asking for medical advice but I’m wondering why, very occasonally, if I haven’t eaten, I’ll get shakey. It doesn’t happen often and I’m healthy (not overweight, I exercise a bunch, and my blood work is good), so what can make the body occasionally not handle not eating well? For example, yesterday I was very busy and only wound up consuming at most maybe four or five hundred calories before I got home at 7pm. I wasn’t starving so decided to do a quick vaccuum. Midway through, I realized I was sweating but just thought I was hot. Then my hands started shaking and I finally realized I hadn’t eaten much. Today I still feel kinda shakey. But usually, I’ll just hungry and eat. Why was yesterday diifferent? Unusual occurances: I’d been out in 100 degree heat for a couple of hours. Can heat exposure contribute? Because of the heat, I got a large slushie with sugar. I almost never drink sugared drinks. Can a large intake of sugar mess up insulin levels to create a low blood sugar situation? Do female hormones affect blood sugar levels? I’ve tried googling these questions but I haven’t found much. ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occasional-hypoglycemia/415581/2 "2007-08-14T18:06:41Z")
There are different types of sugars. Some you burn through quickly while others take longer. The slushie gave you a sugar high and then a crash. Next time, try eating some fruit or drinking juice and always avoid anything with high fructose corn syrup. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occasional-hypoglycemia/415581/3 "2007-08-14T18:10:44Z")
[QUOTE=kimera] There are different types of sugars. Some you burn through quickly while others take longer. The slushie gave you a sugar high and then a crash. Next time, try eating some fruit or drinking juice and always avoid anything with high fructose corn syrup. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I was thinking that was probably what it was. I’d read a lot of anecdotal recountings for sugar crashed but I hadn’t been able to find anything “official”. Do you know if there are any studies or info out there on large intakes of sugar creating a low blood sugar reaction? It was an awfully unpleasant experience. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occasional-hypoglycemia/415581/4 "2007-08-14T18:11:43Z")
When was the last time you had a complete physical exam? I \*strongly \*suggest you see your doctor and tell him/her what you just told us. ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occasional-hypoglycemia/415581/5 "2007-08-14T18:22:50Z")
[Here](http://www.dietitian.com/hypoglyc.html) is a good page on hypoglycemia. [This](http://www.dietitian.com/carbos.html) explains why a sugar crash happens. Basically, because the “bad” sugar is quickly absorbed by the bloodstream, your insulin levels go crazy and the crash results. [This](http://www.diabetesnet.com/diabetes_information/diabetes_women.php) is a page on diabetes but it says there is a connection between female hormone levels and blood sugar. I’ve never noticed one myself. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occasional-hypoglycemia/415581/6 "2007-08-14T18:26:59Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] When was the last time you had a complete physical exam? I \*strongly \*suggest you see your doctor and tell him/her what you just told us. [/QUOTE] I had one almost exactly a year ago. I can’t remember if blood sugar was tested but I was excellent with cholesterol, etc. Although I am also really anemic. Like I said, this is real occasional thing for me. Usually, I’d just be hungry and not eating isn’t a big deal. It’s just every so often I’ll get shakey (and doesn’t everybody someitmes? A lot of my female friends say it happens to them.) and I’d like to find out why so I can avoid it in the future. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occasional-hypoglycemia/415581/7 "2007-08-14T18:29:49Z")
[QUOTE=kimera] [Here](http://www.dietitian.com/hypoglyc.html) is a good page on hypoglycemia. [This](http://www.dietitian.com/carbos.html) explains why a sugar crash happens. Basically, because the “bad” sugar is quickly absorbed by the bloodstream, your insulin levels go crazy and the crash results. [This](http://www.diabetesnet.com/diabetes_information/diabetes_women.php) is a page on diabetes but it says there is a connection between female hormone levels and blood sugar. I’ve never noticed one myself. [/QUOTE] Thanks for the links, **Kimera**. I do really like the dietitian site, I should’ve thought to look there. On edit, I just looked up the Sonic Lime Slushie nutrition info and the large has 117g of sugar. So that was probably too much. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occasional-hypoglycemia/415581/8 "2007-08-15T08:32:25Z")
[QUOTE=kimera] [This](http://www.diabetesnet.com/diabetes_information/diabetes_women.php) is a page on diabetes but it says there is a connection between female hormone levels and blood sugar. I’ve never noticed one myself. [/QUOTE] I’m a diabetic and a lady\* and, for me at least, the impact that my female hormones have on my diabetes isn’t all that bad. It was worse when I was a teenager, which helped increase all that lovely premenstrual irritability. (“I’m so angry! I want a brownie, but I can’t. Now I’m angrier! I’m going to write bad poetry and cry.”) I probably wouldn’t even notice it if I didn’t check my blood sugar every day, and it’s rarely enough to give me ketones or anything like that. I doubt a healthy non-diabetic woman would notice the effect, and it would be strange if it resulted in hypoglycemia, rather than hyperglycemia. It may also be that women with diabetes already have a tendency to be resistant to insulin, so the effect is exaggerated in them. [sub]\*Scholars and gentlemen take caution.[/sub]