Hypoglycemia? Has This Ever Happened to You?

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No, it's not too late to get a handle on this. I work with a lot of people with sugar issues - diabetics and hypoglycemics, as well as people with food sensitivities. Hypoglycemia and diabetes are different things. Metabolic syndrome is a precursor to diabetes - it includes high cholesterol, high triglycerides, glucose tolerance/processing issues, overweight (especially around the middle), and other factors.

You're already identified the problem: weight, inactivity, a heavy dependence on sugary junk foods and soda. You're certainly going through sugar "crash" issues, but whether or not you have hypoglycemia, we can't say. A hereditary issue is not irreversible - the science of epigenetics is teaching us a lot about changes in the expression of our DNA (sort of like turning a light switch on and off) - it's not embedded in the DNA and it absolutely CAN be influenced by stress, environmental factors, nutrition and disease. I just read two articles this week about the role of exercise and the role of trauma in affecting gene expression.

So you're not stuck with it, but you have to stop "treating" it with a spoonful of sugar! All your sugar intake is giving you a "high" followed by a 'crash". It's a very unhealthy cycle. Some people get a similar effect from caffeine - the withdrawal gives them a headache, which is relieved by more caffeine.

Start making healthy choices - get rid of the Coke (and don't switch to Diet Coke!), start making your own healthy snacks, and include more protein. Don't cut out fats - but do switch to healthy fats like olive oil, nuts & nut butters, avocados, peanuts. Having a piece of fruit is far superior to sugar. Add cinnamon to fruit or yogurt - it tastes like a treat but it's not harmful and also has some benefits. DO snack so you don't get starving, but snacks are things like a few slices of apple and about 15 almonds. Keep these at your desk.

You have plenty of opportunity to exercise even with a sedentary job. Park as far from the office as possible, and walk. Take the stairs. Park far from the grocery store or dry cleaners. Go outside and take a brisk walk if the weather is good. If the weather is bad, go to the mail on the weekends, and just walk - they open early for walkers, hours before the stores open. Get a $10 pedometer and count your steps. Your goal is 10,000 a day, but start with 2,000 and work up. You'll feel better and you'll lose your food cravings.

Get a light set of weights - maybe 4 and 8 pounds. Stand up while you watch TV, and do biceps curls and shoulder presses. If you don't have weights, repurpose a couple of 1 liter soda bottles filled with water, and hold them in the middle as you do arm exercises. Hold on to the back of a chair or get down on all fours, stick the weight behind your knee (gripping it with your bend leg), and do leg lifts to the rear and to the side (called "hydrants", like a dog lifting his leg). Get a couple of workout DVDs from the library and watch them so you learn the proper form for protecting your back and neck (2 of the most common areas for injuries especially when starting out). Weight training is good for muscle development, and muscle burns more calories. It also helps ward off osteoporosis.

Make serious changes but in small increments - every little bit helps. You can join a gym for about $20 a month - lots of specials going on at this time of year. Be sure it's a gym that is open a lot of hours, and not one just populated by "muscle men" - you want other people like you. Find a class for beginners that is very supportive. You can go before work, after work, on weekends. You can walk on a treadmill. You don't have to hire a personal trainer, but do get the staff to show you how to use some of the basic machines for weight work - that's free in every gym. Start slowly so you don't get injured and discouraged. Keep the weights light and the number of repetitions-per-set reasonable, like 10-12 only.

Everyone needs nutritional supplementation, but there are a lot of money-wasters out there that do nothing. Don't take something with just a few vitamins or minerals in it - that's not how your body utilizes nutrients. I work with people on this all the time, and you'd be surprised how fast your health, energy, sugar level, cholesterol and mood can turn around if you do it right.

Nope not too late to change things at all. You've gotten your warning sign so now you need to decide if you want to make the changes or go the drug/daily monitoring route once you develop the disease.

you're definitely being given some warning signals. i'd heed the alarm.
not by freaking out, hon. but do start making good changes, one by one. you can't change your genetics or your work situation, but you can start chipping away at your dietary habits. start with coke, as that's one of the worst offenders. don't drink your calories. switch your cokes to water, and once that's taken root, take one more habit and work on that.
i suggest you don't take sugar if you get dizzy. you are clearly addicted to it (i am too), so you need to find other ways of counteracting your blood sugar swings. fruit juice is your best bet.
don't wait until you're all the way into diabetes, my dear. you're SO young, and you have a little boy. take small but purposeful steps right now.
khairete
S.

Welcome to Mamapedia, A.!

Hypoglycemia is serious. It's LOW blood sugar not too much (hyperglycemia/Diabetes).

If you feel your blood sugar is getting low? Do NOT eat raw sugar. Eat an orange, apple, banana.

You need to change your lifestyle. You need to eat a good breakfast each morning and have HEALTHY snacks during the day...carrots, celery with peanut butter, nuts, etc.

Can you change it? Maybe. Talk with your doctor. Ask for a nutritionist. The only one who can change you is YOU. So if you want to live to see your son grow up, marry, become a father?? You need to change your lifestyle...

Good luck!

You need to cut out the junk food.
Eat more complex carbohydrates and proteins.
A bowl of steel cut oatmeal with a big spoon of nut butter stirred into it will stick with you a very long time.
See your doctor, discuss your episode and follow his directions.
No more soda (diet or otherwise) or juice.
Drink plenty of water.
Sometimes being dehydrated can make you feel pretty bad.
If you need a snack, they have these packets of nuts that are small and only 100 calories per pack - they are a great source of protein.

I am hypoglycemic.

Did your doctor do a glucose tolerance test? This test takes about half a day. It is the only true way to see how your body responds to sugar.

Many other health issues can be disguised as hypoglycemia, so medical counsel is needed.

A 'true' hypoglycemic has an immediate family member with TYPE ONE diabetes. My sister was Dx with type one at age 13.

I had a very hard time managing my blood sugar in my teens and early 20's. Now, I exercise regularly and balance what I eat by always being aware to include a protein or slow carb with every meal.

What has helped me the most was cutting out pop (soda). The ingredients in pop would mess with me so bad. The other thing was always drinking water (besides my morning coffee of course).

Start a food journal and be honest of what you ate, the quantities, and how it made you feel. You will start to see a pattern and be able to make adjustments. Find a doctor that takes your concerns seriously and will help you work with a dietician that is knowledgeable.

Yes, lack of managing this will lead to diabetes.

Please start taking care of yourself.

ETA: Also cut out alcohol. That is all sugar. Most people experience hypoglycemic symptoms when they are hungover.

Sounds like you know what to do. With a history of this in your family, you have to be extra careful. I would go to the doctor a.s.a.p. and have your levels checked immediately. In the meantime, you have to clean up your diet.

Yes, it's possible you had low blook sugar. Your genetics and life style make you at very high risk for diabetes. Consider this a wake up call. Go to your doctor and have another test.

My tests showed that my A1C was somewhat elevated. I'm diagnosed with prediabetes. I have those symptoms in a much milder way. I know to eat more protein; not sugar, because I don't have full diabetes. My brother has diabetes. I've seem him have those serious symptoms and he eats sugar if he doesn't have access to orange juice.

You need to have more information about how diabetes works, how you can prevent it and how to manage symptoms. I suggest that if you have these symptoms infrequently you may be prediabetic. Get tested and ask for a medical class on managing diabetes.

I'd take the class no matter what your test results are. Because of your genetics and life style and weight.. you are nearly certain to get diabetes. If you change your diet and get exercise and lose weight now you have a chance of preventing it.

In this case, you are your own worst enemy.

You need to stop purchasing junk food and stop keeping it around the house.

Since you have been diagnosed, you need to talk with your doctor about change. Maybe he will refer you to a nutritionist, as others have mentioned. The reality is? You need to take care of yourself. You need to make sure healthy options are available to you and your family.

Eat between 5 and 6 smaller meals a day. That means no bigger than you fist. Keep fresh produce around you, carrots, celery and things like hard boiled eggs.

If you are scared? You need to make the change in your life.

If you are hypoglycemic then you can still change it. Please change your eating habits and start exercising (just a walk around the parking lot once or twice a day is fine).

You need to be there for your child and set the example for him.

Make those changes, A.; it's not too late! I would guess there are probably some hypoglycemic episodes that are not warning of diabetic tendencies, but in my case, they were definitely a precursor.

I began having low-blood sugar episodes in my mid 20's shortly after my daughter was born. I eventually learned that they were (in my case) related to my body overreacting to an afternoon coffee break, which often included a candy bar "for energy" because I was probably already experiencing a hypoglycemic situation two hours after lunch. Well, those candy bars helped for 45-60 minutes, then I would crash even harder, with headaches, shakiness, and confusion.

I stopped the candy breaks, and learned to eat LESS sugar/carbs, and did just great until menopause was approaching. Those uncomfortable episodes stopped completely. I had no further trouble until my 40's when my metabolism began to slow down. I finally did develop diabetes at 55, but now 12 years later, my blood tests still are USUALLY in normal range, and my doctor is sure it's largely because I've learned how to eat well.

Here's my most successful strategy: start replacing half of your junk-food indulgences with something small but healthy; a piece of fruit, a serving of last night's leftovers, and spread it out during the day so that you never have a huge meal or a big serving of anything questionable, because it's those large meals with a big carb load that force your pancreas to produce insulin. For me, I eat a high protein and/or fiber snack, a hundred calories or less, about every 2 hours. I experience almost no hunger/cravings this way, and my blood glucose stays nearly steady and within bounds. My pancreas releases insulin in moderate amounts and I don't get hypoglycemic. Or hyperglycemic. (Which I can and do experience when I eat larger or higher-carb snacks.)

Once you've become comfortable eating less junk, cut it in half again. And so forth. Some people can change habits all at once, but that's rare. I'm walking proof that not only CAN we change habits, but we can enjoy the changes! Best of luck to you.

I'm hypoglycemic. Diane B has shared terrific information.

Instead of sugar, make your go-to item peanut butter or another protein-laded food. I eat healthy and exercise, but sometimes life gets busy and I'm not as on top of my hypoglycemia as I should be. When it's emergency "I feel sick and shaky" time, I get a spoon full of peanut butter or eat peanut butter crackers. Protein will stabilize you.

Mention your concerns with your doctor. Mine told me I had all of the signs of hypoglycemia (I've had problems feeling sick, irritable and shaky if I don't eat every two hours since I was a kid). He said he could do the awful testing but that there wasn't any point if diet is the only solution anyway. He recommended the high protein approach and eating every two hours to keep things in check.