Reactive Hypoglycaemia

[wolf63]

I have problems with my insulin levels and sufer from reactive hypoglycaemia. It happens about 3 hours after meals and makes me feel very unwell.

I have been advised to eat a fat free yoghurt when this happens. Does anybody have any other suggestions - something I can perhaps carry around with me.

I am not diabetic .

[Miss Gray]

Have you tried having a diet that excludes simple carbs (sugar) and tried only having complex carbohydrates? This is because if you have sweet food it stimulates the production of insuin which means you will also have a sharp drop in your blood glucose. However if you eat complex carbs there will be a less extreme change. Also try eating little and often. Hope that makes sense/helps! xx

[wolf63]

Yes - I have policystic ovaries and was advised to try a low-GI diet. I did and lost about 3 stone.

I have also been diagnosed with manic depression, but I honestly think that the hypoglycaemic attacks have made this seem worse that it really is.

I am trying to improve my diet by cutting out as much of the cr*p as possible.

I believe that my problem is insulin resistance - too much insulin, dodgy insulin receptors and huge drops in blood sugar hours after a meal.

When the ''attack'' takes place it is like a huge anxiety attack with shaking, shivering and sweating and feeling really low and depressed. This has been ongoing since my teens but as my weight got higher it got worse.

I am only 43 and would like to get all this sorted out.

My doctor's solution was to give me a diabetic diet sheet and prescribe Metformin (a diabetic medication) but my blood sugar levels were just as bad when on the drug so I stopped taking it (he agreed).

Any simple remedies to this annoying problem would be greatly appreciated.

[Miss Gray]

Short term when you have an attack have you tried having some sugar - a glass of orange juice may be enough to sort you out. I have hypos too (I am diabetic) they are horible but easily sorted. A diabetic diet sheet sounds a bit scary and dictatorial though... But a lower GI diet should help. There are tricks with that so you can have sweet stuff though - like if you have it when you also have something with a low GI. xx

[wolf63]

But why is it so damned complicated?

I volunteer in an Oxfam bookshop and have bought a few books on the subject, but they go into too much detail. All you really need is someone to answer one or two questions - like you have answered mine.

Because the insulin problem link with policystic ovaries when I was diagnosed in 1981 I have been having hypo attacks for 20 years with no idea what was happening. As you say they are horrible, but now that I know what they are I feel much better - I can do something about them.

I was going to keep sugar sachets in the house, but was afraid that it would make the whole attack worse in the long run.

I will take the little but often approach.

I thougth that I was going nuts. I know that I am already prone to depression/mania - but the hypo attacks were freaking me out.

Thanks for your info.

[pastafreak]

Hi wolfe63....i have had low blood sugar attacks on and off all my adult life and its a b****h sometimes...but i have learned how to cope with it by trial and error. Oh...and i have also had panic attacks combined with agoraphobia when i was in my 20's.. bananas are a life saver-something to do with the complex carbs and the mineral content...you could also keep a stash of dried fruit such as apricots with you...I found they work a treat I know that if I go on an extended sugar binge i will pay the price so that is somethind to be avoided...but we are all human!

[HarrietParks]

Hi wolf63...I have suffered from hypoglycaemic attacks from childhood and have now worked out, as Miss Gray said, to avoid simple carbs.
However most days I eat late in the day avoiding breakfast and snack in the evening. As pastafreak said, I also snack on dried fruit. This seems to work for me. If I have breakfast I will have a hypo for sure.
My only downfall is during a rare attack when I reach for the wrong stuff just to get over the awful hypo feelings. Afterwards I'm sickened at the rubbish I have binged on.

[beaniesq]

HI wolf63, I have just posted a very similar question on here myself. I have PCOS too, I'm a little overweight (about half a stone heavier than the ideal weight for my height). Recently I came off the contraceptive pill and I've started having strange 'episodes' when I eat sugar. This is particularly the case in the evenings. For example, if I have a sugary snack before bedtime, I will wake up in the night shaking like crazy (almost like a panic attack), feeling sick, and then I usually also have the runs too. The problem is gradually getting worse.
Is this the same thing that has been happening to you? I haven't heard the term reactive hypoglycaemia before, but your question makes me wonder if that's what is happening to me.
I also have recurrent candida (thrush) infections which aren't responding to treatment. Have you experienced anything like this?

Caroline

[wolf63]

beaniesq

Yes that is what it feels like. It has gotten worse over the years. It feels like I am cold then hot and exhausted but anxious and depressed too. I found my doctor to be of not much help with this matter.

Not thrush though.

Best wishes and you might want to try http://www.verity-pcos.org.uk/