Fed up with feeling so tired all the time

Lamont D

Oracle
Messages
15,793
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Hi, Rachel, it must be awful with two little ones.
As i have found out my body and particularly my pancreas doesn't like food.
The more I learn from experience and experimenting that I can't tolerate most foods and eat very little.
If you are going hypo very quickly, then that is called dumping syndrome. If you haven't tracked your bloods during this first hour it would be interesting to discover how quickly you spike then hypo!
It is recommended to eat small meals every two to three hours, but for you, only eating possibly every half hour would stop the hypos! Just a bite.
Low GI never worked for me, so I don't bother, the less carbs the better. Carbs are really bad for me. I maintain real good control by being in ketosis, that means my blood glucose levels stay in normal levels.
Your food and meal list isn't bad but I would definitely ditch the sweet potato, maybe eat smaller meals more often.
Most doctors would tell you to eat either complex carbs or good low GI, because of the need for glucose to your brain. We are well weird! We really don't need that amount of glucose, we have a metabolism that can't have the basic foods.
We have to know what foods and drinks causes our problems.
Our forum contains a lot of information, which is our way of getting control. It may or not pertain to you, but you have a long history of struggle like myself. Another view from someone who has been through it all, could really help you get through this.
You have to prepare for lots of testing individual foods and trial and error with your tastes, maybe like I have lately cut back on my fruit.
Some of us can't tolerate fructose at all.
Anyway, hope we can help.
At the moment I'm going through testing how I do with intermittent fasting, as this has helped me feel good.
Best wishes.
 

Rach164

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
HCP
Hi Guys,
I've posted on this forum before but never the reactive hypoglycemia part as it didn't exist when I was posting around a yr or so ago, so happy there is this section now!

@Brunneria and @nosher8355 may not remember me but gave me some great support and advice when I first got my diagnosis a few years back.

A bit about me;
I have suffered RH since I was a child but only got a diagnosis at age 31, before this all checks for diabetes were done and came back normal, I had to have GTT's during both my pregnancies but again normal. A GP finally took me seriously after my bs went down to 2.3, I had only recently got a glucose monitor at that point so had probably has these levels several times before over the years but never knew it.

A 5hr GTT finally got me my diagnosis of reactive hypoglycemia.

However nobody seems to know much about this condition so don't get any support from my GP. They recently done an annual check for diabetes after I went to the doc for something else and they realised I should of been having them every year..useless.
A dietician gave me the same advice for a diabetic as she had never heard of RH and told me to eat 30%carbs with every meal including snacks, she saw me twice and discharged me. Haven't seen any professionals about this since and that was about 2yrs ago. I've been trying to cope on my own ever since...

Im also pre-diabetic.

I'm here because Ive been trying to follow a low carb diet, this is helping and I dont really have hypos anymore. I have also suffered with acne since I was a teenager and I found low carb to be the only thing that controls it and it makes sense that its related to my blood sugar control, this is what pushes me on to try and get to grips with this lifestyle. I am struggling with this though and will be reading through the low carb section to try and get some more ideas.

I have a little more energy but still really struggle in the afternoons around 3-5 o'clock. Im a single working mum so that plays a part but I still don't think I should be as tired as I am, and Im very unmotivated to get stuff done. I also suffer anxiety, what I would consider mild depression and my self-esteem is very low. These things could possibly be related to my RH I dont know.

A friend at work recently said I dont eat enough carbs and should add some more complex carbs into my diet..maybe I was going too low?
I did have some wholewheat pasta for the first time in ages and had no adverse affects, the next day I had a few slices of wholegrain toast with some cheese for my lunch and felt fine up until about 5pm when I felt a hypo coming on..now I also had skipped my usual mid afternoon snack as was out so don't know if this would of happened anyway.

Should I be adding back in some complex carbs? I'm convinced all carbs are bad apart from vegetables! But also get the conflicting advice that we need whole grains!
Im also gluten free which complicates things even more!
It might just be that I'm not eating enough fat but I find this hard also.

I then thought I would try a bit more fruit so had a banana and some nuts for an afternoon snack, I felt more energy in the afternoon and thought great!, had half a banana with some nuts the next day also..but then my skin completely broke out!! The only different thing I had eaten was the bananas so I put it down to this and won't be eating them again.
I've often wondered how much fruit to eat and how it affects me and have considered cutting it out completely, but this would be another whole food group gone, plus I really like my berries in my yoghurt and a satsuma every now and again. these are all I eat at the moment

My typical day is;
Breakfast - scrambled eggs with butter and either bacon or smoked salmon
Mid Morn Snack- Full Fat Greek Yog, walnuts, a few berries, chia/flax
Lunch- Left over dinner, or scrambled eggs again, or broccoli and cauliflower with tuna mayo
Mid Afternoon Snack- More yoghurt or a satsuma with nuts
Dinner- Meat(pork/lamb/chicken) with veg, usually broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, I usually add some butter to this aswell.

I use coconut oil instead of other oils to cook and sometimes add some double cream in with my yoghurt to up the fat, how could I add more?

My diet is pretty samey samey and boring and I don't think its gonna be sustainable, don't get me started on what I eat when its not a regular day and I might go out for the evening or something!!

Im trying to keep a food journal and trying to get some snacks prepped and stuff as I have the motivation, but my motivation doesn't tend to last long...Ive learnt lots over the past few years but still lack energy to carry on.

Anyway if anyone has got any advice, great.

I look forward to reading through this forum and speaking to people like me!!! Nobody I know has ever even heard of RH so I feel pretty alone.
I'm gluten free too , and have RH. I feel alone too and it such a mess with it all :( no fun.
 

Rach164

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
HCP
Hi, Rachel, it must be awful with two little ones.
As i have found out my body and particularly my pancreas doesn't like food.
The more I learn from experience and experimenting that I can't tolerate most foods and eat very little.
If you are going hypo very quickly, then that is called dumping syndrome. If you haven't tracked your bloods during this first hour it would be interesting to discover how quickly you spike then hypo!
It is recommended to eat small meals every two to three hours, but for you, only eating possibly every half hour would stop the hypos! Just a bite.
Low GI never worked for me, so I don't bother, the less carbs the better. Carbs are really bad for me. I maintain real good control by being in ketosis, that means my blood glucose levels stay in normal levels.
Your food and meal list isn't bad but I would definitely ditch the sweet potato, maybe eat smaller meals more often.
Most doctors would tell you to eat either complex carbs or good low GI, because of the need for glucose to your brain. We are well weird! We really don't need that amount of glucose, we have a metabolism that can't have the basic foods.
We have to know what foods and drinks causes our problems.
Our forum contains a lot of information, which is our way of getting control. It may or not pertain to you, but you have a long history of struggle like myself. Another view from someone who has been through it all, could really help you get through this.
You have to prepare for lots of testing individual foods and trial and error with your tastes, maybe like I have lately cut back on my fruit.
Some of us can't tolerate fructose at all.
Anyway, hope we can help.
At the moment I'm going through testing how I do with intermittent fasting, as this has helped me feel good.
Best wishes.
Thanks so much .... I do need some carbs, a spoonful or two of brown rice. The type of carb is really important to me. I need to start testing .....
 

Lamont D

Oracle
Messages
15,793
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
I'm gluten free too , and have RH. I feel alone too and it such a mess with it all :( no fun.

Having such a limited range of foods because of the intolerance to so many foods, we have to be so careful and go with what we know is going to feed us, and not make us feel horrible.
The way you are emotionally is a symptom of your RH and possibly having to be gluten free with your other hormones probably all over the place. Being in control of your blood glucose levels and having stabilised levels will almost certainly relieve the symptoms.
Why do you need to eat rice, as this amount of carbs would have me bouncing around and feeling awful?
I was always told, I needed a certain amount of complex carbs or the need for fibre.
I have rejected this as my body would prefer to be without these carbs.
If you have read anything in our forum. Having an intolerance to a certain type of food means you shouldn't eat it. If you had a peanut intolerance would you eat them?
I have come to realise that most doctors, nurses, and dieticians haven't got a clue about our type of condition. Yes, it is lonely having a rare condition but there is always support on here.
Keep testing, keep thinking what would make you feel better.
I'm not saying don't ignore medical advice but do think about what makes you feel good and why you keep feeling awful. I know, I've been through it all.
Best wishes.
 

SugarSpike

Active Member
Messages
34
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
Diet only
Hey everyone,
Thought I'd come on and give a bit of an update.... I'm feeling quite motivated and good, having this week off work has probably helped, but I'd like to think its due to my diet. I have been doing a more keto diet the past few weeks and am hopeful its a change for the better.

As I said before I have been low carb and gluten free on and off for the past few years and have seen a change, but was still struggling with a few things, namely acne, tiredness, anxiety and lack of motivation. After a week of keto and really keeping track of my carb intake I felt so full of energy it was so weird, I then had 2- 3 days of feeling really really tired but that passed, I feel good at the moment, still have energy and have been kept motivated by watching tutorials on youtube and following fellow low carbers on social media, Ive made several new things in the past couple of weeks and I'm still going...

I hope this can be sustained, I will never go back to a high carb diet but Keto is obviously very limiting, I will see how it goes in the next few months and track my blood sugars as much as I can, I don't know if its worth getting some test strips to see if I'm in Ketosis?

After my last post I went to my GP to try and get some more support, I was actually quite surprised as she did not tell me off for eating low carb as I expected and said it was the latest research, she also said my Hba1c had improved so I must of been doing something right and I was probably eating better than most people! She did however say there wasn't much support she could offer and to just carry on what I was doing, she referred me to a dietician but even said herself she didn't know how useful it would be to me.
I went to the dietician and of course, wasn't any help, she was nice enough though, suggested add a bit more fruit and a few more complex carbs, discharged after one meeting.

One question if anybody knows..I need to take a magnesium supplement but does anyone know which is best? there are several different types?
 

Lamont D

Oracle
Messages
15,793
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Hey everyone,
Thought I'd come on and give a bit of an update.... I'm feeling quite motivated and good, having this week off work has probably helped, but I'd like to think its due to my diet. I have been doing a more keto diet the past few weeks and am hopeful its a change for the better.

As I said before I have been low carb and gluten free on and off for the past few years and have seen a change, but was still struggling with a few things, namely acne, tiredness, anxiety and lack of motivation. After a week of keto and really keeping track of my carb intake I felt so full of energy it was so weird, I then had 2- 3 days of feeling really really tired but that passed, I feel good at the moment, still have energy and have been kept motivated by watching tutorials on youtube and following fellow low carbers on social media, Ive made several new things in the past couple of weeks and I'm still going...

I hope this can be sustained, I will never go back to a high carb diet but Keto is obviously very limiting, I will see how it goes in the next few months and track my blood sugars as much as I can, I don't know if its worth getting some test strips to see if I'm in Ketosis?

After my last post I went to my GP to try and get some more support, I was actually quite surprised as she did not tell me off for eating low carb as I expected and said it was the latest research, she also said my Hba1c had improved so I must of been doing something right and I was probably eating better than most people! She did however say there wasn't much support she could offer and to just carry on what I was doing, she referred me to a dietician but even said herself she didn't know how useful it would be to me.
I went to the dietician and of course, wasn't any help, she was nice enough though, suggested add a bit more fruit and a few more complex carbs, discharged after one meeting.

One question if anybody knows..I need to take a magnesium supplement but does anyone know which is best? there are several different types?

It does seem that we keep hearing these sort of adventures with our medical teams, they mean well but because it is a rare condition, no experience, no expertise, no real research, only endocrinologists finding out how it happens and not why!

It seems you have got good control and the extra energy is brilliant isn't it? it is exhilarating when you can all of a sudden do so much more without feeling lethargic and brain dead, keto is tough but it is sustainable. Just making sure you don't want to go back to them horrible symptoms!

If you do introduce more fruit just add small pieces along with your protein and fat, as this will help not raising your blood levels. Complex carbs are only slower acting carbs and this will kick you out of ketosis, so I would have second thoughts about that!
I have no idea on supplements, maybe your GP can recommend one.

Keep the updates coming.

Best wishes!
 

Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,889
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
What excellent news! Well done.

I remember doing a fair bit of reading before i selected my magnesium supplement. I went for 'chelated' in the end. Because of absorbability and non laxativity ;)
 
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SugarSpike

Active Member
Messages
34
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks Guys, Yeh I won't be 'adding' more complex carbs as she suggested, I'm trying to keep my intake at under 20g. I've felt tired this week but I've been at work which is quite full on and stressful at the moment.
I think I will get some of the chelated magnesium supplements thanks just trying to find a good quality one without all the bulking agents etc.
 

Lamont D

Oracle
Messages
15,793
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Thanks Guys, Yeh I won't be 'adding' more complex carbs as she suggested, I'm trying to keep my intake at under 20g. I've felt tired this week but I've been at work which is quite full on and stressful at the moment.
I think I will get some of the chelated magnesium supplements thanks just trying to find a good quality one without all the bulking agents etc.

Yeah, work can be like that, give yourself time and keep testing to see if you are ok!
For us, complex just means a bit slower but still gets us there!

Keep us informed!

Best wishes
 

lindisfel

Expert
Messages
5,659
Hi guys, The Banting diet is anything from very low carb to 200grams of carb/day. The carbs in legumes are likely to spike the more carb tolerant less and legumes are full of good nutrition. One has to find out where one is on the spectrum and if some carbs can be tolerated, and adjust accordingly, it could mean you have more energy and no hypos. regards Derek
 
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