"Healthy" prediabetic! Confused! Uncontrollable lows. HELP!

[hypo_nurse]

I am writing to see if anyone else has had an issue similar to mine and because it is driving me crazy! I apologize in advance for the long post.

I am a 22 year old female of average height and weight (about 5'3" and 120 lbs). I am young and have never been overweight so when I was told last year that I was pre-diabetic I was confused...

Last year I was extremely fatigued, just tired and napping all the time. It was a struggle just to complete typical daily tasks. People around me (such as my family) noticed and became worried and frustrated because they didn't understand why I never felt like doing things. A seemingly healthy 21 year old should be out and about living life and having fun right?! I had been health-conscious for years so I ate fairly healthy, probably better than a lot of people my age. I am not and have never been overweight. I don't drink alcohol at all due to my beliefs. I don't take drugs other than those prescribed to me and normal over-the-counter stuff. I finally went to the doctor and they took blood from me. A couple days or so later they call me with results and tell me my HbA1C is in the prediabetic range and to just change my diet. They also said my vitamin D was low so she put me on 50,000 units once per week for 6 months. I have since finished this.

Since then, I have had my A1C checked a few more times. Every time they sent out blood it would come back either in the pre-diabetic range or borderline. Recently I went back to the doctor (my PCP) because my blood sugar kept dropping, sometimes even right after eating. I can eat a full meal, whether it's healthy or not-so-healthy and it still has the tendency to drop right after. As quickly as just a few minutes after. I can tell it is dropping because I feel nauseous, shaky, weak, and when I check my blood sugar it is low...and then I have to force myself to eat more just to bring my blood sugar back up. It's annoying!

After checking my blood sugars routinely for a little while I went back to my PCP and after telling her she thinks maybe my A1C has lowered bc of my frequent low blood sugars (possible spikes and drops averaging out the A1C). She put me on Metformin to stabilize it and referred me to an endocrinologist. But my appointment isn't until January 2018!

I just want answers! I want to know what is going on with my body! Has anyone else experienced anything similar???

 

[Squire Fulwood]

I haven't personally experienced your problem but I know of other people who have. I suppose you will get a diagnosis in January but for the moment read the info on the link below to see if you recognise any of the symptoms.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/reactive-hypoglycemia.html

Good luck.

 

[9893973788]

I am writing to see if anyone else has had an issue similar to mine and because it is driving me crazy! I apologize in advance for the long post.

I am a 22 year old female of average height and weight (about 5'3" and 120 lbs). I am young and have never been overweight so when I was told last year that I was pre-diabetic I was confused...

Last year I was extremely fatigued, just tired and napping all the time. It was a struggle just to complete typical daily tasks. People around me (such as my family) noticed and became worried and frustrated because they didn't understand why I never felt like doing things. A seemingly healthy 21 year old should be out and about living life and having fun right?! I had been health-conscious for years so I ate fairly healthy, probably better than a lot of people my age. I am not and have never been overweight. I don't drink alcohol at all due to my beliefs. I don't take drugs other than those prescribed to me and normal over-the-counter stuff. I finally went to the doctor and they took blood from me. A couple days or so later they call me with results and tell me my HbA1C is in the prediabetic range and to just change my diet. They also said my vitamin D was low so she put me on 50,000 units once per week for 6 months. I have since finished this.

Since then, I have had my A1C checked a few more times. Every time they sent out blood it would come back either in the pre-diabetic range or borderline. Recently I went back to the doctor (my PCP) because my blood sugar kept dropping, sometimes even right after eating. I can eat a full meal, whether it's healthy or not-so-healthy and it still has the tendency to drop right after. As quickly as just a few minutes after. I can tell it is dropping because I feel nauseous, shaky, weak, and when I check my blood sugar it is low...and then I have to force myself to eat more just to bring my blood sugar back up. It's annoying!

After checking my blood sugars routinely for a little while I went back to my PCP and after telling her she thinks maybe my A1C has lowered bc of my frequent low blood sugars (possible spikes and drops averaging out the A1C). She put me on Metformin to stabilize it and referred me to an endocrinologist. But my appointment isn't until January 2018!

I just want answers! I want to know what is going on with my body! Has anyone else experienced anything similar???

Plz write your daily diet routine

 

[hypo_nurse]

I haven't personally experienced your problem but I know of other people who have. I suppose you will get a diagnosis in January but for the moment read the info on the link below to see if you recognise any of the symptoms.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/reactive-hypoglycemia.html

Good luck.

Thanks so much for the response. I do believe it sounds like reactive hypoglycemia.

I haven't personally experienced your problem but I know of other people who have. I suppose you will get a diagnosis in January but for the moment read the info on the link below to see if you recognise any of the symptoms.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/reactive-hypoglycemia.html

Good luck.

Thanks for the response. It does seem like reactive hypoglycemia when it happens after eating. It happens at other times too though and it's beginning to get difficult to keep my sugar up. The thing that is bothering me the most is WHY. I guess I may not know until my visit to the endocrinologist. Thanks again!

 

[hypo_nurse]

Plz write your daily diet routine

I wouldn't say that I have a daily diet routine honestly. I am a nurse so sometimes I just have to eat when I can. I usually do get at least 2 meals a day in and I snack frequently throughout the day.

 

[Kristin251]

I wouldn't say that I have a daily diet routine honestly. I am a nurse so sometimes I just have to eat when I can. I usually do get at least 2 meals a day in and I snack frequently throughout the day.

Do you eat a lot of carbs?
Some members with RH will likely be along to explain.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I wouldn't say that I have a daily diet routine honestly. I am a nurse so sometimes I just have to eat when I can. I usually do get at least 2 meals a day in and I snack frequently throughout the day.

I think he was asking for a list of the meals/foods you typically eat - and don't just say "healthy!" There are healthy foods for non-diabetics and healthy foods for diabetics. They are not the same unfortunately.

Please do have a read of the reactive hypoglycaemia sub-forum that @Squire Fulwood gave you a link to and see if any bells ring.

It would also help if you gave us some actual numbers of what you see on your meter when you test yourself.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

- and don't just say "healthy!"

You may have started me off with a blog theme. Doctors always say eat healthily before they slam the door on your fingers but about 60% of them didn't know what an oily fish was when Credit Suisse asked them to name one. And there was the bloke that said he only ate healthy food. For example he had had a pizza and a cheesecake for his evening meal.

Sorry for the hijack but someone did ask the OP for diet info.

I formally hand the thread back to @hypo_nurse .

 

[Grateful]

@hypo_nurse is probably in America, like I am (because of references to PCP, a U.S. term).

It is good that you are seeing an endocrinologist in January, because your symptoms at the relatively young age of 22 could indicate a number of different possibilities. A specialist will have more experience of the detective work than your PCP. I realize that the wait is frustrating! (This often happens to me too, it seems to vary a lot depending on what part of the country we live in.)

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Squire Fulwood]

Thanks so much for the response. I do believe it sounds like reactive hypoglycemia.


Thanks for the response. It does seem like reactive hypoglycemia when it happens after eating. It happens at other times too though and it's beginning to get difficult to keep my sugar up. The thing that is bothering me the most is WHY. I guess I may not know until my visit to the endocrinologist. Thanks again!

One of the things we are told to believe is that visceral fat or some other problem reduces the amount of insulin released into the bloodstream and therefore we have a problem. I have never seen a discussion where visceral fat reduces the amount of glucose released into the bloodstream. What would be the effects of that I wonder.

Dr. Roger Unger said that insulin is 400 times more concentrated when still in the pancreas but when its effect is limited for some reason then maybe glucose gets into the bloodstream in quantities it wasn't meant to and has to wait to be processed by diluted insulin as and when it arrives.

I have a suspicion that the alpha cells might also malfunction and the balance of glucose and insulin is wrong such that you end up with too much insulin chasing too little sugar. This could give you hypos.

But then I'm a drunk and might have a different idea tomorrow.

 

[Lamont D]

I am writing to see if anyone else has had an issue similar to mine and because it is driving me crazy! I apologize in advance for the long post.

I am a 22 year old female of average height and weight (about 5'3" and 120 lbs). I am young and have never been overweight so when I was told last year that I was pre-diabetic I was confused...

Last year I was extremely fatigued, just tired and napping all the time. It was a struggle just to complete typical daily tasks. People around me (such as my family) noticed and became worried and frustrated because they didn't understand why I never felt like doing things. A seemingly healthy 21 year old should be out and about living life and having fun right?! I had been health-conscious for years so I ate fairly healthy, probably better than a lot of people my age. I am not and have never been overweight. I don't drink alcohol at all due to my beliefs. I don't take drugs other than those prescribed to me and normal over-the-counter stuff. I finally went to the doctor and they took blood from me. A couple days or so later they call me with results and tell me my HbA1C is in the prediabetic range and to just change my diet. They also said my vitamin D was low so she put me on 50,000 units once per week for 6 months. I have since finished this.

Since then, I have had my A1C checked a few more times. Every time they sent out blood it would come back either in the pre-diabetic range or borderline. Recently I went back to the doctor (my PCP) because my blood sugar kept dropping, sometimes even right after eating. I can eat a full meal, whether it's healthy or not-so-healthy and it still has the tendency to drop right after. As quickly as just a few minutes after. I can tell it is dropping because I feel nauseous, shaky, weak, and when I check my blood sugar it is low...and then I have to force myself to eat more just to bring my blood sugar back up. It's annoying!

After checking my blood sugars routinely for a little while I went back to my PCP and after telling her she thinks maybe my A1C has lowered bc of my frequent low blood sugars (possible spikes and drops averaging out the A1C). She put me on Metformin to stabilize it and referred me to an endocrinologist. But my appointment isn't until January 2018!

I just want answers! I want to know what is going on with my body! Has anyone else experienced anything similar???

Hi, it does sound by your description that there could be a case to get an endocrinologist to look for some type of Hypoglycaemia. It is probably hormonal.
If you suffer from hypoglycaemic episodes after a normal so called healthy meal then that could be gastric dumping with your insulin response being high.
The trigger for this is carbs or starchy vegetables.
The reason you have been getting prediabetic hba1c levels is because the fluctuations in your blood sugar levels.
You would spike high because of the carbs eaten, then because of the excess insulin you go low.
Hence the differing levels you are getting on your hba1c tests.

Dietary control is important and you should start avoiding those foods that send your blood sugar levels up too high.
If you do have hypoglycaemia.
Always remember healthy for hypoglycaemics is not what our medical dietician would recommend.
This will take time.
I would recommend eating every couple of hours low carb foods until you do get control, being in normal blood sugar levels is the best option.
If you don’t spike you don’t go low.
No hyper, no hypo.
I would recommend keeping a food diary and record everything you eat and drink, your blood sugar levels pre meal and one and two hours after. This will help you and your endocrinologist.
Best wishes.

Keep asking, keep posting.