Newly diagnosed with reactive hypoglycaemia

Mariemcm

Newbie
Messages
3
Hi, I have today just received a diagnosis of Reactive Hypoglycaemia and honestly am a bit lost. All my consultant has told is to eat small meals 4/5 times a day and avoid carbs. The hypos have messed me up and honestly after the last one I am terrified of them. Any advice would be greatly welcomed. Thanks
 

EllieM

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Hi @Mariemcm and welcome to the forums. I'm going to tag @Lamont D who has RH and is extremely knowledgeable about the condition. Luckily for me I don't have RH but as an insulin dependent T1 I do get hypos and I can totally empathise with your fear.
 
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Lamont D

Oracle
Messages
15,796
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Hi, I have today just received a diagnosis of Reactive Hypoglycaemia and honestly am a bit lost. All my consultant has told is to eat small meals 4/5 times a day and avoid carbs. The hypos have messed me up and honestly after the last one I am terrified of them. Any advice would be greatly welcomed. Thanks
Hi and welcome to our forum.
With RH knowledge is important, stopping the hypos is important, finding the reasons behind it all and what is the right treatment to help you through this time for you!
Firstly, the advice to eat often and enough is to offset the hypos until your body adjusts to your dietary balance, nutrition and to avoid certain food that is giving you the symptoms and hypos.
I am assuming that at this time your body is producing too much insulin, you have insulin resistance, your spikes are high and after carbs, you go hypo a couple or three, four hours later?
Hence the continuous food to offset the hypos.
Next, you have to reduce your carbs, this will help with all the symptoms, a food diary, with readings from a glucometer or cgm, will give you readings of how carbs have the reaction to your blood glucose levels.
Next after that, reduce the dependancy on carbs, start eating food that does not spike your blood glucose levels. Having your blood glucose levels in normal levels continuously will stop the hypoglycaemic episodes and in turn the symptoms.
When you get up in the morning, your blood glucose levels will be normal, a breakfast full of carbs will spike you, this will cause the reaction of an insulin response that in a few hours will give you a hypo, you eat more carbs, another spike, another insulin response, another hypo, more carbs, more insulin response, another hypo! And on and on, a rollercoaster ride, blood glucose levels up and down, which is why you feel really awful and it's really bad for your health!
I would imagine that you have already read through some of the posts regarding RH.
It is a condition all about the food and drink you put in your mouth.
And this is the only treatment, you have an intolerance to carbs, probably all carbs, and it's important to your future health to avoid these carbs, you have to find your balance of protein, saturated fat and and the vegetables you can eat!
It is not all bad news especially if you're like me, a bit of a carnivore, and of course, bacon and egg!
It is not easy, it's very hard and your body will try and make you go back to carbs, but when you are like me, in that carb free state of health, the benefits of being symptoms free is enlightening!
There is a lot more, such as intermittent fasting, or only eating once or twice a day, having great energy levels, not feeling awful, and a very different lifestyle.
Take things easy, be kind to yourself, let the information settle in and be positive.
Keep asking, keep learning, get a good diary and a glucometer, learn from what carbs do to you!

What tests have you had?

Best wishes
 

Mariemcm

Newbie
Messages
3
Hi and welcome to our forum.
With RH knowledge is important, stopping the hypos is important, finding the reasons behind it all and what is the right treatment to help you through this time for you!
Firstly, the advice to eat often and enough is to offset the hypos until your body adjusts to your dietary balance, nutrition and to avoid certain food that is giving you the symptoms and hypos.
I am assuming that at this time your body is producing too much insulin, you have insulin resistance, your spikes are high and after carbs, you go hypo a couple or three, four hours later?
Hence the continuous food to offset the hypos.
Next, you have to reduce your carbs, this will help with all the symptoms, a food diary, with readings from a glucometer or cgm, will give you readings of how carbs have the reaction to your blood glucose levels.
Next after that, reduce the dependancy on carbs, start eating food that does not spike your blood glucose levels. Having your blood glucose levels in normal levels continuously will stop the hypoglycaemic episodes and in turn the symptoms.
When you get up in the morning, your blood glucose levels will be normal, a breakfast full of carbs will spike you, this will cause the reaction of an insulin response that in a few hours will give you a hypo, you eat more carbs, another spike, another insulin response, another hypo, more carbs, more insulin response, another hypo! And on and on, a rollercoaster ride, blood glucose levels up and down, which is why you feel really awful and it's really bad for your health!
I would imagine that you have already read through some of the posts regarding RH.
It is a condition all about the food and drink you put in your mouth.
And this is the only treatment, you have an intolerance to carbs, probably all carbs, and it's important to your future health to avoid these carbs, you have to find your balance of protein, saturated fat and and the vegetables you can eat!
It is not all bad news especially if you're like me, a bit of a carnivore, and of course, bacon and egg!
It is not easy, it's very hard and your body will try and make you go back to carbs, but when you are like me, in that carb free state of health, the benefits of being symptoms free is enlightening!
There is a lot more, such as intermittent fasting, or only eating once or twice a day, having great energy levels, not feeling awful, and a very different lifestyle.
Take things easy, be kind to yourself, let the information settle in and be positive.
Keep asking, keep learning, get a good diary and a glucometer, learn from what carbs do to you!

What tests have you had?

Best wishes

Thanks so much much for all of that. I’ve been dealing with this for a long time but the doctors wouldn’t listen, as I am not diabetic, until I had such a bad hypo I was rushed to hospital and couldn’t even speak properly for 10 days. At first they thought it was a stroke but I knew it wasn’t. Finally they did a MMTT and diagnosed me. It’s weird because they have told me what I already but at the same time it feels so final. I will get to grips with it but it feels like a minefield right now. Thank you again.
 

Lamont D

Oracle
Messages
15,796
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Thanks so much much for all of that. I’ve been dealing with this for a long time but the doctors wouldn’t listen, as I am not diabetic, until I had such a bad hypo I was rushed to hospital and couldn’t even speak properly for 10 days. At first they thought it was a stroke but I knew it wasn’t. Finally they did a MMTT and diagnosed me. It’s weird because they have told me what I already but at the same time it feels so final. I will get to grips with it but it feels like a minefield right now. Thank you again.

Can you explain what a MMTT is please?
Or did you mean an OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test?

Reactive Hypoglycaemia is a non diabetic condition.
Because, if you don't eat for a time, or what is known as your fasting levels, your blood glucose levels are normal!

It does sound final in so many ways, I have been there, maybe because there is no magic pill to cure it, the majority of specialists, doctors just don't understand it, hence the treat the effect and not treat the cause advice of eating every three hours! After the initial period of changes in your dietary requirements, you don't need to do this!
Remember it is carbs,
It can be controlled through keeping to a very low carb diet.
I have discovered that I have always eaten too much, and found out since diagnosis that I can go without food for days at a time. But I can still enjoy, the proteins, the salads and there is an alternative to most carbs!
In the end, discover what you can eat and the foods (carbs) you cant!

Watch out for produced foods, there are many pitfalls that you may not be aware of, cooking oils, for one, spuds, , all grains, rice, fruit, a few dairy products, it is a minefield.
Keep asking,
 

Mariemcm

Newbie
Messages
3
Thanks, I think I will be asking a lot. It’s funny you say but I too feel fine when I don’t eat which most people don’t understand. A MMTT is a mixed meal tolerance test.
 

Lamont D

Oracle
Messages
15,796
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Thanks, I think I will be asking a lot. It’s funny you say but I too feel fine when I don’t eat which most people don’t understand. A MMTT is a mixed meal tolerance test.

Ah yes!
I couldn't have one of those because the options I had were not to my liking and of course my lactose intolerance.
I'm actually still fasting since 6pm last night and intend to not eat till this evening depending on what the wife is having for tea. Bloods this morning 4.2mmols. Which is where I reside, and stay as much as possible!

I do hope, that reducing your carbs are the initial phase of getting to grips to get and maintain blood glucose levels.
If you don't mind, can you tell me your recent hba1c and your fasting levels?

Also, give us an idea what you are eating daily?

Ask away, I log in most days.