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Crashes followed by spikes, a bit scared but kept a glucose diary of an event

Discussion in 'Reactive Hypoglycemia' started by FruitLion, Jun 20, 2020.

  1. FruitLion

    FruitLion · Member

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    My doctor is determined to turn me away from further diabetes investigations because my HBa1c average was just within the normal range. However from my home Accu Chek Performa Nano monitor, I can decisively prove that something is very wrong with me postprandially.

    • Fasting blood glucose is perfectly fine, ranging from. 4.7 - 5.7 each morning.

    • After 2 hours of eating, my blood sugar usually ends up back to normal or low. However sometimes it plummets into hypoglycemia ranges, as low as 2.9, with very uncomfortable symptoms.

    • After 2.5-4 hours, my blood sugar suddenly shoots up to 9-10 mmol or higher, making me restless, thirsty and suchlike. There's no doubt these are diabetic numbers for their time, especially as I'm only eating something simple like a small bowl of weetabix.
    We need to find a root cause of my other chest troubles, and seeing a 2.9 sugar reading get totally ignored has convinced me the docs want nothing more to do with my investigations. I just can't seem to convince them that such extreme values after meals are of concern because I can't figure out why they're happening

    Here's an example after many blood tests with glucose strips of what happens to my numbers, all in mmol. These were taken after a simple noodle and veg dish in the evening

    Fasting: 5.3

    2 hours after eating: 7.2/6.8

    2.5 hours: 3.5/3.3

    3 hours: 9.5/10.1 (very restless suddenly)

    3.5 hours: 8.2/8.4

    4 hours: 7.5

    4.5 hours: 5.8
     
    #1 FruitLion, Jun 20, 2020 at 12:29 AM
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2020
  2. EllieM

    EllieM Type 1 · Moderator
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    More knowledgeable folk than I can comment on whether that is RH or not, but I can say that those who post on here with RH control their condition the same way as T2s, reduce those carbs.

    On the other hand, there are medical reasons for hypoglycemia other than RH, such as insulinoma, which need to be ruled out , though you'll need an endocrinologist to do this.

    Good luck.
     
    #2 EllieM, Jun 20, 2020 at 1:57 AM
  3. Dark Horse

    Dark Horse · Well-Known Member

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    You might like to consider reactive hypoglycaemia. A blood glucose of 2.9 mmol/l accompanied by symptoms is considered to be hypoglycaemic. https://bestpractice.bmj.com/topics/en-gb/509

    The body reacts to hypoglycaemia by producing the hormones glucagon and adrenaline which both promote production of glucose to rectify the low levels. Adrenaline can make people feel 'restless'.

    It might be worth trying to reduce carbohydrate consumption (such as weetabix) for a while to see if your symptoms improve.
     
    #3 Dark Horse, Jun 20, 2020 at 8:40 AM
  4. Lamont D

    Lamont D Reactive hypoglycemia · Master

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    Hi again @FruitLion,

    I concur with the others, you do have hypoglycaemic episodes, the cause is probably the amount of carbs you are having, for me personally I wouldn't eat weetabix or any other cereal because they have too many carbs and also they are processed foods which I can't tolerate.
    You do need a referral to a specialist, this type of hypoglycaemia is different because I don't have the rebound hyper levels after going hypo, I just stay hypo until I treat the hypo.
    The only thing I can think, is you probably have what is known as gastric dumping or glucose dumping, that is when the amount of glucose derived from carbs is very quickly absorbed and sends your blood glucose levels higher to trigger an amount of insulin to offset the high glucose, then your body adjusts the amount of hormones to boost your glucose levels to get you back up!
    Like me you are probably carb Intolerant, and would definitely get my GP to get a referral. Take your food diary to show him what is happening after eating carbs.
    It is probably these foods that are giving you the symptoms.

    Stay safe
     
    #4 Lamont D, Jun 20, 2020 at 12:58 PM
  5. JoKalsbeek

    JoKalsbeek I reversed my Type 2 · Expert

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    https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html might help. It's geared to T2's, but people with RH (which you seem to be suffering from) benefit from it too: No glucose spike means no resulting dip... And no rebound back up (I'm assuming your liver kicks in later with a glucose dump, keeping you bouncing around blood sugar wise.)
     
    • Like Like x 1
    #5 JoKalsbeek, Jun 20, 2020 at 2:50 PM
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