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Hypoglycaemia update

rosie04

Active Member
Messages
32
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
Diet only
Thought i’d give a little update as things certainly seem to be shifting!

Notice the first graphs from last month… I was an anxious mess and very unwell! No energy and just not feeling like myself. Neurological symptoms, my heart felt like it couldn’t keep up ect. I even developed asthma for the first time in my life, inflammation overload. It’s not hard to see why as my body was being put through an absolute rollercoaster.

And now the more recent graphs, a quick switch to a low carb diet prioritising good quality protein and fat to ensure my body has sufficient energy to repair itself. I’m starting to factor in gentle exercise like walks and am aiming to build up slowly- hopefully i’ll eventually be in the gym again, i’d love to build my muscle that I lost back. All of my symptoms have calmed, especially my heart which seemed to be pounding and palpitating quite frequently before, it was scary! I’m not completely better and still in the recovery phase but the decrease in all of my previous issues is almost unbelievable, I was told by friends and family that I looked worryingly unwell a month ago.

As well as switching my diet I have been focusing on my digestive health, I have been struggling with my digestion for about a year and have been left in a lot of pain following a recent gastric bug (it was quite aggressive so doctors think either salmonella or norovirus). I’m taking supplements like psyllium husk and L-glutamine. I’m also having some further investigation done into my gut, there’s a possibility there’s some sort of infection which could be making my hypoglycaemia worse.

But in terms of hypos they’re beginning to be a less common occurrence- they still occasionally happen and seem to frequent most at night but in the day i’m relatively stable ) hopefully onwards and upward, especially if my endocrinologist or gut doctor discovers an underlying cause!

I think the best thing I have done for myself is identify which foods work best for me, which give me the most energy and which spike me into a hypo nightmare. I’m sure everyone is very different so i’m not sure we’d have the same reactions to these foods, but thought i’d share some fun meals / snacks that have worked for me (i’m veggie):

• meal (breakfast / lunch) scrambled egg, smashed avocado on heylo keto bread! that bread is a lifesaver, tastes good and has 7.7g of protein per slice- I sometimes have fried mushrooms on the side if i’m hungry

• meal (lunch) low carb wrap (fitbakes is my favourite), hummus, smoky tofu and veggies- often peppers or something leafy

• meal (lunch / evening meal) “pizza” made with a low carb wrap as a base, homemade tomato sauce, cheese, olives & mushrooms. Obviously not completely like a real pizza but it’s surprisingly good

• meal (evening meal) omelette


• meal (evening meal) veggie chilli with quorn mince, veggies & edamame bean instead of kidney beans ️

• snack- fage yoghurt (I have 5% fat but whatever works for your dietary needs) I sometimes mix it with surreal cereal, so it could be a breakfast too

• snack- montezumas 100% dark chocolate & walnuts. If you’re used to ordinary dark chocolate, the 100 can take some adjusting to, but it is very low sugar


I have more too, feel free to message me if you want them / full recipes to any of the above! best of luck to everyone )

 
Congratulations on the great readings during the day.
Sorry that things do not look as good at night. However, I wonder if you are seeing "compression lows" - CGMs will report false low readings when you apply pressure to the sensors. This is most common at night when we may lie on our sensor and are usually seen on the graphs as a sudden dip (as you turn over onto the sensor) followed by a sharp rise (as you adjust how you are lying). Your graphs show that sudden dip but you have not shown what happens after the dip.
Do you get hypo symptoms when this happens at night? Do you check the dips with finger pricks? It is important to understand the limitations of CGMs such as compression lows as we can end up wasting time investigating what is happening with our bodies when the problem is with the tech.
 
Hi, thank you very much for the response and advice!

I was wondering about compression lows too, this was last night- as you can see I was relatively stable beforehand so it’s a bit out of the blue, it also shot back up afterwards! I have run out of finger prick tests so need to grab some more, but for the day time lows I have previously been testing via finger prick and more often than not the cgm has been correct in identifying lows

 
rosie04 said:
for the day time lows I have previously been testing via finger prick and more often than not the cgm has been correct in identifying lows
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CGM accuracy varies - just because it is accurate during the day (when you are definitely not lying on your arm) does not mean you will not experience compression lows at night.
In the absence of finger prick strips, all you can rely on to "check" is how you feel - do you have hypo symptoms when you are woken by your Libre in the middle of the night?
The way you describe the graphs certainly suggests compression lows to me ... unless the rise happens after you treat the low with glucose.
 
Wow! @rosie04.
Thanks for the update.
I do believe that the steps you take. And taken on board, have seen some good results already. I will repeat I wish that was my graph showing the continuous line in normal levels.
The details of your vegan meal plans will help others, who are looking for those.
I am really pleased that the low carb is working for you.
it will be interesting to see what happens with your endocrinologist/ doctor, to see if the gut biotics is the cause.

My best wishes.
 
Lamont D said:
The details of your vegan meal plans will help others, who are looking for those.
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I assume this was just a typo - the meals were veggie, not vegan as they contain eggs and dairy.
Sorry to be a pedant but some vegans may be sensitive to this.
 
Really happy to read your update @rosie04
Keep us posted about the gut tests. Would be interested to find out what they said.
I’m convinced I had norovirus or food poisoning last December and it worsened my RH symptoms and generally felt unwell for ages after.
 

Will do
I also had what we think was salmonella or norovirus and ever since I just haven’t recovered. Currently testing for h-pylori and SIBO! leaning more toward h-pylori (possibly with a stomach ulcer) as I respond really well to gaviscon (anti-acid), a lot of my symptoms relive with it! but will let you know as soon as I find out- there’s definitely something up!
 
Antje77 said:
What an amazing update @rosie04 , I'm very happy to hear you are doing so much better and are finding ways to work with your body instead of against it!
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Thank you so much, trying my hardest! currently feeling quite unwell again so it looks like I might need some extra help but i’m being tested for all sorts
 
rosie04 said:
Thank you so much, trying my hardest! currently feeling quite unwell again so it looks like I might need some extra help but i’m being tested for all sorts
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Do keep us updated. Interesting about the helicobactor pylori.
Hope you feel better soon.
 
@rosie04, I admire your strength and attitude. Wishing you the best of outcomes. Continue to keep us posted - we truly want to hear what's going on with you.
 
Lamont D said:
Do keep us updated. Interesting about the helicobactor pylori.
Hope you feel better soon.
Click to expand...

They have found 2 infections in my stomach; blastocystis & SIBO!! I knew something was wrong but was still surprised by this. My doctor (had to go private since i was getting no help from the nhs) has treated someone with blastocystis before who also suffered from recurring hypoglycaemia and the episodes stopped once the infection was treated. My sugar is still pretty stable on low carb but i’m struggling for energy, difficult to know whether it’s diet related or due to the infections- they’re both known to cause a lot of fatigue. SIBO also causes poor absorption of food which can cause hypoglycaemia! the treatment takes some time but I will let everyone know if it has effect on my sugar. Reversing all of this would be incredible but my best (and more realistic) hope is just for some improvement! I can certainly tolerate a larger variety of foods now including red lentils, a complex carbohydrate!

My doctor said I have been unintentionally using food as medicine, since the bacteria causing the infection mainly live off carbs!
 
JAT1 said:
@rosie04, I admire your strength and attitude. Wishing you the best of outcomes. Continue to keep us posted - we truly want to hear what's going on with you.
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Thank you so much, really means a lot
will definitely get some updates up with the more I know! So far the low carb diet has been very successful with keeping my sugar stable, I haven’t gone hypoglycaemic In a long time. A doctor has also discovered infections in my stomach which could be contributing or even causing the hypoglycaemia in the first place, all super interesting.
 
& my blood sugar today- a little higher than my usual since i’ve been physically active most of the day but very happy with it, no hypos! I originally struggled badly with lows at night & not sleeping due to that, but for the whole of this month it has flatlined whilst I have been sleeping, usually in the high 4’s to low 5’s then rises in the morning before I have my breakfast! I’m currently having avocado on heylo (keto) bread with scrambled egg, seems to work a treat, keeps my sugar stable for a very long time so I don’t have to worry about snacking to keep it flowing )
 
Wish mine would be at those levels, perfect!
So glad that you know now the cause, and the low carb is working and no hypos!
I had not heard of that cause of hypoglycaemia. So you have taught me something!
I have always thought the gut biome has a lot to do with sugar crash and hypoglycaemia.
And carbs are the real enemy!!!!!!
Keep us informed and you are doing fantastic and so pleased for you.
Best wishes and have a happy chrimbo!
 
Really encouraging update @rosie04
May I ask how you got the endocrinologist to do the tests for bacterial infections?
I’ve got a fasting test with NHS in January, but after that I may try private.
Great BS levels.
I also have great BS the last few days, because I have Covid! Was 6 all night because I have a fever!
All the best for your treatment and well done on getting answers so quickly.
 
So nice when someone actually bothers to find you some answers! I hope things'll improve steadily from here on in. You've done great and have stood up for yourself where many people'd just let it go an suffered in silence. So proud of you!
Jo
 
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