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I’m so stuck, I need help guys!

X

xMcgx

Member
Messages
8
Hi guys

I have fatty liver and it’s causing insulin resistance.

it’s been ruining my life for the past year as the hospital was unable to figure out why my heart was racing even though tests show my heart to be perfectly fine or why I was feeling shaky or weak in the mornings.

I bought a blood glucose test and found that I was suffering bouts of hypoglycaemia! This explained everything that was happening to me.

my issue is my blood glucose can easily go low, maybe around the 55 to 60 mark at which point I feel shaky and have faster heart rate. Food/glucose tablets fix it quickly.

I want to diet to fix my fatty liver which I believe is the root of this, everyone says keto which would have been fine a year ago but keto will leave me in a coma now as my body is putting out too much insulin which is driving my blood glucose down.

does anyone know of anything I can do to get rid of the fat in my liver when I can’t do low carb diets right now because I need the carbs to keep my blood glucose up?

it’s like a catch 22

thanks guys
 
xMcgx said:
everyone says keto which would have been fine a year ago but keto will leave me in a coma now as my body is putting out too much insulin which is driving my blood glucose down.
Click to expand...
Hi @xMcgx, and welcome to the forum!
Are your hypos in reaction to food (reactive hypoglycemia) or did tests confirm you're putting out too much insulin sponaneously to send you hypo? If the latter, have you had tests to determine the cause?

Tagging @Brunneria , who knows way more about hypoglycemia than I do.
 
xMcgx said:
Hi guys

I have fatty liver and it’s causing insulin resistance.

it’s been ruining my life for the past year as the hospital was unable to figure out why my heart was racing even though tests show my heart to be perfectly fine or why I was feeling shaky or weak in the mornings.

I bought a blood glucose test and found that I was suffering bouts of hypoglycaemia! This explained everything that was happening to me.

my issue is my blood glucose can easily go low, maybe around the 55 to 60 mark at which point I feel shaky and have faster heart rate. Food/glucose tablets fix it quickly.

I want to diet to fix my fatty liver which I believe is the root of this, everyone says keto which would have been fine a year ago but keto will leave me in a coma now as my body is putting out too much insulin which is driving my blood glucose down.

does anyone know of anything I can do to get rid of the fat in my liver when I can’t do low carb diets right now because I need the carbs to keep my blood glucose up?

it’s like a catch 22

thanks guys
Click to expand...

hi and welcome :)

who is this ‘everyone’ who says that keto will kill you?

as for eating low carb (which is not necessarily keto!), that is less likely to result in hypos because the food releases its energy more slowly, and sustains you for longer.

Is anyone investigating your hypos? They should. There are a number of conditions that cause hypos, and they should all be diagnosed and a treatment plan put into place, whether that is via medication or diet or even surgery.

You profile is incomplete, so I have no idea whether you are diabetic (of any type), or not. Or whether you are on any medications so I cannot really comment further on your situation.

However, I will give you a little info about my own situation. I have a looooong history of hypos, without any blood glucose lowering medication that might cause them. My condition is called Reactive Hypoglycaemia (RH) and we have a small RH subforum here on this diabetes forum that you may find interesting to read. My RH is managed by diet - keto - and it eliminates my hypos, because by not eating carbohydrates, my body does not produce the excess insulin that then causes the hypos.

not all hypo causing conditions can be managed like mine, with a keto/low carb diet, so you really need a proper diagnosis to establish what is causing your hypos.
 
Antje77 said:
Hi @xMcgx, and welcome to the forum!
Are your hypos in reaction to food (reactive hypoglycemia) or did tests confirm you're putting out too much insulin sponaneously to send you hypo? If the latter, have you had tests to determine the cause?

Tagging @Brunneria , who knows way more about hypoglycemia than I do.
Click to expand...

Hi thank you for responding, much appreciated.

I am not sure if it’s baseline issue or reactive. I’ve not had that test, I’ve pretty much figured this out myself. Hospitals were more concerned with getting me in and out rather than observations due to Covid.

during the day my sugars dip around 3 hours after eating, to as low as 60. BUT in the evening it stops, so I can have rice (brown) roast chicken and veg and my blood glucose will rise then stay around 100 to 110 for the night, I then wake up at around 80.

it’s so weird that it does that.
 
Brunneria said:
hi and welcome :)

who is this ‘everyone’ who says that keto will kill you?

as for eating low carb (which is not necessarily keto!), that is less likely to result in hypos because the food releases its energy more slowly, and sustains you for longer.

Is anyone investigating your hypos? They should. There are a number of conditions that cause hypos, and they should all be diagnosed and a treatment plan put into place, whether that is via medication or diet or even surgery.

You profile is incomplete, so I have no idea whether you are diabetic (of any type), or not. Or whether you are on any medications so I cannot really comment further on your situation.

However, I will give you a little info about my own situation. I have a looooong history of hypos, without any blood glucose lowering medication that might cause them. My condition is called Reactive Hypoglycaemia (RH) and we have a small RH subforum here on this diabetes forum that you may find interesting to read. My RH is managed by diet - keto - and it eliminates my hypos, because by not eating carbohydrates, my body does not produce the excess insulin that then causes the hypos.

not all hypo causing conditions can be managed like mine, with a keto/low carb diet, so you really need a proper diagnosis to establish what is causing your hypos.
Click to expand...

thank you very much for your reply, I’ll reply a little later. Thank you :-)
 
What are you eating during the day where you see the 3hr dip? Does it do different things with different foods?

Have you checked what they do at 1 and 2 hrs?
 
You definitely need the tests to determine why you are going low, as @Brunneria said . If it's reactive hypoglycemia then you can fix it by low carbing, but you might just have a condition such is insulinomia where your pancreas has a benign cyst that pumps out extra insulin, and surgery would resolve it.

If it's reactive hypoglycemia, then carbs are the issue, so you need to go as low carb as possible. I'll tag @Lamont D who is one of our RH experts.

In the meantime, I'd suggest keeping a careful food and blood sugar diary so that you can try to spot some patterns. 60mg/dL isn't great (as a T1 I am a hypo veteran and loathe them with a passion) but it shouldn't actually make you pass out (though I wouldn't want to be driving at that level), so you've got some time to sort this out.

Lots of virtual hugs. Hypos are horrible. I hate them.

Also, if your finances permit (they aren't cheap), you could try out a continuous glucose monitor for a couple of weeks to see if that gives you useful info, particularly at night. That might be overkill though, happy to be corrected by more informed posters. Abbott are doing a free trial of their libre 2 at the moment in the UK, but I don't know whether they are also doing this in your country. (I'd recommend putting your country in your profile, as though illnesses are country independent, medical treatment and availability and special offers from manufactureres isn't).

Good luck.
 
xMcgx said:
Hi guys

I have fatty liver and it’s causing insulin resistance.

it’s been ruining my life for the past year as the hospital was unable to figure out why my heart was racing even though tests show my heart to be perfectly fine or why I was feeling shaky or weak in the mornings.

I bought a blood glucose test and found that I was suffering bouts of hypoglycaemia! This explained everything that was happening to me.

my issue is my blood glucose can easily go low, maybe around the 55 to 60 mark at which point I feel shaky and have faster heart rate. Food/glucose tablets fix it quickly.

I want to diet to fix my fatty liver which I believe is the root of this, everyone says keto which would have been fine a year ago but keto will leave me in a coma now as my body is putting out too much insulin which is driving my blood glucose down.

does anyone know of anything I can do to get rid of the fat in my liver when I can’t do low carb diets right now because I need the carbs to keep my blood glucose up?

it’s like a catch 22

thanks guys
Click to expand...
Hi, and welcome to the forum.
I have Reactive Hypoglycaemia.
I have problems with my response to carbs, which means that I can't eat them in other than very small portions, so I don't bother with them, as I've been in ketosis for about eight years now, with a few hiccups along the way.
This does mean that whoever told you need carbs to offset the insulin is quoting the book on Hypoglycaemia, because most of the doctors don't have a clue about Hypoglycaemia.
If you have RH, the thing that triggers the symptoms and hormonal response is carbs.
The symptoms and spike of glucose is because of the hormonal response, because of insulin resistance, which means that you have a weak insulin response, and your blood glucose levels go up quicker than normal.
The trigger of high blood glucose levels, and your brain tells your pancreas to create more insulin, this is called an overshoot because that is the reason why your blood glucose levels go crashing down into hypoglycaemia.

I had a fatty liver and insulin resistance, I still have a weak insulin response if I eat carbs.
The trick is no carbs, no trigger, no high blood glucose levels, no spike, no overshoot, no hypo. I live in normal glucose levels and after a while, the insulin resistance and fatty liver repairs itself. It is the carbs.
From twenty years ago, my health providers have advised me to eat complex carbs because I need the glucose to help brain function. So why when I eat carbs does the opposite happen? I have found no evidence in any paper or medical book, that says you have to eat carbs. Yes, you need glucose, but you can get that from the protein, and how much do you need? There is nowt on that either. It is a normal function of your body to supplement glucose from your liver.
This is one way of helping your fatty liver.

What sort of blood glucose test did you buy?

I would advise you to read the reactive hypoglycaemia forum, you will find lots of information and how different we are.

Keep asking, keep safe.

Keto diet is the treatment for RH. There is nothing else.
 
Hi guys, I've not forgotten you.

The past week was odd, and I was monitoring my hypoglycemia before responding.

I was in hospital last few days for an unrelated issue and I told the doc that I had hypoglycemia so they monitored it while I was there around the clock.

The hypoglycemia decided to stop and I no longer have it.

I earnestly prayed for it to stop the night before so I'm giving God the credit :)

My bloods were in normal ranged between 5 to 7 all the time, even after not eating for 15 hours (after bed), and couple weeks ago I couldn't go 3 hours and I woke up shaky from sleep and had to eat immediately after waking.

I could actually go keto now but for now I'm just going to do a healthy balanced diet.

Thank God and thank you guys for helping.
 
xMcgx said:
Hi guys, I've not forgotten you.

The past week was odd, and I was monitoring my hypoglycemia before responding.

I was in hospital last few days for an unrelated issue and I told the doc that I had hypoglycemia so they monitored it while I was there around the clock.

The hypoglycemia decided to stop and I no longer have it.

I earnestly prayed for it to stop the night before so I'm giving God the credit :)

My bloods were in normal ranged between 5 to 7 all the time, even after not eating for 15 hours (after bed), and couple weeks ago I couldn't go 3 hours and I woke up shaky from sleep and had to eat immediately after waking.

I could actually go keto now but for now I'm just going to do a healthy balanced diet.

Thank God and thank you guys for helping.
Click to expand...

glad you have some respite and are feeling better. :)
And you can always keep keto as an optional tool if you ever need it.
 
xMcgx said:
Hi guys, I've not forgotten you.

The past week was odd, and I was monitoring my hypoglycemia before responding.

I was in hospital last few days for an unrelated issue and I told the doc that I had hypoglycemia so they monitored it while I was there around the clock.

The hypoglycemia decided to stop and I no longer have it.

I earnestly prayed for it to stop the night before so I'm giving God the credit :)

My bloods were in normal ranged between 5 to 7 all the time, even after not eating for 15 hours (after bed), and couple weeks ago I couldn't go 3 hours and I woke up shaky from sleep and had to eat immediately after waking.

I could actually go keto now but for now I'm just going to do a healthy balanced diet.

Thank God and thank you guys for helping.
Click to expand...

I'm hoping you are feeling better, the detail you have posted is very important.
If you have RH, then having normal glucose levels when not eating is a diagnosis of RH. As part of my diagnosis, a fasting test of seventy two hours was used.
If I didn't go hypo, then I had RH.
If I did go hypo, then it was another condition.

But, as you say you can go keto.

Stay safe.
 
Lamont D said:
I'm hoping you are feeling better, the detail you have posted is very important.
If you have RH, then having normal glucose levels when not eating is a diagnosis of RH. As part of my diagnosis, a fasting test of seventy two hours was used.
If I didn't go hypo, then I had RH.
If I did go hypo, then it was another condition.

But, as you say you can go keto.

Stay safe.
Click to expand...

Yes very good point, I've been eating a little chocolate and crisp and pretty much any carb (easter) and everything has been fine during my eating hours.

My bigger worry was not being able to go long periods without eating, I would have a small snack before bed at times.

Where as now I've eaten at around 5.30pm and not had breakfast till 9am the next day and my bloods are fine.

Im just hoping it stays this way, I taking it as a second (or ninth) chance to put things right.
 
bulkbiker said:
Have you switched units on us?
Click to expand...

Yeah... I was using the original units when talking to nurses and it was a foreign language so I started using the other one.

Both are given on the Chart I use so I can swap pretty easily.

Apparently the original measurements I used is American whereas we (UK) use the other.
 
xMcgx said:
Yes very good point, I've been eating a little chocolate and crisp and pretty much any carb (easter) and everything has been fine during my eating hours.

My bigger worry was not being able to go long periods without eating, I would have a small snack before bed at times.

Where as now I've eaten at around 5.30pm and not had breakfast till 9am the next day and my bloods are fine.

Im just hoping it stays this way, I taking it as a second (or ninth) chance to put things right.
Click to expand...

That sounds good to me.
I never thought that I could fast, until I did.
You will no doubt, try a few different things along the way, so I read up on fasting methods. My endo was happy with up to eighteen hours, but no more, he said!
That is the person who put me in hospital for a week not eating!
For me now, I have found eighteen hours is doable and I try to do this most days.
There is always a bit of give and take with fasting, it is not something that you time, it is when you feel like eating, or not. You will amaze yourself how long food isn't a problem. As long as you are hydrated enough and then eat too much, the amount of food is just as important, you don't really need a lot of food. Eating all day is too much and is not the answer in how you control the condition.
Because most of the fast is overnight and a reason for not eating four hours before bed, just in case you do go hypo, you avoid an overnight hypo, because you started early evening and by four hours, you should not be going hypo.
If there is a meal that can be missed, it's breakfast, not having to prepare first thing is a huge bonus. And because you feel better not eating, why not stretch the fasting until around midday. And breakfast is not in any way the most important meal of the day. All the years eating porridge as my first meal taught me that. That would be me going hypo all day and feeling awful.
You can only try, there is no rules, just a way to live better and healthier.

Keep safe.
 
Lamont D said:
That sounds good to me.
I never thought that I could fast, until I did.
You will no doubt, try a few different things along the way, so I read up on fasting methods. My endo was happy with up to eighteen hours, but no more, he said!
That is the person who put me in hospital for a week not eating!
For me now, I have found eighteen hours is doable and I try to do this most days.
There is always a bit of give and take with fasting, it is not something that you time, it is when you feel like eating, or not. You will amaze yourself how long food isn't a problem. As long as you are hydrated enough and then eat too much, the amount of food is just as important, you don't really need a lot of food. Eating all day is too much and is not the answer in how you control the condition.
Because most of the fast is overnight and a reason for not eating four hours before bed, just in case you do go hypo, you avoid an overnight hypo, because you started early evening and by four hours, you should not be going hypo.
If there is a meal that can be missed, it's breakfast, not having to prepare first thing is a huge bonus. And because you feel better not eating, why not stretch the fasting until around midday. And breakfast is not in any way the most important meal of the day. All the years eating porridge as my first meal taught me that. That would be me going hypo all day and feeling awful.
You can only try, there is no rules, just a way to live better and healthier.

Keep safe.
Click to expand...

Aww porridge, that's my breakfast. Bowl of plain porridge, water only no extras... What a life..

Thanks again, hope things continue going well for you.
 
xMcgx said:
Aww porridge, that's my breakfast. Bowl of plain porridge, water only no extras... What a life..

Thanks again, hope things continue going well for you.
Click to expand...

This is how, I was diagnosed, I had porridge for breakfast from the turn of the century and continued till my doctor took a reading and I was going hypo. 2.9!
Then on my first appointment with an endocrinologist, he noticed I was having a hypo. He told me stop eating porridge, as he had an idea, of what was causing all the symptoms and hypos. Yep, porridge!

So if you do have RH or similar and food is the trigger, and you feel hungry, anxious, dizzy, trembling and so on before lunch, it's the porridge!
So having grains first thing will trigger the rollercoaster of symptoms all day and that is not good! I can now understand why you are feeling awful for most of the day.
It is not just porridge, I remember being advised to have baked potatoes or new potatoes as part of my dietary intake. But potatoes are full of starch and spike me so quickly and I will definitely have a hypo, so spuds in any form are definitely off the menu.
You will have to test and try all your favourite foods, because it is individual and you may still be able to eat more carbs than me.

Keep safe
 
At the beginning I had an ultrasound and was diagnosed with quite bad fatty liver

The only thing I did was change my diet to remove a lot of the unheathy stuff and got my diabetes under a bit more control

12 months later my liver was normal

Glad things are getting a little easier diet wise..

Hope thing sort themselves out for you
 
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