I think i may have RH

Hi and welcome

Could be RH. But I think you need to keep a food diary, and regular blood glucose readings.

3.7 isn’t really a hypo if you aren’t on blood glucose lowering medication - but it sounds like you know that already
I would be interested to know what your bg is doing the whole time between eating and symptoms. How high and low.
For me, the lowest readings often happen prior to the symptoms.

it will be interesting to hear what happens when you see your doc.

In the meantime, what is your usual carb intake?
You mentioned beans with 2 slices of bread for breakfast. What do you eat the rest of the time?

stayingalive29 said:

Hi All,

I've just made this account as I'm curious to see if anybody can shine any light on my current situation.

I've had this "issue" for a few years now but it wasn't as common as its become now. If i dont eat within 4-5 hours of my last meal i start getting quite bad symptoms of RH ( shakiness, sweating, dizziness, light-headed, confusion). I try to manage it by eating smaller meals more frequent throughout the day but now that we are in lockdown im starting to see more patterns emerging.

My usual BGL first thing in the morning before breakfast us around 4.5. If i dont eat by around 1.30pm i start getting the above symptoms and my blood sugar is usually around 3.7.

Lets take todays diary for example.

• 9.30am BGL 4.5
• 9.30am breakfast fried egg with beans and 2 slices of toast
• 2pm symptoms of RH arise and my BGL is at 3.7 (although this is quite high the symptoms hit me like a tonne of bricks)
• 4pm BGL is at 6.4

I'm going to wait until around 8/9 tonight to see if i start developing the symptons again.

In terms of lifestyle, i eat quite well as im a PT and martial arts instructor so my activity level is quite high too. Funny thing is i never feel this type of dip in sugar levels post workout as long as i eat within an hour of finishing my workout.

I have an appointment with my GP next week to discuss this and hopefully get some tests done.

What do you guys reckon to this? does it sound like i may have RH?

thanks

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Hi and welcome to our forum,
First of all, we can't diagnose you, but we can advise on what may be happening.
Next, from what you are saying and the results you have given us, it isn't Hypoglycaemia, unless you are susceptible to episodes more than the couple of hours you have said. My type of hypoglycaemia, I usually go hypo after three hours.
The other thing is you need tests to get a definitive diagnosis. And most of these are to test if you have another condition.
The symptoms you describe could be a number of things, but are usually ascribed to either high glucose levels, which is not in your case, a sudden drop in blood glucose levels particularly if you have a metabolic syndrome. Fluctuating blood levels as well. Blood pressure could also attribute to some of these as could hormonal problems.

And then again it could be none of these.

Wait to see what you your doctor says and you hopefully get the tests and diagnosis you need.

Stay safe

stayingalive29 said:

I was under the impression that anything under 4 was considered low, although I'm not an expert, i may very well not be hypo but I'm definitely getting symptoms of being in hypo.

My current diet is around 2500-3000 cals with around 35-45% of those being carbs. I try to stick to complex carbs where possible unless it's before training.

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My specialist endocrinologist deems anything reading under 3.5 as a hypoglycaemic episode. But as always, some can't tolerate being under 4. Symptoms can occur anywhere depending on how high or how low your body is use to. Fluctuating bloods or sudden quick highs or lows cause symptoms in metabolic conditions.
If you did have Hypoglycaemia, the amount of carbs you have, would certainly keep putting you in hypo levels, regardless of how many calories or exercise.

I don't think that you are having hypos, just the symptoms of them which is a different thing, just like some people have the symptoms of a sugar dump in the afternoon for no apparent reason.

Stay safe and I would wait till you see your doctor.

stayingalive29 said:

Thanks for your reply. I'm going to definitely see what the doctor says. One thing i forgot to mention is i have an ectopic kidney and essentially have one functioning kidney. I've read some articles that say kidney issues can cause some issues in this department.

I guess for me the most frustrating thing is, whilst i may not be going hypo, the symptoms definitely arise and cause issues.

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It is more likely that this is the root cause of your issues, how your body compensates for something like this or the drugs needed to help with it can have some hormonal effects on your blood glucose. Do you have kidney function problems?
When, before diagnosis, I had along with a few other problems, kidney function test was high, dietary changes helped this as a part of my change in dietary lifestyle.

Let's see what your doctor comes up with!

stayingalive29 said:

I was under the impression that anything under 4 was considered low, although I'm not an expert, i may very well not be hypo but I'm definitely getting symptoms of being in hypo.

My current diet is around 2500-3000 cals with around 35-45% of those being carbs. I try to stick to complex carbs where possible unless it's before training.

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Non diabetics regularly spend time in the 3s. Some even go down to the high 2s.

Below 4 is the cut off that insulin users (and other glucose lowering medications such as Gliclazide) need to act in order to prevent their blood glucose from lowering further, pushed downwards by those same medications. Those not using glucose lowering medications are in a somewhat different boat.

Like you, my body doesn’t like being below 4. In fact, my body doesn’t like being below 5. However, my RH hypos have taken me below 2.

From the small amount of evidence you have so far, you may be experiencing a hypo that has already risen by the time you test.
Alternatively, you may be experiencing a ‘false hypo’ where your blood glucose drops rapidly after the carb content of your meals, and the rapid drop (which in my experience is a horrible feeling), may be causing your symptoms.

More testing at closer intervals would quickly show whether either of those suggestions hold water.
Other possibilities could be food intolerances, or completely different health issues (such as the kidney issue you mention).

Regarding your carb intake, all I can say is that a slice of bread is typically 15-20g carbs a slice, and half a tin of baked beans is around 30g carbs. That makes the breakfast you mention around 60g of processed carbs.
My body doesn’t distinguish between high and low GI carbs. A carb is a carb is a hypo, in my world.
I usually find 60g carbs would guarantee a hypo. 40g carbs from a wheat source would guarantee a humdinger of a hypo.
My usual eating is under 20g carbs a day. Often less than 10g a day.
Hopefully you will be able to tolerate more than that, but you may find it helpful to experiment with lower carb eating.

Lamont D said:

Hi and welcome to our forum,
First of all, we can't diagnose you, but we can advise on what may be happening.
Next, from what you are saying and the results you have given us, it isn't Hypoglycaemia, unless you are susceptible to episodes more than the couple of hours you have said. My type of hypoglycaemia, I usually go hypo after three hours.
The other thing is you need tests to get a definitive diagnosis. And most of these are to test if you have another condition.
The symptoms you describe could be a number of things, but are usually ascribed to either high glucose levels, which is not in your case, a sudden drop in blood glucose levels particularly if you have a metabolic syndrome. Fluctuating blood levels as well. Blood pressure could also attribute to some of these as could hormonal problems.

And then again it could be none of these.

Wait to see what you your doctor says and you hopefully get the tests and diagnosis you need.

Stay safe

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Hi, I'm just wondering how their symptoms could be a sign of high blood glucose. From what I know shakiness, diziness, sweating etc. are usually signs your blood glucose is on the lower side than higher?

sec123 said:

Hi, I'm just wondering how their symptoms could be a sign of high blood glucose. From what I know shakiness, diziness, sweating etc. are usually signs your blood glucose is on the lower side than higher?

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Hi, good question,
If your blood glucose levels are continually in diabetic levels or even higher, your body will be used to the high amount of glucose circulating in your blood, so the symptoms don't appear.
If like me, I am in continuous normal blood levels levels as is the op mostly, so if I have too many carbs or too many things sugary, my blood glucose levels rocket and I get the symptoms of a hyper, which is similar to a sudden drop.
The symptoms are a direct result of your brain telling your organs that it needs one of your hormones to help with brain function, if you have an insulin production problem or you have a hypoglycaemic episode, the brain demands glucose and typically symptoms reflect this.

Hope this helps

Keep safe