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I think i might have hypoglycemia

Lamont D said:
The question about the possibility of having Hypoglycaemia and not have diabetes has been covered by @Brunneria. Except that it is common in females but much rarer in males.
It is quite normal in children and pregnant women.

I personally stay away from anything low fat, I eat a lot of saturated fats, especially in cooking. I had a variety of health problems whilst trying to eat with the so called healthy diet, that the NHS recommendation. My cholesterol and had warnings of heart trouble, a lot in my family. Also, my organs were going downhill, full of visceral fat.

This was because of the fats I was using and the carbs I was eating!
On a low carb diet you do have to balance with natural animal fats. Unless you are a vegetarian!
I have found that it is better for me.
My health has improved greatly since going low carb.
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Is your BMI well back into the normal range now, if you've lost all the visceral fat?
Did you have ultrasound scans before and after, and how long did it take you to lose it all?
 
Serendipitously, the chemist had a spare testing kit which he gave me. Normally, he said, the price would have been onerous (due to the strips).

I did a quick reading as I was starting to feel hungry on the way back and got 4.5
 
ghost_whistler said:
Serendipitously, the chemist had a spare testing kit which he gave me. Normally, he said, the price would have been onerous (due to the strips).

I did a quick reading as I was starting to feel hungry on the way back and got 4.5
Click to expand...

4.5 is ok.
Hungry is fine, live with it.
Dizzy, feeling sick, that's different.
It's your choice now.
 
ghost_whistler said:
Serendipitously, the chemist had a spare testing kit which he gave me. Normally, he said, the price would have been onerous (due to the strips).

I did a quick reading as I was starting to feel hungry on the way back and got 4.5
Click to expand...

When was your last meal before testing?
 
douglas99 said:
Is your BMI well back into the normal range now, if you've lost all the visceral fat?
Did you have ultrasound scans before and after, and how long did it take you to lose it all?
Click to expand...

All my health is in the normal range!

I have quite a few ultrasound scans on my liver, kidneys and my last ones showed that my NAFL had gone and the scanner remarked how much had changed in such a short time!
I lost quite a lot initially thanks to my fasting test in hospital, it then slowed till a few months after, but slowly and surely reaching my endocrinologist target of ten stone, of which I doubt i'll get there being eleven and a half stone, that is my ideal bmi weight!
All due to very low carb!
 
That's normal!
But it all depends what happens after that! That's why you need the tests!
I don't go hypo till after three and a half hours (ish).

But because of my dietary intake, I haven't had a hypo for about three years!
 
Lamont D said:
All my health is in the normal range!

I have quite a few ultrasound scans on my liver, kidneys and my last ones showed that my NAFL had gone and the scanner remarked how much had changed in such a short time!
I lost quite a lot initially thanks to my fasting test in hospital, it then slowed till a few months after, but slowly and surely reaching my endocrinologist target of ten stone, of which I doubt i'll get there being eleven and a half stone, that is my ideal bmi weight!
All due to very low carb!
Click to expand...

Yes, getting my BMI into the normal range was the key thing for me as well!
It does seem to be a good guide to overall health.

(Obviously, not due to low carb for me, but we're all different!)
 
douglas99 said:
Yes, getting my BMI into the normal range was the key thing for me as well!
It does seem to be a good guide to overall health.

(Obviously, not due to low carb for me, but we're all different!)
Click to expand...

Actually, the key thing for my condition was due to eating low carb!
The science bit!
Because of my over zealous pancreas reacting to most foods, the amount of insulin produced needed to be stopped. By doing this, the insulin resistance and the amount of glucose and insulin levels reduced dramatically. The visceral fat went. Hence the need to be in ketosis was logical. No foods to make me hyper, then hypo!
Getting down to the weight I am now (over five stone lost) was an achievement and a bonus!
 
ghost_whistler said:
I did a quick reading as I was starting to feel hungry on the way back and got 4.5
Click to expand...

Basically we need to differentiate the type of hunger experienced. An intense ravenous hunger that makes you jittery and dizzy is different from a regular hunger...

It is possible to have hypo-like symptoms between 4.0-5.0 mmol, although technically a hypo is usually < 4.0 mmol.

The reason is simply because we may have become insulin resistant and our brain has impaired glucose uptake. Some parts of it may needs higher level of glucose to be adequately fueled...unless there are spare ketones available for fueling it as well....hence the suggestion to consider some tablespoon of virgin coconut oil when you feel the hypo like symptoms.

All the best.
 
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ghost_whistler said:
At that point, no.

I've just had an awful night's sleep (I rarely get a full night), and tested myself on waking. I got 1.6, I tried the test three times and twice it said 1.6 and another it said 'lo'.
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How are you feeling now? And did you have something to eat?

Time to discuss this firmly with the doc, armed with the evidence!

(I feel for you - I had a similar low though not quite so bad, recently - and I felt off colour for 3 days afterwards, so please treat yourself gently till you feel fully better)
 
ghost_whistler said:
I got 1.6, I tried the test three times and twice it said 1.6 and another it said 'lo'.
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My father was hospitalized twice for reaching 2.0 mmols and became unresponsive.

Do get medical help to understand why your glucose level drop so low.
 
Brunneria said:
How are you feeling now? And did you have something to eat?

Time to discuss this firmly with the doc, armed with the evidence!

(I feel for you - I had a similar low though not quite so bad, recently - and I felt off colour for 3 days afterwards, so please treat yourself gently till you feel fully better)
Click to expand...

I've just had something: two crispbread 'sandwiches' with peanut butter and some yoghurt. I don't really feel full so i might have to have some toast, which isn't ideal.

I won't be able to see a GP today, no appointments available.

I don't feel great, but not as bad as when the symptoms really hit.
 
You will find various different types of advice on how to recover from hypos, and what is the best 'treatment'.

Most Type 1s seem to go for a quick sugar hit, which works well for them.

But my experience (as a Reactive Hypoglycaemic) is that it is very easy to overshoot by taking in too many carbs that way, which sets me up for a series of roller coaster highs and lows, with further hypos.

So I would probably have done exactly what you did - a few carbs, with some protein and fat, which will give a quick small carb lift, and then a longer sustained release preventing you dropping again after. :)

However, until you know more (proper diagnosis) I suggest you are wary of making assumptions. Waking up with a low hypo isn't typical of RH, although 'typical RH' is almost impossible to define, since there has been little research on it, and most of the RHers who arrive on the forum and discuss things seem to vary a great deal.
 
I was hungry during the night, but managed to avoid eating. I don't usually need to, fortunately,but my sleep patterns are absolutely awful.

I've managed to get an appointment today due to a cancellation. There's no way I can cope with a supermarket this morning.

Maybe I don't have reactive hypoglycemia, but just ordinary hypoglycemia. That's what they noted before, but called it 'functional hypoglycemia'.

I've no idea what the GP can do in one appointment, but I can't function like this
 
hopefully he will have the gumption to refer you to an endocrinologist!

Well done on the cancellation - they are as rare as hen's teeth around here.
 
Brunneria said:
hopefully he will have the gumption to refer you to an endocrinologist!

Well done on the cancellation - they are as rare as hen's teeth around here.
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That's the department i saw years ago. They were adamant i didn't have diabetes. In fact they were emphatic about it. But that's about all they could say. The first GP I saw said he had similar symptoms and said I shuld just carry a packet of biscuits around with me to snack on.
 
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