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Information for newbies and basic stuff.



It was a dannon light and fit coconut flavored yogurt which after the drop I read that one of the ingredients was corn starch (corn flour), I have dairy a lot but after the surgery for the first 6 months I found myself to be lactose intolerant, every time I tried yogurt, coffee or the protein shakes I was sick. After that it went away and I was able to eat dairy again, if it is low fat so anything less than 2% fat I am fine with. I have had sheep milk yogurt which I think is full fat and didn't have any symptoms except for a near heart attack at the price!! lol I am tempted to try a small piece of full fat cheese and see what happens. Today I woke up and my glucose was 69 so I fasted as I wasn't feeling well and didn't feel like eating or cooking. By 3pm my glucose was 55 which I found strange as all I had was my medicine and water. By 6pm it was 50 and my mother insisted I eat so I ate some steak and I went up to 77. The last thing I ate the night before was a handful of salad.

Ivey
 
Low fat Yoghurts usually have more sugar and salt than full fat.
 

You might want to read up on reading food labels as they can be confusing and what you are looking for.
As you say, corn starch is bad, but for me and I'm glad I'm not gluten intolerant is potato starch. But the likes of vegetable oils, aspartame and other unnatural ingredients added to food might have a similar effect. Hence cooking from scratch with protein and non starchy vegetables, with good fats.
There is still so much hidden in processed foods.

And low fat or no fat are perfect examples of what to avoid, because the fat is processed out and either fruit addedalongside artificial sweeteners and sugars to enhance taste. No added sugar food, just means there is still a lot of natural sugars but will still cause a spike.

I believe that you need to have an understanding of why your blood glucose levels are behaving this way, so you need to be consistent in how you are testing. Before you eat, then one hour, then two hours after.
Record your test results, what you had to eat, how much, after a few weeks it will give you information on how different meals or certain foods effect your bloods.
You will see which foods are okay, and those that are not. Then there are those foods which are borderline and if you lower the portion size could be okay.
It's important to how you feel what you intolerant to.

Best wishes
 


Thanks for that. I am going to start to be more vigilant, as I am cutting back on so many things I am really limiting myself. I find when I cook my meals are usually good but I recently had to switch from soy sauce to gluten free tamari as it doesn't contain wheat or rice. It's getting to the point where I think my glucose will drop from smelling the baked good down the bakery aisle! lmao Sighs I miss my bagels and cream cheese!

Ivey
 
lindisfel said:
Low fat Yoghurts usually have more sugar and salt than full fat.
Click to expand...

I did checked the sugar content and it was 8 grams and didn't have alcohol sugars, but I didn't check the salts. I am on a high salt diet as I have low blood pressure called Orthostatic hypotension. I need the salt along with my blood pressure medication to push my blood pressure up. My dietician wants me to have yogurts no higher than 9grams of sugar in them, and no sugar in anything else (like coffee, tea, am not allowed juice or fruit)
 

It can get you down. Having to be the one that needs to be different.
The 'why me?' Question can really seem as though everyone is against you, then the anxiety kicks in. Am I ever going to get well again? Will it ever end?

It does, it's the symptoms of the condition, because we have a weird reaction to basic foodstuff, we need to be resolute, strong willed and a bit obsessive about the food we can eat. You need support from your friends and family, get them to understand why, some will be interested and if they truly love you and your friends are real friends, they will support your lifestyle choices.
You will almost certainly doubt yourself through all this!
People have things worse than us weirdos!
So be strong, you will get through this, it's your challenge, your crusade to get your health back, to be well again.
Find your dietary balance, it will take time and a certain amount of trial and error, but you will get there, I'm sure of it.

Best wishes.
 


Thank you Lamont!

Ivey
 
Thank you for this info - it’s so useful and having been diagnosed only a few days ago it’s very helpful as whilst relieved to finally understand what’s been causing my symptoms, it’s a daunting realisation.
 
Hi @Poppy2323,

Welcome to our forum, I'm really pleased that the information is useful to you.
Please continue to read the threads and other forums that will help you understand how RH can be controlled, you are not alone, we have been where you are now.
Any questions, please ask, anything that is confusing you about advice you have been given. Have you an endocrinologist? What tests have you had?
We would really like for you your story and how your diagnosis came about, what battles you have had.
Again welcome to our forum.

Best wishes
 
Thanks so much Lamont, I’m working my way through your posts and all hugely helpful.

So I’ve had M.E since age 13 (now 37!) albeit managed fairly well after the first few years. However had lots of the symptoms you all talk about, notably extreme fatigue, passing out episodes, shakiness etc. Passed out on a plane on our honeymoon last year!

Recently I had gynae surgery in February and have had huge issues recovering since then. I sought the advice of an endocrinologist in May as my fatigue and sleepiness just wasn’t improving. After a serious of blood tests my hbac1 came back as low (below scale) and thus this week I’ve been in hospital for 4 days having the OGGT and 72 hour fast test. Bloods went down to 2.8 (Lower on bloods in lab) and not much above 3.1.

Confirmed as non diabetic reactive hypoglycemia however awaiting the full picture of results next week once all the bloods have been analysed together. I had stomach surgery a few years ago and my consultant feels it’s likely I have that type of RH.

I’m feeling glad that I have some answers (possibly after years) but also daunted as to how to go forward. My endo will talk me through everything next week.

Thanks again for the info and support.
 

That's daunting but you must have a really decent endocrinologist and some great support, and it can be a relief to find out what is actually going on and getting a true diagnosis.
It is possible that the stomach surgery, could be the cause for the RH, but I leave that to the tests to get them answers, but one thing I've discovered about RH is how different we all are, wether, symptoms, causes, other conditions and more importantly how we treat it.
One of the big questions is if all the so called healthy foods, for instance staple foodstuff, like bread, potatoes, fruit, are triggering the insulin response. How did our body change to cause this?
We know the why, but the history is obscure.
My endocrinologist and I, have had some interesting things to discuss about dietary control, yours will be different to mine, because I don't have those other conditions that you have.
So testing is important, a glucometer or cgm, will be a great tool to use, a food diary is a must.
I hope you get your head around what is happening to you.
My 72 (actually 80 hrs) hours hospital test was very interesting to my start to understand what my body was telling me for years, it was what I was putting down my throat, thanks to all those medical care team that didn't have a clue, that non diabetic people do get hypos! It was the recommended diets that was slowly and steadily killing me.
I learned about how my body likes fasting and my energy levels increase fasting, that avoiding the triggers, would get rid of the excess weight and because of a very low carb diet, made me healthy, and I got my life back.

Discuss with your endocrinologist, how the other conditions and how RH will effect any dietary control that you wish to try.
Fats, protein are your future, which ones you choose, with the limited carbs, is going to be critical to your future health.

Keep asking, the more information you get, the more knowledge you gain, which will help you in the future, there is no cure, no magic pill, there is relatively new meds, that can help, but they don't stop the hypos if you go hyper.

Best wishes
 
That’s really helpful thank you. An interesting part of this is that I’ve had a pretty low carb diet for a while now, so I’m wondering if I have done too much the other way! I definitely have a lot of questions to take to the consultant next week.

Can I ask, is there a blood test monitor for home you’d recommend?

Very well done on the 80 hours - I found 3 days quite the marathon! I wish I’d looked for this forum before I went in.
 
I have had a glucometer, you know the basic finger prick type, just like the ones used by diabetics. Lancet and test strips for over ten years from when they gave out glucometers to patients with diabetes, (I was misdiagnosed T2!)
And my food diary goes back to 2009!
I'm not as obsessive as when first diagnosed with RH, but I still test to see if I go hyper, if I feel a bit off, or to test something new, I have quite a few food intolerance issues. Potatoes for instance, I have been lactose intolerant since an infant. i'll tag @Brunneria to give you the details of the best and cheapest version of glucometer, but I would ask your endocrinologist to get you one, as I would like to think that he would want you to monitor what happens when you eat certain foods. I got mine to get my GP to prescribe me test strips. Because you and I are non diabetic, and non diabetic patients are not cleared to have them.
She has used a cgm and even though it is quite expensive, it is worth doing.

If someone would have warned me about my stay on a diabetic ward, I don't think I would have volunteered to go through with it. Not because of the fasting, but the patients on the ward. Horrific!

Ok, the low carb diet, should be beneficial to everyone, unless the diet causes other symptoms, you have to be careful and be confident about how your tastes and available food, does increase the likelihood of how variation in your dietary needs effects your health.
This is why testing food is important.
Finding your balance of protein and fats will improve your health.
I would advise searching the low carb forum, or the Keto forum or use the search button near the top of the page.
The low carb diet should be just as enjoyable as other diets, it can be restrictive, but having your health back is a much needed boost to maintain it.
 
 
Hello Lamont. After feeling "low" again today (truly sick of it) I have just found this site and thought that even though I'm not diabetic I'd register so could put a post on to see if there was anybody that could steer me in the right direction regarding RH. Read your opening statement and tbh broke down . I reckon I've had RH for about 40 years and always had to deal with it myself. First passed out aged about twelve , then after it happened a few more times they started testing me for epilepsy etc (basically as I remember it involved sticking wires to my head at a local mental facility). Nothing came of it, including no diagnosis of course. From this age I had to learn to deal with it myself. No cereal or white bread etc, learn how to to prevent passing out or how to head it off if I felt it coming (dextrose, sweet stuff etc), while putting up with people looking at me as though I was Martian or at least a princess if I said that I can't eat this or that or had to eat sugar to stop myself fainting I finally persuaded a local gp who again just as all those before was fobbing me off with "there's nothing wrong with you" to at least send me for the four hour fasting glucose test. This was naturally halted after two hours due to my v low sugar level, with the command to eat immediately. Unfortunately that was about ten years ago and was the last advice I've had . Finding your forum won't be I know, an end to this but just hearing other people's experiences makes me feel a little less weird at least!

Regards
David
 
Hi and welcome @D4VIDL

Keep reading.
It is very very miserable having RH with everyone telling you that it is all in your mind, and that there is nothing they can do.

All I can say is thank heavens for Low Carb. Wouldn’t be without it.

Have a good read of the RH sub forum, and ask any questions you like. We can’t diagnose or answer medical stuff, but we can talk from our personal experiences, and tell you what works for us.
 
Hi @D4VIDL and welcome to our forum.
Your story of a lifetime of having episodes of Hypoglycaemia is all too common and even though my battle for diagnosis is no where near what you have come through.
I'm weird too, but I'm used to it by now.
My family have accepted my lifestyle, and encourage me to keep myself healthy, despite the limited amount of different foods I can eat.
I work in a industry where food is important to my colleagues and eating the right things for them is somewhat different to my daily intake and instead of shying away from the realities of my condition, I get my colleagues approval of inclusion and acceptance of my lifestyle, and it is broadly accepted and encouraged.
Once they understand the reasons, it is not a topic that is generally discussed but avoided and often joked about on a daily basis.
What I am trying to say is, because of your hypo in your glucose test, which is called an extended oral glucose tolerance test (eOGTT). You have intolerance to certain foods. Your body has an imbalance of hormones when you eat. You need to learn how and why your body 'reacts' to what you eat or drink.
You have read the information above, but you are not a newbie either. You have already found that individual food are going to make you ill.
I would advise many things, but we can do this slowly.
First of all is to start a food diary. You will need a glucometer for this, you need to record your blood glucose levels.
Second, go to the low carb forum and read how the low carb diet can and will improve your nutrition intake. It is important that you understand why carbs are the likely culprits and you need alternatives to them.
Next, is understanding why dietary control is the only treatment. There is lots of information on our forum threads.
And finally, getting a true diagnosis, by getting a referral to a specialist endocrinologist who has experience in the rarer forms of conditions that involve Hypoglycaemic episodes.
Ask questions, if you need help, then ask.
Take time to get your head around what you have already discovered.
Take time to make a plan and how you are going to start getting control, because that is the key to becoming healthier and getting your life back and feeling normal instead of weird.

My best wishes and again welcome to our forum.
 
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