Living with Hypoglycemia and Type 2 diabetes

[Emerald eyes]

I am in the rare position of having 2 separate conditions, on the one hand I have the condition Hypoglycemia and on the other hand I have diabetes type 2. My doctor tells me this is rare. The diabetics uk also tell me this is rare. But what no one can tell me is what to do about it. I have searched the internet but can't find anything. Please will you people help me find something I can read to better understand living with these two conditions. Thanks.
Emerald Eyes

 

[romylin7]

hi to you, can you tell me the exact story of your condition, 1st tell me what is your treatment medication for t2dm, what time you are taking, (Personal e-mail address removed)
suggest you must know what exactly you are doing to manage your diabetes. and for your hypoglycemia when do you have a hypo during the day or at night? i will try to answer your question.

 

[Emerald eyes]

Hi Thank you so much for responding. A little history. The hypoglycemia started 1999-2000. It was debilitating, would leave me feeling exhausted,I would have the usual hunger, weakness shaking and like a panic attack and would last about 45minutes. I could not predict it and it would happen a lot especially when I went shopping, It was a chemist in Ireland suggested I was having a hypo and suggested I carry glucose tablets, should I need a boost. I learned to except it. Since testing my glucose levels it has made it so much easier to manage the Hypoglycemia, it's not always easy to know which I am Hypo or hyper as the symptoms are sometime the same, so I have to test. With some symptoms I can tell I am on my way to a hypo and usually catch it before I drop low. But sometimes I don't realize till I am under 4.
About 3 years ago I was diagnosed with type 2. Up to recently I was on Metformin 2/500mg twice a day, recently my doctor lowered it to 1/500mg twice a day. I take 1 with breakfast and 1 at tea time.
I can't have sudden activity, I always need to check what my sugar levels are, but sometimes even when I have done everything I can I still go hypo. I am not aware of it happening at night, but I do not have a reliable sleep pattern.
It is only recently the doctor confirmed the two separate conditions and he said it was rare. I rang the Diabetes uk, they also said it was rare and didn't have anything on it. I have searched the internet but can't find anything myself. My sister in South Africa has a rare from of diabetes.
It's sometime like being between the devil and the deep blue sea. So I always need to have my monitor with in case I need it. Thanks for your interest. Hey I wish I had found this site ages ago, but it does make all the difference now that I can share and ask advice. So thank you all.

 

[fliss]

Hi There

I have the same problem! and just don't know what to do for the best.

I too have only just been diagnosed -

I take 2 x 850 metformin a day, but my bloods can drop so quickly it scares me to death.

for example after eating properly all day I sat down to my evening meal and suddenly just felt awful, checked my bloods immediately and they were at 2.5, I had OJ and a mars bar which was the only thing I could lay my hand on at the time, after 30-45 mins I was able to finish my meal.

I just wish I knew what I should or should not be eating.

Any help would be greatly received. confussed from York

 

[Emerald eyes]

I was gobsmacked to read your reply..I know it's the pits when your sugars drop like that. The same thing has happened to me, it's crazy.I got a real bad low in Ireland, so I made for the nearest pub,I don't drink but well a pub is a pub, the landlords wife is a diabetic. I do not exaggerate I was like someone drunk, I felt so weak that when he gave me a bag of crisps I eat them like a deranged madwoman, the chap made me slow down and drink lucozade, the amazing thing is I recovered really quick. Like you it can narmally go on for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes and it's frightening. I think it was the combination of the salty crisps and the sugar drink. So I tried it the next time I hypo-ed and the same thing happened, I recovered quickly. So now it's not just feeding the low, but finding something that speeds up the recovery. It was just a fluke I discovered that.
As type 2, on metformin we should not go Hypo..so we are sailing against the wind all the time, trying to keep our sugar levels balanced is a nightmare, in fact it's a joke, because no matter what we do we go Hypo. Please keep in touch.

 

[Emerald eyes]

Hi again, I forgot to mention, there are times that even when I have done all I can do and eaten sufficient, I just simply go Hypo. That I would love to understand, so I will keep researching this. Cheers

 

[fliss]

Hi Emerald

I will keep in touch, its nice to talk to some one with the same problem,

My consultant told me he would scan my Pancreas (sp) if I carried on getting abnormal low's (not sure what for though)

This morning my fasting read was 4.5. I had breakfast at 8.30 Porridge and a pear. I tested at 10am because I felt rough and it was 2.9 :shock: I had some OJ and biscuits and was fine after 30/45 mins, but it leaves me with a banging headache..

Keep your chin up chick Im sure the docs will get to the bottom of it for us.

Fliss

 

[Emerald eyes]

Hi there nice to hear from you again. It sounds like you are where I was some years ago. So there is hope. Having a combination of conditions means we have to be good jugglers. I found it so distressing being diagnosed with Diabetes. I had years of low sugars and learning to listen to my body and what to do if I felt I was on my way down. Or dealing with a Hypos when they occurred that lasted 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. To suddenly been told I am Diabetic and now I am told to keep my sugar levels down. I am told I cannot be Hypoglycemic as I have T2 and they were astonished when I showed them my monitor with 2.5 readings. It has been one long battle. With very little help medically. Because they just don't know. They put us in boxes and we don't tick any of the boxes. I emailed a Professor of Diabetes, I just wanted to be pointed in a right direction on the internet to read something about combined conditions like ours, he offered me his sympathies, he couldn't help me further, but he did confirm we can be both.
So fellow juggler, in answer to your reply. If I eat porridge in the morning even with fruit it does not sustain me, but if I have it before bed it does and I don't wake up with sugar craving. My readings are higher, but that's the juggling game. Or the Trade offs. I know in the past I didn't eat enough protein, so I have increased that. I eat seeds, nuts and Burgon soya and linseed bread, I mainly eat the nuts and seeds because my cholesterol was high and I didn't want to take the Statins anymore to reduce it. I have Osteoarthritis and the statins increased the pain exponentially. It didn't reduce the cholesterol but it really increased my good cholesterol. So they were happy about that. As you know being Hypoglycemic we can do all we can and still go hypo, do you use a monitor to check your sugar levels, also you said you were recently diagnosed, was that with Diabetes or Hypoglycemia or both. Look forward to hearing from you.

 

[cugila]

We cannot diagnose on here but have any of the Dr's mentioned this particular subject.......?

Reactive Hypoglycaemia.
There are several causes of it which are shown on this basic Wiki article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_hypoglycemia

If you need more information there are many Medical websites available with more in depth information about the subject.

We have had members here before who had Type 2 and also Reactive Hypoglycaemia.......not sure if they are still around any more. It is not at all common but certainly not unheard of and there are treatments for it available, obviously you need to see somebody who knows all about it.

 

[Emerald eyes]

Thank you so much, what a relief. Reactive Hypoglycemia is worthy of further study. I was interested to read that the Bacteria Helicobactor Pylori is linked to reactive H; I have the bacteria it's been treated twice, but refuses to go. That is worth looking at. Thanks you so much. If anyone else finds anything please let me know.
Thanks

 

[cugila]

You're welcome.

There is a set of criteria called 'The Whipple Triad', (named after the person who devised the test) that is used for a diagnosis of Reactive Hypoglycaemia :

When the symptoms occur, measure the blood glucose level. If all three of the criteria below are met, you should be referred for further examination at a hospital.

* Blood glucose level below 2.5mmol/l (millimole per litre) - or sometimes slightly higher.
* Some or all of the symptoms listed above. (Hypo symptoms)
* The symptoms go away within 10 minutes of eating sugar.

There is actually some scepticism about it's (RH) existence so is not considered by a lot of Medic's.

 

[Emerald eyes]

On my journey I need help mates and many of you qualify on this site. Thanks once again. My doctor says to much info for the lay people is unhelpful, ah what qualifies a lay diabetic, certainly not one who is diabetic.Being as a Johnny Five, I love to know.
Yep I qualify for all three mentioned. Years ago I am quite certain my levels were very low, as I started to test and try to make this work for me I was able to recognize when I was going low.
So I can start the downward slope under 6. I need to eat something and to keep an eye on my levels.
Sometimes I catch it other times it goes regardless. I very seldom go 2.5 these days, but when I hit 4 I need good substance. I never recover in ten minutes I wish, but as I said in a previous post with lucozade and crisps I am recovering much faster. I don't understand it but it works. I will follow this one through as well. I've been enjoying this sine your post came and I'm finding so many useful ideas.
Once again, all my Thanks

 

[fliss]

Hi thank you for the info on Wiki

I'm probably not as eloquent as Emerald in explaining things! so thank you emerald for posting my thoughts

I take Thyroxine 125mg a day for Hypothyroidism, so I can presume that it is all linked in some way!

I also get upper abdominal discomfort 2/3 times a day, I cant call it pain! just a bad discomfort.

I had a 5 hour glucose intolerence test to diagnose my Hypoglycemia! my blood at its lowest went down to 1.9 :shock:

thank you for listening

 

[Emerald eyes]

So Emerald can wax Eloquently. Ah it does me good to be appreciated.

 

[moonstone]

It might be a good idea for you to go and check out the Type 1 forum for threads on how to effectively deal with hypos (basically, 10-20g of fast acting carbs eg lucozade, wait 10mins, make sure your sugars are 4, then 10-20g or so of slow acting carbs - a thick slice of bread/toast, 2 digestives, a packet of crisps, or 6 squares of milk chocolate etc). NB milk chocolate is good because fat slows down the absorption of glucose - so actually, milk chocolate is slow-release. Oh how I rejoiced the day I learnt that :lol:

When I was last at 2.5, 2 weeks ago, I truly thought I was dying (even though I have been lower) so it's no surprise you feel rubbish at that level - look up neuroglycopenia on wikipedia, it hits you around the 2.8 mark. Plus the DVLA, when you're diagnosed with Type 1 and you have to get a 3yr license, inform you that you are not legally allowed to drive for 45 minutes after your sugars are above 4 again as it takes that long for the brain to recover. I find the lower I go the longer it takes to feel better and it can even be hours or, when I once hit 1.9, it took 24 hours.

When hypo, the idea is to immediately raise your sugar hence lucozade, coca-cola, lemonade etc being good straight off (not a whole can - about half a can). The crisps (or whatever slow acting carb you choose) that you eat once your levels are above 4 are to ensure you don't go hypo again, because the quick acting stuff can disappear very quickly from your system. One of you stated you didn't know why lucozade and crisps seemed to work - it's because they both contain carbs, which is what you need to raise your levels. The salt's got nothing to do with it though! Sorry if this is a bit rambling but the first rescuer's going down in the capsule to get the Chilean miners so I'm half typing, half watching telly and not concentrating properly.... oh, and look up the Glycaemic Index - I imagine you need to generally aim for foods that release nice and slowly into your system (I don't mean during hypos, I mean normally - it might help prevent some hypos for you). Basically it's a way to grade slow acting and quick acting carbs in foods.

 

[fliss]

thank you Moonstone

that all makes sense, I will have a look at the Type 1 thread.

Luckily in my reception have a vending machine full of the above drinks! and a cupboard full of digestives.

 

[Emerald eyes]

When I read what you said about chocolate to my husband he laughed and said ' that must be your favorite post yet' he knows me well. Thank you so much. Emerald.

 

[Emerald eyes]

When I read what you said about chocolate to my husband he laughed and said ' that must be your favorite post yet' he knows me well. Thank you so much. Emerald.

In order to find his equal an Irish man is forced to converse with the almighty.

 

[moonstone]

Glad to help! It's good news about nilk chocolate, isn't it!! Since then I now have lots of small flat dairy milk bars in the fridge - I get them from Sainsbury's - they're not chunks of chocolate but little flat slabs - and they're only about 10g of carbs, so if I'm a bit low or I know I'll need a little, long-lasting boost, I have one! And that information was from the diabetes team at (Name removed) Hospital so it may as well be the word of the Almighty

 

[Emerald eyes]

Ah you know what they say..the Almighty appears in many forms.