Low blood sugar as excuse to eat

[Jfoster1441]

I have a friend who has recently had a stroke from high cholesterol at the age of 30 and is suffering from uncontrolled type 2 diabetes acquired through morbid obesity.

We’re trying to help her follow a strict Mediterranean diet, but she frequently demands unhealthy carbs and toppings throughout the day and cheats saying her blood sugar has dropped.

She has a two day fasting blood sugar level of 250 and does not actively monitor it. We think she uses the low blood sugar excuse to bully people into excusing her having junk food after only two weeks out of the hospital.

Does low blood sugar mean she’s dropping from something like 200 to 150 or is it plausible it’s really going down further throughout the day?

 

[KennyA]

Hi Jfoster1441 and welcome to the forums

I have to say I'm a bit uncomfortable with your question. Your friend is presumably an independent adult capable of making her own choices. You might not agree with her choices but it's her call on what, when, and how much she eats.

I think you're in the US and using BG measurements in mg/dl for fingerprick test reults - in the UK we generally use mmol/litre. To convert mg/dl to mmol/l there's a converter here:

Blood Sugar Glucose Converter for Diabetes

Convert blood sugar/glucose from mmol/L (UK standard) to mg/dl (US standard) and vice versa using our blood sugar converter.

www.diabetes.co.uk

eg 250 mg/dl equates to 13.9mmol/l

 

[ajbod]

A fasting level of 250 equates to 13.9 mmol, too high, i suspect rather than low sugar level she is experiencing false hypos, where the body due to being used to high levels, starts to panic wanting to get back to what it is used to. The only answer is to fight through it until the body learns that lower levels are ok.
However you cannot force her to do anything, you can try and persuade, but at the end of the day, it has to be her decision. With those readings, i would assume she is on medication, or at least probably needs it. and not properly trying to control things. Again anything that needs doing has to be between her and her health care professionals. I sympathise with your situation, and to an extent went through this with my mother in law. Unfortunately it is down to her, how she lives her life.

 

[Jfoster1441]

A fasting level of 250 equates to 13.9 mmol, too high, i suspect rather than low sugar level she is experiencing false hypos, where the body due to being used to high levels, starts to panic wanting to get back to what it is used to. The only answer is to fight through it until the body learns that lower levels are ok.
However you cannot force her to do anything, you can try and persuade, but at the end of the day, it has to be her decision. With those readings, i would assume she is on medication, or at least probably needs it. and not properly trying to control things. Again anything that needs doing has to be between her and her health care professionals. I sympathise with your situation, and to an extent went through this with my mother in law. Unfortunately it is down to her, how she lives her life.

Thanks ajbod, that’s really helpful information. Guessing I may have phrased it badly earlier but for context we’re doing a two week diet at our cabin, idea being away from easy access to unhealthy foods since it’s remote, as a group of 4 including my friends spouse at their request after the recent health scare.

We’ve planned out the menu as a group with her doctor’s meal plan, and we all have roughly the same meals in different amounts throughout the day. My question is more out of concern and curiosity such as when we have a bowl of grains and fruits for breakfast, but two hours later the conversation starts about going into town for snacks because of low blood sugar is it at all plausible she’s not used to the smaller amounts, the higher fiber and the lack of very high carb processed foods and experiencing false hypos.

Just a matter of polite concern, we’ll support her and her spouse, but I just wanted some education on if it’s possible there could be wild swings in blood sugar all day at this high level and we should be encouraging them to contact her doctor, but we think she’s just anxious and no one likes starting a new diet and we want help power through to the end. There’s been a history here of being evasive and not taking medical advice serious and we want this to be a success even if it means some tough love.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Thanks ajbod, that’s really helpful information. Guessing I may have phrased it badly earlier but for context we’re doing a two week diet at our cabin, idea being away from easy access to unhealthy foods since it’s remote, as a group of 4 including my friends spouse at their request after the recent health scare.

We’ve planned out the menu as a group with her doctor’s meal plan, and we all have roughly the same meals in different amounts throughout the day. My question is more out of concern and curiosity such as when we have a bowl of grains and fruits for breakfast, but two hours later the conversation starts about going into town for snacks because of low blood sugar is it at all plausible she’s not used to the smaller amounts, the higher fiber and the lack of very high carb processed foods and experiencing false hypos.

Just a matter of polite concern, we’ll support her and her spouse, but I just wanted some education on if it’s possible there could be wild swings in blood sugar all day at this high level and we should be encouraging them to contact her doctor, but we think she’s just anxious and no one likes starting a new diet and we want help power through to the end. There’s been a history here of being evasive and not taking medical advice serious and we want this to be a success even if it means some tough love.

It's still tough... I don't know what medication she's on, but hypo's can maybe happen? Not likely with just metformin or something, but on insulin or gliclazide, it could occur. At the same time, it sounds like she might have an eating disorder, and then I doubt two weeks in a cabin'll help. It's not the food that's the problem, it's the void that's failing to be filled with it. More a mental than a physical thing, and that might need adressing, if the case. (Just guessing here though!!!!). Maybe pool money to get your friend a continuous glucose monitor, they last two weeks. Then one can always check whether she's actually low, experiencing a false hypo or even a panic attack, or just using it as an excuse to get people to enable her. And a hypo doesn't need to be treated with junkfood and snacks. Just have some orange juice around, or a spoon or two of honey, maybe even glucose gel. (Which is yuck). Makes faking anything less appealing in the long run.

Good luck!
Jo

 

[ajbod]

You mention grains and fruits for breakfast, this sounds far too carby. Forget what you think you know is healthy to eat, as a diabetic, the advice we've been given for many years now, is frankly quite dangerous for us type 2s. As a type 2, she is not getting the same sustenance from the meals as you are due to the sugar disregulation. Forget calories, as a means of energy for the human body. A carbohydrate calorie is definitely not equal to protein or healthy fat, these her body will be better able to utilise, than the carbohydrate. If you all have the same meal of say 400 calories, her body may only be using perhaps half of it, compared to yours. The rest is getting stored away as fat. That is usually why diabetics can be morbidly obese. They can be basically starving, despite eating what appears to be way too much. it can be very depressing when there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel, it saps your ability to fight the disease. As Jo says perhaps a CGM will allow her to see some improvement. This can bolster the spirits to continue the fight. Good luck, she is lucky to have such good friends, to try and help her.

 

[MrsA2]

bowl of grains and fruits for breakfast, but two hours later the conversation starts about going into town for snacks

That part alone sounds like classic sugar/carbs addiction to me, the key being the cravings only couple of hours after eating.

Maybe your friend, or you, could Google "sugar addiction " and see if there's anything there that resonates with her. It's very difficult to change someone else, the motivation needs to come from inside her.

 

[Outlier]

She may well be genuinely hungry after such a high-carb breakfast. I used to be ravenous after a "healthy" meal like that, and could never understand why other people would say it filled them up until lunchtime. Can you change to a high protein breakfast instead? Food issues are complex and it will take a lot of care and friendship to help her, but if she is actually feeling genuine hunger, it overrules any amount of love and care.

 

[Deleted member 527103]

You mention grains and fruits for breakfast, this sounds far too carby.

Without knowing what medication the woman is taking, is this a fair statement?
The OP mentions they are using her doctor's meal plan. If that is the case, without knowing medication and her blood glucose levels, it could be dangerous to reduce carbs. Hey, it is possible that the woman does have low blood sugars if, for example, she is taking an insulin dose that assumes a certain diet which has been reduced.
In the UK, anyone using insulin, should be given a blood glucose monitor. But, based on the units used, she is not in the UK so I would not like to assume such a thing. My recommendation is to get one. It does not have to be a CGM. I standard finger prick meter would be a help. Once there is more data (how low are her levels?), then (and only then) can actions be taken and accusations be withheld until there is evidence.

Writing as someone who does take insulin, low blood sugars is not an excuse to eat. It is a reason to eat to stay conscious.