Need help

Hi and welcome benjo!

I would hate you to get some wrong info, so could you give us a bit more info? To give us a better idea of what may be going on?

Are you diabetic? Pre-diabetic? Reactive hypoglycaemic? Other?
What medication (if any) are you on?
Do you test your blood glucose?
If so, what were your readings before you lowered your carbs?
And did you test while you were feeling so grotty?

What are your reasons for wanting to go low carb?

Sorry to bombard you with questions, but it will really help people respond to you

Thanks

Yes, you can get hypo symptoms without being on insulin. I can and do. Far less frequently nowadays, but i still do sometimes.

Did your unhelpful doc do any blood tests? If so, what and what were the results?

When are you timing your home blood glucose tests? I know the strips are quite pricey if you are self funding, but some systematic testing may help you work out what is happening.

A 'normal' person (without impaired glucose tolerance) won't get high readings at any time. My husband can gorge on xmas truffles, fudge and cakes, and never budge out of 'normal'. And your reading of 7.7 is well within the normal range. But the timing is important.

If you have the strips, test when you wake up (known as Fasting Blood Glucose). Then test before food and 2 hours after. That will build up a picture of what is happening around food. Also test when you get your symptoms.

Having said all of the above, real proper hypos are classed as being under 4. Sometimes 'normal' people experience 3s with no problems, but officially it is a hypo if under 4, especially for people on diabetic medication - which you are not.
So most ppl will confidently say 'it ain't a hypo if you are above 4'.

Me? If my bg is dropping fast, then i feel dreadful, whether i am above 4 or not. It is the speed of the drop that does it. But i wouldn't call a fast drop from (for example) 14 to 5 a hypo, no matter how bad i feel, because it stays above 4.

I'm not trying to put you off, or imply there isn't something going on, I am just trying to give you an idea that there may be several factors at play.

By the way, giving up carbs is NOT obligatory.
It works for me.
It may help you, but the transition from overeating to no carbs is huge!
If you are still interested in reducing carbs, then you may find a stepped approach (with bg testing) is a more comfortable way of doing it.

Hi benjo.. Any kind of diet regime change can give you some symptoms. You must go slowly and if you chose to do lower carb for overweight reasons you must also listen to your body and not fly in and shock yourself. Your readings are in the normal range and could well have been normal while eating your previous diet. You need to have some blood tests to check your readings you could be anemic or vitamin deficient in some way many are Vitamin D deficient. Also ask to check for diabetes if you are concerned.. Get the results published for your records they will do this if asked or register for online viewing. Help will be here if you need assistance with the numbers. The doctor will know if your bloods are out in any way.. Best luck..

It would be helpful if you get a glucose meter and start testing on a more regular basis, eg before meals and 2-3 hours after meal, especially when you feel off.

Take a look at my blog post and see if it helps you to connect some dots...
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/newbie-guide-to-t2d.1858/

As @CherryAA pointed out in many of his post, a low insulin diet is what would be very helpful today...so you can start exploring if that path makes sense.

benjo123456 said:

Thanks

Click to expand...

Hi @benjo123456
Welcome to our forum.

Your doctor hasn't got a clue, mate.

People do have Hypoglycaemia for so many reasons although the majority it is insulin the main cause, but like myself I don't inject, but I do and will hypo if my dietary balance of carbs (baddies), protein and the good fats is right for you.
Because of my experience and experimentation of blood glucose monitoring since 2012, and a food diary full of information, to get my health back and stop the dreadful symptoms and prevent the hypos.
I have had the battle to get a true diagnosis, I had to finally convince my GP to refer me and luckily enough, I got referred to a specialist endocrinologist who recognised the symptoms and I got the tests for that diagnosis.

If you can get over the initial bad hunger, stopping the high carbs and change to a healthy diet for you. The benefits are really great. But it is not easy, it's a daily battle of trying to stop something you have been doing all your life, it's not east but it is possible. If you have ever had to give up something it is similarly difficult.
But do take it slowly. Do it constructively, lower your carbs by about ten percent a day until you are comfortable at a lower level, then if you are ok at that point, then stay there. Once the symptoms lift, then try lowering again.
It is what you believe is best for you.
To start, I would eat small meals every three hours, however you choose, with a small portion of rice in one or two, if you wish. If you do eat fruit, only berries or half an Apple, but no citrus, small and low GI to start, then see how you do by monitoring.

I had terrible anxiety and a lot more symptoms that I didn't even know I had.
Anger, rage, forgetfulness, eyes, shaking, sweating, and like you so emotional!

I have got my life back and I very low carb, I have sacrificed the carbs, to be healthy, I'm never hungry, I don't suffer the symptoms, I don't hypo!

It can be done.

Keep asking knowledge is so important in understanding what you are going through and why!

Best wishes.

Hello Benjo.
I think part of the problem is how you are perceiving low carb - it isn't no carb, and nor is it a choice between none and something really high carb like bread rice and potatoes.
There are lots of foods which are medium to low carbs and which most diabetics can eat - as you are not in the diabetic range then you might have more freedom in what you eat, but the heavy carbs are like the big kid on the seesaw kicking off the ground and slamming the other end down hard, then gravity drops him down, but he's ready again to kick off - and until the carbs are under control you'll be up and down just like that.
Take a look at just how many carbs you are eating - you can look up the values on line, get the percentage, then weigh the food. If you use grams for weighing then you know what the carb value per 100 grams is and you can calculate what you are eating and when. If you then use your meter and note down how a meal affects you then it night be obvious what it is that causes problems - you might need to check before eating then every half hour afterwards - but only until you begin to see a pattern - hopefully.
Try to have medium to low carb foods so you can eat quite a bit of it, and not feel deprived.