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Newbie, frustrated with doctors! haha

N

newnat

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Don't have diabetes
Hi all,

Newbie here. Do not think I have full blown diabetes of the sorts, but have struggled with feeling sick all of the time for several years now, which has worsened.

I decided to join here to learn for myself how to assist my condition, after I went to a doctor and was told that "lots of young girls I see complain about blood sugar and don't have any problems" and was told that I just need to eat better.

I said to the doctor that when I feel sick I have milk, juice or coke and he told me my diet is unhealthy.

I was quite upset as I have been managing my sickness eating a moderately low carb diet (usually eating carbs 1x a day), vegetarian etc. and I have sugar like coke when I feel frightfully ill.

I have a whole host of issues including feeling constantly hungry (but not feeling like eating) where I feel sick to my stomach, feel really weird feelings all over my body... my eyes and thinking processes get very blurry, my emotions change.. I get frustrated.. I would describe the feeling akin to feeling alarm bells in my body.

I eat smaller meals regularly (which I have to monitor), but my doctor said I shouldn't "snack".

Needless to say I felt so dismissed, that I left crying. As this sickness has been pretty intense lately.

I am vegetarian, and try to avoid sweets and breads (not strictly lately, but I limit carby sweets to max 2x week).

Yesterday was my birthday and I had 3/4 a bottle of apple cider, then went walking with my boyfriend for about 20 minutes.. and I felt so bad I had to sit down. After I sat down I felt like i could not get up.

The doctor kept pushing and prying when I talked about the feeling of "exhaustion".. he kept saying where is it. I kept telling him that my whole body feels it.. and there are no proper words I have to describe the intense feelings I get when I need to eat something.

Sighs, I am hopeful that restricting my carbs even more (hard as a vego) will help.
 
Hi and welcome the forum.

First thing I would suggest is that you cut out fruit juices and sugary drinks - they will cause your blood sugar to go very high and then very low - and the resulting feeling is very much like being on a rollercoaster. The aim is to keep any rises as low and slow as you can. Fruit juices are pretty similar to mainlining sugar, IMO.

The other suggestion is that you check out the reactive hypoglycemia section of the forums.
 

Hi, thank you

I only drink sugary things when I feel super ill, glad to have the resources on RH available.
 
I would stongly suggest you test your blood sugars buy buying a meter and strips. then at least you can have some actual evidence to back up feeling unwell and point you in the correct direction carb wise.
 
@newnat - Yes, I agree with the above forum member. Here is the link for the SD Codefree Blood Glucose Meter, the Test Strips are the cheapest to buy. Even cheaper if you buy in bulk and for the UK we use mmol/l.

http://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose/

Here are the discount codes if you buy in bulk.
5 packs. - 264086. 10 packs - 975833.
 
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The good thing about hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is that it's pretty easy to diagnose...you either have low blood sugar (often cited at below ~3.9mmol/L) or you don't. However, the SYMPTOMS of hypoglycemia are shared with a variety of other conditions. Consequently, you can't diagnose yourself based on how you feel. If I want to know if I've gained/lost weight I simply step on the scale. The same process holds true in this situation: if you want to know if you have low blood sugar, go buy a glucometer and test for low blood sugar.

Oddly enough, my sister (in her mid 20s) and I just had a conversation about this exact same thing a few weeks ago. Admittedly, I was slightly skeptical because as a type 1 diabetic on insulin I have confirmed experiences with hypoglycemia. Even still, I loaned her one of my glucometers and she quickly realized that she did not suffer from hypoglycemia.

What she did have, and what I suggest you look into, is a protein deficiency after exercise. She would go to the gym for an hour, burn several hundred calories, and not eat. Eventually, she would start to get the shakes, light-headed, cold sweats, etc. She started making sure she ate something after exercising and her symptoms have since gone away.

As a vegetarian, I can see how that could also be a strong possibility as you're more limited (compared to meat eaters) in your sources of protein. Note: milk has casein protein in it which digests slower. You mentioned feeling poorly after drinking milk, but it may because it takes longer to digest.

I'm not discounting that you may have RH, but it seems most logical to rule it out the easiest and simplest way.
 
When you drink alcohol your liver drops everything else in order to deal with it, so it might be best to avoid it until your have sorted out the problem.
Are you trying to do a low fat as well as low carb diet? More and more it is being discovered that fats, even saturated fats are not the problem in modern diets - it was simply assumed for so long that there were no doubters, but there was evidence if you looked hard enough that eating low fat is nor the key to health and fitness.
Do try to test your blood glucose levels so you can see if there is a problem with that, and analyse your diet choices to ensure that you are getting all you need for good health. You might try taking a multi vitamin and mineral tablet each day, just to see if that helps.
 
Hi @newnat Your doctor referred to "young girls", but your profile states you are a male. I was about to say that anaemia can be common in young women, but now I am not sure if you are a bloke lol

I agree that you need to get tested. Lloyds Pharmacy they may be able to do a quick check while you are awaiting a doctor's appointment. Don't worry about low carbing while veggie - it is doable and very tasty if you avoid the sugary drinks and major carbs
 
@newnat what condition is it you think you have? The symptoms you describe sound something akin to low blood sugar, in contrast diabetes is a condition of high blood sugar. Did the doctor do any tests? Have you ever tested your blood sugar?

Agree with @Indy51 that you might want to look at reactive hypoglycaemia. But even that might be getting a bit ahead of things until you test you blood sugar to see if it is in anyway abnormal - it might be totally fine and you bouts of sickness might be wholly unrelated to blood sugar levels.
 
Thanks guys, it just surprised me that the doctor had no interest into looking into the symptoms at all.

No exam, no blood tests, no suggestions about how to create a "better diet". I eat better than most people my age, eating leafy greens, twice a day, nuts and legumes, eggs etc and not eating sugary carbs like cakes etc unless it's a very special occasion. I also take iron, vit c, probiotic etc. I do not monitor my fat intake extensively, but I monitor carbs- most particularly what type of carbs.

I snack because I can't eat large infrequent meals, my stomach has probably shrunken from not eating large meals for some time. But for example, this morning I had 2 eggs, 1 piece halloumi, kale & 1 piece multigrain bread and I feel great. Doctor said that this was not healthy. Very confusing.

I did not tell him I had a blood sugar issue, only that I feel sick frequently and then he just criticised everything I do, including walking saying "that's not good enough exercise" (I am not overweight & do other forms but walking most regularly). I even said "I don't think this is blood sugar but I just call it that because it's easier). It's like using that term as a reference has so much stigma against it that if you ever mention blood sugar, doctors will automatically assume you don't know what you are talking about. It's a bit hard for me to diagnose myself, all I can say are the effects.

That's why i'm here, because doctors can't do anything for me, other than criticise my lifestyle. I can simply focus on my diet (low Gi etc) in order to feel better.

I just hate that every time I go into the doctors I simply get told "you're young and not overweight, so therefore there is no point looking further into your issues".
 
I recommend you find another doctor asap. Your symptoms may have nothing to do with your diet. However, it's possible that vegetarianism doesn't agree with you.
 

Your doctor seems to be from the camp that thinks diabetes is only for middle aged fatties. I would see a different doctor if I were you. Even if you do not have diabetes or RH, your symptoms should still be investigated. Not everything is diet related so be wary of animal eaters suggesting your way of eating must be to blame. Your food choices look healthy and well balanced to me, apart from the sugary drinks obviously, but they can be easily avoided. Please let us know how you get on as your experience could help others
 
You sound like my daughter. Who turned out to have mild ME. That is also known as Fatigue Syndrome.
The constant indescribable tiredness. The frequent mild nausea, building up to real attacks that stop you in your tracks. Dizziness. Low blood pressure. Painful hunger made worse by eating.
A lot of teenagers get it,check it out, it can pass in six weeks or six years. Mild ME means you can get usually out of bed. Moderate means you usually can't. Severe means you can't stand up..
 
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Your breakfast sounds excellent and most doctors would agree. Walking is an excellent exercise. The healthiest thing you can do is find a better, more sympathetic doctor.
 

hello you feel bad most of the time, then something must be bad.
but a lot can be the reason and sometimes it is not that easy to know what excactly that is.

it could be that you have this reactive hypoglycemia that Indy is suggesting you to look up here in this forum, and many GP´s do not know much of that condition.

now you also mention that you are a vegatarian.. I hope you know a lot of nutritions..
when being vegetarian and not eating fish, it is important to get some kind of suplementation of algae oil from sea algea´s as even when people can eat like walnuts the amount of EPA and DHA is not there that the brain do need.. and it is important for the health of ones brain.. and maybe even more to for women because of our ever changing hormonal levels
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-algae
also it is important to get suplemantations of vitamin b12 ... and Indy also knows which kinds are the good one to take... this vitamin is actually crucial for both the nerves in general but very much for a healthy brain as well... if you do not supplement with that already... ...
but maybe you already take that suplementation..

if you think that your blood sugars are low and that is the reason of drinking those sugary drinks like fuzzy-drinks and fruit juice which is a bad way of eating fruits, then buy a glucose meter and find out if it is actually the case, and only if you are low drink fruit juice....the fuzzy drinks are never a good solution to longterm issues
 
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You need to find another doctor, who should at least perform a full blood test initially, and look at what may be wrong will you.
As you say you are 'a young girl', sometimes it is helpful if you can take someone else with you for support, and hopefully won't be so casually dismissed.
There are many issues that could cause the symptoms you are describing, diabetes is only one of them, and even then there are many forms of diabetes, will different diets and different treatments.
 
I have had intense hunger that often came with heart palpitation, trembling and cold sweat since my teenage years. I am now almost 50.

I now recognized that those symptoms may well have been caused by unusually high insulin levels that then triggers a hypoglycemic (sharp low blood glucose) episode. Our brain cannot cope with the sudden drop in glucose level and sends out all the distressed signals.

Yes it would be best to check your glucose levels to see if it is low when you are having these episodes.
 
Me too, @kokhongw, from my late teens right up until my 40s. In my early 20s I was even sent for tests to rule out Type 1.
 
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