Hi, I have today just received a diagnosis of Reactive Hypoglycaemia and honestly am a bit lost. All my consultant has told is to eat small meals 4/5 times a day and avoid carbs. The hypos have messed me up and honestly after the last one I am terrified of them. Any advice would be greatly welcomed. Thanks
Hi and welcome to our forum.
With RH knowledge is important, stopping the hypos is important, finding the reasons behind it all and what is the right treatment to help you through this time for you!
Firstly, the advice to eat often and enough is to offset the hypos until your body adjusts to your dietary balance, nutrition and to avoid certain food that is giving you the symptoms and hypos.
I am assuming that at this time your body is producing too much insulin, you have insulin resistance, your spikes are high and after carbs, you go hypo a couple or three, four hours later?
Hence the continuous food to offset the hypos.
Next, you have to reduce your carbs, this will help with all the symptoms, a food diary, with readings from a glucometer or cgm, will give you readings of how carbs have the reaction to your blood glucose levels.
Next after that, reduce the dependancy on carbs, start eating food that does not spike your blood glucose levels. Having your blood glucose levels in normal levels continuously will stop the hypoglycaemic episodes and in turn the symptoms.
When you get up in the morning, your blood glucose levels will be normal, a breakfast full of carbs will spike you, this will cause the reaction of an insulin response that in a few hours will give you a hypo, you eat more carbs, another spike, another insulin response, another hypo, more carbs, more insulin response, another hypo! And on and on, a rollercoaster ride, blood glucose levels up and down, which is why you feel really awful and it's really bad for your health!
I would imagine that you have already read through some of the posts regarding RH.
It is a condition all about the food and drink you put in your mouth.
And this is the only treatment, you have an intolerance to carbs, probably all carbs, and it's important to your future health to avoid these carbs, you have to find your balance of protein, saturated fat and and the vegetables you can eat!
It is not all bad news especially if you're like me, a bit of a carnivore, and of course, bacon and egg!
It is not easy, it's very hard and your body will try and make you go back to carbs, but when you are like me, in that carb free state of health, the benefits of being symptoms free is enlightening!
There is a lot more, such as intermittent fasting, or only eating once or twice a day, having great energy levels, not feeling awful, and a very different lifestyle.
Take things easy, be kind to yourself, let the information settle in and be positive.
Keep asking, keep learning, get a good diary and a glucometer, learn from what carbs do to you!
What tests have you had?
Best wishes