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Pre-lunch low

Kaz261

Well-Known Member
Messages
413
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi all, hope you don't mind me picking your brains please? I'm having a challenging day today! I woke with an all time high for me of 6.5, but felt fine so had my usual breakfast. 2 hours later I was 6.2 and still feeling good so I carried on with the housework and ate my small Apple (usual morning snack for me) at 10.45am, a little later than normal.

At midday I was feeling very tired and not particularly with it and, as I was due to drive at 12.10 to pick my little one up from pre-school I checked my bg, it was 5! Now I know this isn't even close to a hypo but I wasn't feeling like it would be safe to drive and needed something to raise me up a few points fairly quickly, without dropping me again whilst out. In a slight panic I ate half a small banana and a couple of nuts. I was 5.2 just before I had to leave. Unfortunately my miss timed "episode" mean't I was 7 before eating lunch, so I had a salad with salmon. An hour later I'm 6.9 and feeling tired still.

What would you recommend I eat in that instance? Ideally I like to nearer 6 when driving. Would you eat again now, in case a drop is imminent? What would you suggest?


Thanks for your help x
 
I believe that once you start feeling rough, you gonna be as rough the rest of the day, I know I do. I think trying to boost with any sugars (fructose etc) shouldn't be the remedy. A piece of meat with some full fat would be better.
A banana is known to escalate bloods quickly.
Brun would have a coffee with cream, I would have a rich tea biscuit and a cuppa, but would rest at least fifteen minutes before I tried to do anything else.
I do think, that you have found a way to be in control but little things are making you wonder what is happening. Rushing around will give you a little boost of hormones mainly adrenalin. Start giving yourself plenty of time.

When I get up late occasionally, I tend to be a little rough all day, don't know why but I do! When I get up with plenty of time, I take my time waking up, that makes a difference to me.
 
Thanks Nosher. I thought about coffee with cream but didn't have the time. It needed to be something I could just grab and would take effect quickly so I was safe to drive!

I've had a busy morning, rushing around to walk my oldest to school and then jumped in the car to get the youngest to pre-school. Straight back home to crack on with the housework while child free! May be I under estimated the effect of that on my levels.

I do feel more in control overall but do still have these odd occasions when I can't understand why my body does what it does. I think on the days I have to drive, I need to plan my snacks better and give myself more time like you say.

I too feel worse all day if I have a lie in. I rarely feel my best at weekends for instance and I'm sure it's because I get up an later.

I've had a few unexpected lows lately, but they have occurred after eating a low carb lunch. May be I'm not including enough fat?

Oh well! Thanks again for your advice and I'll just keep plodding on
 
Are you drinking enough water? You could have been a bit dehydrated whilst doing the running around.
I know it's a pain but planning ahead is important, same as meal planning, and shopping! Once you get your routine and don't overdo things, your body will adjust accordingly.
And do up your full fat. It will all help.
 
I probably hadn't drank enough now you mention it. Only had a small glass of water, a black coffee and a fruit tea all morning. I find it so frustrating that a busy morning can have such an effect on me. I'm one of those people who doesn't like giving into to anything and accepting that I can't do what I did before!

Days like this make me feel like throwing my hands in the air and saying I give up! Makes you want to crawl into bed and sleep as that usually re-sets things! Of course, I can't as I have my two beautiful girls to keep me going
 
I'm a battler myself, I'm not happy until things are just so.

I always think that giving up would be a lot worse, that helps!
I couldn't go back now!

And as you've mentioned it, sleeping is a reset button for me as well, especially the good ones. The bad sleeps, usually drain me for the next day or more if the vivid dreams are really upsetting and disruptive.
 
Same here. A bad nights sleep affects me for a day or two. I seem to have started dreaming more over the last week. Usually about food! Being out and not finding anything I can eat, that sort of thing. Eating even stresses me in my sleep!


Good job I've got a sense of humour and I'm the master of putting a brave face on! I can always find something to smile or joke about even if I'm completely racked off. Helps me through the day.
 
A little update. I'm still struggling to get my levels up. At 3.15pm I checked and was 5.2 and starting to feel a bit hungry. I ate half a 9 bar and an hour later I started to feel like I was dropping again. I was 5.3. I ate the other half of 9 bar and a coffee and cream. Half an hour later I'm still feeling a little shaky and irritable and I'm still 5.3. Surely half a 9 bar and a coffee with cream should have some effect in half an hour?

Also I keep getting a horrible twitchy top eyelid which makes my vision flicker when my levels are on the lower side. Does anyone else get this?
 
I did say you would feel rough all day.
I believe @Linagirl gets facial twitches.
Don't overworrying and eat very low carb.
 
I had to have a biscuit. Just starting to feel a bit less shaky and anxious, but I don't like having to eat a biscuit just before dinner
. I haven't spiked high today, so I don't understand why I've been low so much?

I'm waiting for GP to call me. I know he can't advise but I'm hoping he'll agree to refer me back to the endocrinologist. I'm not sure he's got to the bottom things fully.
 
My first thought is wondering if you're needing enough calories.

Your blood sugar is nowhere close to being low which means if it were me, I wouldn't be correcting with carbohydrates. If it were me, I would be eating a combination of protein and fat if I felt that way and my blood sugar was normal.

If I go for long periods of time without eating I can start to experience hypo symptoms for the sole fact that my body needs protein and energy (fat in this case).
 
Now, the thought that has come to mind, is you are over concerned by how you are feeling, eat your tea, now! Hopefully very low carb! Then just monitor it, go to bed early, you may be tired. You are anxious! And anxiety plays havoc with your hormones.
Try and relax!
 
Hi and thanks for your reply. I've eaten around 1800 calories today so don't think that would be the issue. I could have perhaps has a little more fat. Although I had a busy morning, I haven't done much this afternoon so I should have eaten ample.
 
Kaz261 said:
Hi and thanks for your reply. I've eaten around 1800 calories today so don't think that would be the issue. I could have perhaps has a little more fat. Although I had a busy morning, I haven't done much this afternoon so I should have eaten ample.
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It's not how many calories you're eating in total, but rather how long you're going without protein. Whey and egg protein is digested very quickly and excess is usually converted into glucose (gluconeogenesis). Consequently, you can't eat 100g of protein for breakfast and expect it to last you throughout the day. In contrast, casein (milk) protein digests much slower which is why many athletes drink casein protein before bed.

Even though I eat around 3000 calories/day, I start to have similar symptoms just before lunch time. It can be especially noticeable after working out, or in your case, possibly a busy morning.
 
Thanks Nosher. I ate dinner 20 mins after eating the biscuit (fish curry with a small amount of whole grain basmati). I still feel trembly and a bit anxious but an hour from first bite I'm 7.2. Not too bad for saying I ate a biscuit beforehand! I shall be going to bed as soon as the kids have gone to sleep. Tomorrow is another day


Thanks again for your help. Much appreciated as always x
 
Can you do basmati?

I can't even look at it without going sweaty!
 
nosher8355 said:
Can you do basmati?

I can't even look at it without going sweaty!
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Haha! I'm fine with whole grain basmati as long as I don't overdo it. I'm even ok with white basmati usually. I only have a small portion though obviously.
 
That's interesting, may be I need to change what I have for breakfast then?

My usual breakfast is 125g full fat Greek yogurt, 15-20g no added sugar muesli (dried fruit removed), half a doz each raspberries and blueberries, 20g almonds and a sprinkle of cinnamon. That equates to approx. 22g fat, 13g protein and 20g carbs. I have a small Apple a couple of hours later, with lunch 2hours after that. In terms of activity levels, I average around 10,000 steps a day.
 
That raises another issue as I thought you were a low-carber.

There is such a thing as "not enough carbs," but it's not always 0 as one might think. It depends from person to person but it's often around ~50g-100g/day. You're eating too many carbs to be in ketosis, but possibly not enough to make it through the day. Some people aren't able to freely and quickly switch between glycolysis and ketosis.

In layman's terms, you may need to pick one or the other: drop your carbs to a point where you reach ketosis or raise them up to a point where you have enough energy.
 
I tried low carb and it didn't work as well for me. I found I was better to include a small amount of carbs with each meal. I eat around 100g per day on average (that's total carbs, not starchy ones). Most days I'm fine with that, but may be today has proven that on especially busy days it's not enough.

It's tricky for me with RH, as too many carbs and I risk constant hypo's. When I was on LCHF and I was producing ketones I felt dreadful and with 2 very active small children I couldn't carry on feeling like it. Catch 22 I think you call it!

Strangely, before I had my first OGTT in July last year I was eating a normal diet including bread, pasta, rice, cereal etc, I never had any hypo symptoms. I did start to notice the hyper's which led me to visit the a Docs. After the OGTT when I hypo'd, I changed my diet to reduce carbs and include low GI ones, that's when the RH symptoms really seemed to kick in!
 
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