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Reactive Hypoglycaemia

Linagirl said:
Yeah I have been hypothyroid since 23 am now 41. Looking back I think i have had carb issues for years. I did slimming world diet for a few years and could only ever lose weight on red days so I knew then carbs affected me. I honestly think it's what has prevented my weight loss for years.

I am vit d deficient and take a supplement.

With hypothyroidism be very careful with what your docs tell you the tag range in this country is significantly broader than now accepted in the U.S. And say if the range range is 0-5 and you are 4,9 you will be told you are fine. Clearly you are not fine and are on the very edge of being ill. Thankfully my case was clear cut so I had no problem being diagnosed but my nan had borderline results all her life and they would never diagnose her despite her having all the symptoms and every other female member of our family having hypothyroidism ( think we have had around 11 at last count)

Not saying everyone has it but as is usual these days ask for your results and do your own research as endocrinology is all inextricably linked and insulin resistance is a common trait in hypot patients

Emma
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Sounds like you know hypothyroidism.
It's good to know, that you can give advice on it as there are more female RH ers than male.

And yes, my daughter has hashimotos. Is struggling as they just can't get her meds right!

It is intrinsically linked!
 
I take something called Armour thyroid which is a natural dedicated thyroid tablet made from porcine glands. I was on thyroxine but spent first six years after being diagnosed having panic attacks and swinging from high to low. What I hadn't realised was that as hashimotos kills your thyroid someday you are low and some days you can be high as the destroyed part of the thyroid gland dumps hormone into your blood stream that is why it is soooo hard to get your meds right. Armour contains t3 and t4 whereas thyroxine is t4 only.
 
Hi all,
I had an interesting chat with a reflexologist this morning who also claims to offer nutrition and diet advice. Long story short, it turns out she was diagnosed with RH about 20 years ago by a Kinesiologist. Apparently she went to see her as she was suffering with ME (which I also have) and was diagnosed with RH during the course of her consultation. She's recommended I go and see the same Kinesiologist as they can tell you if you are deficient in certain vitamins and minerals and foods that will/will not spike your bg.

Has anyone heard of these practitioners? Haven't had chance to google it yet but sounds interesting. Apparently this lady took some supplements (including chromium), changed her diet to low GI, macro nutrient rich (?) for two years. She now lives a normal life, no hypos. Still careful with what she eats but can go for long walks without taking a mountain of snacks, eats normal chocolate now and again, has the odd pudding etc with no ill effects.

Actually gave me some hope that we can be "normal" again! Of course, everyone is different. I'm going to see her in a couple of weeks. Was so nice to chat with someone who understands the condition! My GP admitted this week that he knew nothing about RH but "he would have a read about it on the Internet for me". I was a little disheartened after our chat as you can imagine!

My 24 hour urine test results came back today and are normal. Just waiting on the 24 hour heart monitor now.
 
Linagirl said:
I take something called Armour thyroid which is a natural dedicated thyroid tablet made from porcine glands. I was on thyroxine but spent first six years after being diagnosed having panic attacks and swinging from high to low. What I hadn't realised was that as hashimotos kills your thyroid someday you are low and some days you can be high as the destroyed part of the thyroid gland dumps hormone into your blood stream that is why it is soooo hard to get your meds right. Armour contains t3 and t4 whereas thyroxine is t4 only.
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Yeah I'm primary hypothyroid, I'm on levo, I don't know if any others are even available. I follow all the twitter and Facebook posts and heard about armour and natural. I needed to get this diagnosed before asking about other stuff.
One gp suggested panic attacks and if my periods had stopped. I changed dr surgery after that. Are you in the UK?
 
If you want to pm me anytime re your daughter feel free Nosher I am a member of a great thyroid forum
 
Yes I am in the UK. Shropshire. I am a member of a forum for my thyroid problem and there is a group called thyroid patient advocacy www.tpauk.com and they have wonderful information on there and a very caring community forum similar to
This where people share information and ask questions. My armour is prescribed by my GP but that is unusual and I had to work hard at it but it is however possible and they can prescribe it if they want to.
 
That'll be my next task. I didnt even realise you could get armour in this country.
 
Linagirl said:
I take something called Armour thyroid which is a natural dedicated thyroid tablet made from porcine glands. I was on thyroxine but spent first six years after being diagnosed having panic attacks and swinging from high to low. What I hadn't realised was that as hashimotos kills your thyroid someday you are low and some days you can be high as the destroyed part of the thyroid gland dumps hormone into your blood stream that is why it is soooo hard to get your meds right. Armour contains t3 and t4 whereas thyroxine is t4 only.
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Thanks I will let her know!
How's that for learning off each other.

I will let you know what she says.
 
Kaz261 said:
Hi all,
I had an interesting chat with a reflexologist this morning who also claims to offer nutrition and diet advice. Long story short, it turns out she was diagnosed with RH about 20 years ago by a Kinesiologist. Apparently she went to see her as she was suffering with ME (which I also have) and was diagnosed with RH during the course of her consultation. She's recommended I go and see the same Kinesiologist as they can tell you if you are deficient in certain vitamins and minerals and foods that will/will not spike your bg.

Has anyone heard of these practitioners? Haven't had chance to google it yet but sounds interesting. Apparently this lady took some supplements (including chromium), changed her diet to low GI, macro nutrient rich (?) for two years. She now lives a normal life, no hypos. Still careful with what she eats but can go for long walks without taking a mountain of snacks, eats normal chocolate now and again, has the odd pudding etc with no ill effects.

Actually gave me some hope that we can be "normal" again! Of course, everyone is different. I'm going to see her in a couple of weeks. Was so nice to chat with someone who understands the condition! My GP admitted this week that he knew nothing about RH but "he would have a read about it on the Internet for me". I was a little disheartened after our chat as you can imagine!

My 24 hour urine test results came back today and are normal. Just waiting on the 24 hour heart monitor now.
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I am always wary with health care practitioners that believe that their way is the best way and especially if they charge for their advice.
Most of these wouldn't understand RH or most of the blood glucose disorders.
If you are interested and it does help, yeah, why not?
But be wary!
Always ask trick questions to see if they slip up!

Don't be disheartened by your doctor's lack of knowledge, as he hasn't been trained to recognize RH! Many endocrinologist wouldn't know it if it was in front of their face!
There are very few of us and its only been recognised as a health condition of it's own in the last decade or so.
 
Had some yoghurt and berries and have tested after an hour and I am 6.5 but not feeling brilliant at all felt better before I had eaten! Had approximately 100g Greek yoghurt and five raspberries
 
I have had very good experiences with a Kinesiologist, in the past. I believe it was he who spotted my Adrenal Exhaustion and sorted it with nutritional supplements.

In my experience alternative practictioners have much more open minds than any orthodox medical professional, they take better case histories, they read their notes, they ask more intelligent questions and they have ten times the understanding of nutrition and diet.
 
Brunneria said:
I have had very good experiences with a Kinesiologist, in the past. I believe it was he who spotted my Adrenal Exhaustion and sorted it with nutritional supplements.

In my experience alternative practictioners have much more open minds than any orthodox medical professional, they take better case histories, they read their notes, they ask more intelligent questions and they have ten times the understanding of nutrition and diet.
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That's good to hear. Thanks Brun. I might give it a try. Got nothing to lose
 
Feeling shaky again this morning. Didn't check my bg in waking but had 8 almonds when I got up at 7am and good drink of water as usual.

Was starting to feel shaky so checked at 7.45 before breakfast and was 5.3. A little lower than I expected given I'd eaten the almonds.

I've had 125g Greek yogurt, 2 strawberries, 8 blueberries and 25g mixed nuts for breakfast with a milky coffee (half milk, half water) 20 minutes ago and still feel a bit shaky and not right. How long does it take for anyone else to "come good" after a shaking episode?
 
Hmmm 5.3 is not low unless your blood sugar had been very high for some time i.e. 15 either way if you are having a fitting hypo (with me below 2.8 and very symptomatic) then 1 glucose tablet will give a quick rise but needs to be followed with a slice of brown bread.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Blip22 said:
Hmmm 5.3 is not low unless your blood sugar had been very high for some time i.e. 15 either way if you are having a fitting hypo (with me below 2.8 and very symptomatic) then 1 glucose tablet will give a quick rise but needs to be followed with a slice of brown bread.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
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It seems that the rules are different for us RHers.

Technically, a hypo isn't til the low 3s, but RH bodies seem to have different reactions, and our responses are a bit different.

We do hypo, and hypo badly sometimes, down to the 2s, but several of us (including me), often get mild hypo symptoms at around the 5 mark, and can feel dreadful for hours after.

In my case, the more stable I can keep my bg (between 5 and 7 all the time), the milder the reaction, but I am sure that the Reactive Hypo is a different beastie from the Diabetic Hypo.
 
Blip22 said:
Hmmm 5.3 is not low unless your blood sugar had been very high for some time i.e. 15 either way if you are having a fitting hypo (with me below 2.8 and very symptomatic) then 1 glucose tablet will give a quick rise but needs to be followed with a slice of brown bread.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
Click to expand...
Thanks Blip22. I often feel shaky at these levels. Some times I start shaking at 6. I think it's my body's reaction to sharp drop in level. At first I thought it might just be my body getting used to being at a lower level but it's been happening for the last 3-4 months.
 
Kaz261 said:
Feeling shaky again this morning. Didn't check my bg in waking but had 8 almonds when I got up at 7am and good drink of water as usual.

Was starting to feel shaky so checked at 7.45 before breakfast and was 5.3. A little lower than I expected given I'd eaten the almonds.

I've had 125g Greek yogurt, 2 strawberries, 8 blueberries and 25g mixed nuts for breakfast with a milky coffee (half milk, half water) 20 minutes ago and still feel a bit shaky and not right. How long does it take for anyone else to "come good" after a shaking episode?
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If I have a mild one, I can feel better quite quickly, although I am usually more tired that evening.
With a bad one, the knock on aching heavy limbs, emotional misery (black depression) and lack of energy can last up to 3 days.

Ever since going very low carb, I have had much milder ones, and recovered quicker - but that is from mainly staying within the 5-7 range.

Some people on here recommend that we should push the boundaries downwards, gently letting our bodies get used to the lower levels. There is a lot to be said for that.

But I see that (I am only speaking for my body, and my experiences) as perpetuating my body's tendency to a hair-trigger liver dump. And when that happens, my insulin resistance rises for a day or so, and I feel grotty. So I prefer to stay in my comfort zone - which happens naturally with my ketogenic way of eating.
 
Kaz261 said:
Thanks Blip22. I often feel shaky at these levels. Some times I start shaking at 6. I think it's my body's reaction to sharp drop in level. At first I thought it might just be my body getting used to being at a lower level but it's been happening for the last 3-4 months.
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Sharp drops are definitely a trigger - but you need to work out why you have such a sharp drop at certain times, and eat something before it happens. Don't wait for the symptoms to develop.

I am guessing that you get it after rushing round with the kids, in the morning?
In that case, you need to eat something more substantial than a few almonds, so that the food catches you as you drop.
 
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