Thanks ever so much for all the replies. I feel like I have been like it for a number of years but I always put it down to being exhausted with two young children who didn’t sleep, but now they sleep and I really just don’t feel any better.
I’m currently having to eat every 2/3 hours. Any snack suggestions are very welcomed please. Trying to follow a low carb diet, but every day is so different and I’m struggling to recognise any patterns. I’m worried I may be diabetic later on in life and this is just the beginning. I am 27 years old.
Thanks xx
Hi
@Tara2401 and welcome to the forum.
Knowing what your hypo level is, can be a personal thing as everyone has there own personal experience of a hypoglycaemic episode from around normal levels to go as low as 2mmols. Everyone has different symptoms, everyone has different responses to food and quantities of food wether carbs or protein and fats will be a factor. That is why a food diary is a must!
RH can be termed as a carb intolerance, so, your actual response to food which are carb laden will always trigger a response. A food diary will give you the results of the response to your meals.
If like me, I'm so intolerant to any carbs, that I have found that avoiding them totally gives me greater control of my blood sugar levels. Which is where you do need to be, if you do have RH.
Your eOGTT results are similar to mine, a true hypo according to my endocrinologist is below 3.5 and I find it irresponsible to allow you to go below 3mmols. Was an endocrinologist in charge of the test?
The reason you bounced back was because your brain needed glucose and your liver provided, but because of the high levels of insulin, it probably took some time to respond.
If you have RH, the insulin response after food is very weak, so you get a spike of glucose, as the glucose levels rise, your pancreas delivers insulin to counter the glucose, this is called an overshoot, this drives blood sugar levels down into hypo levels, and then your liver responds because of the low glucose, and your blood sugar levels bounce around, this gives you the symptoms.
You have hypers and hypos. Your fasting levels are in normal levels, like mine, but because I don't have carbs, I don't bounce around at all. I'm in control!
If you think about it, your fasting levels are in normal levels, if you don't eat, they will stay there if you have RH! Only food or drink will cause the reactive part of the condition. Having normal blood sugar levels will help you with control, lesser symptoms, better health and a better life, I work full time in a demanding job and I couldn't do it without control.
The mixed meal test is because of the amount of carbs and protein in that mixture and your response to it! It is not necessarily a definitive diagnosis but helps understand what is going on. Try and keep a record of what your blood sugar levels are during the test.
Ok, what you need to realise is the condition can be controlled and you don't have to suffer the symptoms, as you begin to find out what foods are causing this. There is no magic pill or cure that can correct the reactive hypoglycaemia. Just control, I myself have not had a hypoglycaemic episode in over four years now.
The reason for the meal every three hours is to prevent hypos, but if you don't trigger the hyper because of the carbs, then you won't go hypo.
No carbs, no hypers, no hypos!
I would advise a very low carb diet and discover which foods you are intolerant to!
I would say that most doctors, nurses and any medical advice is usually based on nhs advice for Hypoglycaemia, and doesn't take intolerance into account. You need a specialist endocrinologist who has experience with Hypoglycaemia. And even then, most will advise complex carbs or healthy carbs, but for us RH ers healthy carbs are almost certainly not good for our health.
Finally snacks, there is a list of low carb ideas in the low carb forum. But if you continually snack, you could be eating too much, it's a balancing act, small low carb meals are usually better, a small salad, some full fat Greek yoghurt with a few berries, a piece of meat, some vegetables, nuts, any bite that won't trigger the hyper will be better, than snacking all the time.
There is a lot of great information in our forum from many RH ers. Have a read, and again welcome to the forum.
Let us know how you get on.
Best wishes