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Reactive Hypoglycaemia

I wonder if anyone has a similar problem to myself .
Background ,I have been a type 1 insulin diabetic for 53 years .,have been through most of things you discuss ,but am having major problems with the new ,Life Scan be test meters ,both the Vario and the Vario I Q . Insert strip and applying blood ,being very careful and gentle only about 30 percent of test are successful ,often have to try 7times until I get a good reading .I have had to revert to my old ,trusted Life Scan Ultra easy meter enabling me to control my B G. The down side of this is that Life Scan inform me that soon this year they will stop issuing this equipment ,Has this happened to anyone else

Hi and welcome @Wjohn

I think you might get more response if you posted your questions in the Type 1 section of the forum, or in the General Discussion section of the forum. More people will see it, and hopefully someone with experience of Vario meters will see your questions and help out. :)
 
Hi @sharron80 I never heard of insulinoma before my appointment at the hospital. Its the same symptoms as rh only insulin keeps being produced regardless of eating. I think that's what the 72 hour fast is for. If you stay ok its rh as you haven't eaten. But if you get lower and lower its probably a pancreas problem. Ask your dr as its more serious than rh. And never get as low as 2. Is this right @nosher8355? I'll post a link http://www.insulinoma.co.uk/page16.php

Yes you are right!
There are different types of RH.
Insulinoma is one of them, if you look at Wikipedia, you will see that benign tumours effect insulin production, that you have in abundance, therefore the hypos and weight gain.
Low carbing is the best treatment, and yes have a word with your doctor's.
 
Thanks @Wendolph that is a very informative link.

I don't know enough about insulinomas to comment about their dietary advice, but saying that people with RH usually lose weight is not bourne out by my and @nosher8355 's experiences. Although to be fair, I was having RH hypos looooooooong before I gained weight, so maybe they are assuming that RH will be picked up fairly early...

I'm not convinced either!
The dietary advice is just the same as NICE recommendations.
Which as you know will not do much to alleviate symptoms.
If you are having hypos because of increased insulin (which the website says is toxic!!!!) Why give your pancreas more carbs to produce more?????!!!
That is illogical!

But there is some good advice on there.
And I've just gained more knowledge about another form of RH.
 
@nosher I was so pleased I let him do his talking first and look at my home test results and then I brought it up and he agreed straight away! He knew what I was talking about. The only bad advice was he said eat a couple of chocolate bars if im low. Lol i said even one would spike and drop me again. I saw the dietitian straight away and she said liw gi but i explained about high carb and she said yes, small often but don't cut them out completely and eat complex proteins like nuts at the same time so it works steadily. Its all a case of testing. Unfortunately the hours i work mean 4&1/2 hours without food. I think the most annoying thing for me is my initial head spins are at 4.6 and even 7! Maybe I'm feeling the drop. I'm just so aware when its happening.
During the break from food you mentioned, just have a nine bar or a biscuit or a piece of fruit or a piece of meat or protein like nuts, just to keep you going or a coffee drink with full cream.
What I'm saying is once you start eating in the morning you have to keep a steady eating pattern that doesn't leave a big gap of more than a couple of hours, just top up with a bite, that will do!
It's really good when you finally get diagnosed, and your battles have been worth the effort.
You now need to get healthy again! And the realisation of our unique condition!
Someone who unusual we go through!
 
Hi @nosher8355 unfortunately I can't. I have breakfast take kids to school drive to work eat a fruit or protein bar (used to have breakfast bar) work 10-2 no break, eat fruit or protein bar on way home get kids cook dinner etc etc. As its a 4 hour shift i get no break and not aloud food on shop floor, far from staff room. If it becomes a problem I'll mention it to the manager. The breakfast bar obviously shot my sugar up and i feel the drop.
 
Hi @nosher8355 unfortunately I can't. I have breakfast take kids to school drive to work eat a fruit or protein bar (used to have breakfast bar) work 10-2 no break, eat fruit or protein bar on way home get kids cook dinner etc etc. As its a 4 hour shift i get no break and not aloud food on shop floor, far from staff room. If it becomes a problem I'll mention it to the manager. The breakfast bar obviously shot my sugar up and i feel the drop.

Yes you should have a word, If you could show him a print out of the condition, I'm sure, that something could be arranged. You should be able to take a comfort break, why not combine it with a small bite of something.
I had to explain it to my manager and chairman. We have a dietary advice consultant and he backed me so well. My manager agrees with me about little and often.
It is a fact that hypos whilst driving is dangerous and because you have to eat regularly, it would be illogical for your bosses, not to let you have that something.
 
Wow!
Did the docs give you an explanation of why your fasting test gave you hypos?
As mine didn't!

No, they tried to give me a very jumbled explanation that my insulin levels were not what they should be for the sugar level! They told me that the bloods from the 72 hour starve had to be sent off for culture tests, the results took about 4 months to come back!... Then they started looking for tumours, I've had CT scans and a barium meal, thankfully all came back clear.

I've found out more from here than I have in the past years going to and from the hospital, and I thought I had a very good consultant!! So thank you all
 
Hi @nosher8355 unfortunately I can't. I have breakfast take kids to school drive to work eat a fruit or protein bar (used to have breakfast bar) work 10-2 no break, eat fruit or protein bar on way home get kids cook dinner etc etc. As its a 4 hour shift i get no break and not aloud food on shop floor, far from staff room. If it becomes a problem I'll mention it to the manager. The breakfast bar obviously shot my sugar up and i feel the drop.

Hi Wendolph, you should ask your consultant for a letter for your employer, it's dangerous that they are not allowing you a brief break. I am not entitled to a lunch break as I work around the school run too, but I just couldn't go for that length of time without eating.

I sympathise, you must be really low by the time you're back home after the school run.
 
Thanks @sharon80 and @nosher8355 I will tell my manager especially as if I do hypo they’ll need to know. I don't think I'm as bad as you all on here. Sometimes I drop to 4.4. im looking forward to the tests to see what they tell me, ive had this since my teenage years but only hypo a few times a year however when I do it will keep happening that day and for the next couple of weeks. But recently i feel the slightest change in my blood wether thats because I know what it is or im so used to concentrating on symptoms for drs trying to diagnose this. Sometimes my blood drops to 4.4 then rises to 5.3 then drops, if i keep leaving it then I get lower ie 3.8 the lowest I've recorded is 3.3 but I know I've felt worse.
 
Thanks @sharon80 and @nosher8355 I will tell my manager especially as if I do hypo they’ll need to know. I don't think I'm as bad as you all on here. Sometimes I drop to 4.4. im looking forward to the tests to see what they tell me, ive had this since my teenage years but only hypo a few times a year however when I do it will keep happening that day and for the next couple of weeks. But recently i feel the slightest change in my blood wether thats because I know what it is or im so used to concentrating on symptoms for drs trying to diagnose this. Sometimes my blood drops to 4.4 then rises to 5.3 then drops, if i keep leaving it then I get lower ie 3.8 the lowest I've recorded is 3.3 but I know I've felt worse.

Hope they get you sorted soon And do speak to your manager, they have a duty of care. Good luck
 
Hi Guys,
When one knows how long after eating an hypo occurs it would seem prudent to check regularly at this time to make sure our control gives an high enough B.G. say 4.5 or so? This will indirectly indicate if we have blown our carb budget.
regards
Derek
 
No, they tried to give me a very jumbled explanation that my insulin levels were not what they should be for the sugar level! They told me that the bloods from the 72 hour starve had to be sent off for culture tests, the results took about 4 months to come back!... Then they started looking for tumours, I've had CT scans and a barium meal, thankfully all came back clear.

I've found out more from here than I have in the past years going to and from the hospital, and I thought I had a very good consultant!! So thank you all

That is very muddled explanation!:confused:
How if you are non diabetic have high blood glucose levels or a high hba1c level?:eek:
I had the blood culture malarkey and they came back normal.;)
That's good for being weird, ain't it?:rolleyes:
I'm glad that as yet they have only found RH, :cool:
 
Hi Guys,
When one knows how long after eating an hypo occurs it would seem prudent to check regularly at this time to make sure our control gives an high enough B.G. say 4.5 or so? This will indirectly indicate if we have blown our carb budget.
regards
Derek

By my own experience, I can go up to at least three hours before I start feeling something, but I won't go that far, I plan for something to eat every 2-3 hours.

Unless I'm on a fasting day!
 
Hi Nosher,
Yes, your spot on, our individual responses will be very different. It is absolutely essential we all have meters to map out our post prandial responses.
regards
Derek
 
Just a quickie to say I'm back (having finished moving house). Still got a full plate of things to do so will only be popping in randomly over the next week or so.

Had my Diabetic Clinic last week, nurse was pleasant but ignorant of RH. Didn't know much about low carbing, but was happy with weight loss, kept on saying I should eat carbs in moderation. I thought yeah I am, 20g - 30g a day enough for you? She wasn't happy with me using a meter. I thought I'd better keep it in my bag or she'll confiscate it :nailbiting:
HbA1c 43
Cholesterol 4.6

So am I right in thinking whilst in Ketosis it doesn't really matter that much about what Cholesterol fats I consume because they'll either be used up or crapped out. So in theory I should see my Cholesterol lower over time?
 
Just a quickie to say I'm back (having finished moving house). Still got a full plate of things to do so will only be popping in randomly over the next week or so.

Had my Diabetic Clinic last week, nurse was pleasant but ignorant of RH. Didn't know much about low carbing, but was happy with weight loss, kept on saying I should eat carbs in moderation. I thought yeah I am, 20g - 30g a day enough for you? She wasn't happy with me using a meter. I thought I'd better keep it in my bag or she'll confiscate it :nailbiting:
HbA1c 43
Cholesterol 4.6

So am I right in thinking whilst in Ketosis it doesn't really matter that much about what Cholesterol fats I consume because they'll either be used up or crapped out. So in theory I should see my Cholesterol lower over time?

Hi,

There is lots of conflicting 'evidence' on cholesterol, so you will find many, many different perspectives.
More recent evidence points to dietary cholesterol having little or no impact on serum cholesterol, and even if it did, cholesterol is no longer considered to be a marker of potential heart disease.
http://www.zoeharcombe.com/the-knowledge/we-have-got-cholesterol-completely-wrong/

having said all that, my personal experience of cholesterol and very low carb is that while my overall chol has risen (by 0.2 chol units, whatever they are), by trigs (the baddies) have dropped, and my HDL (the goody) has risen. And that is on a diet fuelled mainly by cream in coffee and on berries, masses of cheese in cooking, and enough saturated fat on red meat to give an old fashioned heart surgeon a heart attack himself.

I don't think I have ever passed fat. I think I would have noticed. But fat doesn't cause me weight gain any more - not since I dropped my carbs low enough. And I have masses more stamina than when I was a glucose burner.

So I think of it as all good. ;)

Ed for sense.
 
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