Was this a Hypo?

Hi,

Serious question.. Are you sure no one has just "spiked" your drink??

Have a look at the hypo information here:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/Diabetes-and-Hypoglycaemia.html

But I think the only way you could know for sure if it was actually a hypo would have been to test your glucose levels at the time.

Robbity

Hi again,

It's also worth noting, undiagnosed diabetes causes high blood sugar levels till treated by the doctor with prescription medication.
So, diabetes by it own destructive nature alone without some sort of medication will not cause hypoglycaemia...

lovinglife said:

Hi,
Are you T1 or T2?

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This thread by the OP may clarify??

Forgot to add link.. http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/is-it-possible-to-be-tested-too-early-please-help.101531/

@himtoo @tim2000s @Juicyj with respect. chop some sense into this...?

No. Undiagnosed diabetics do not have hypos. They have high blood sugar, which is the opposite. Hypos with noticeable symptoms to the extent you describe will only occur for diabetics if they are on insulin or other blood sugar lowering medication.

Perhaps it was an anxiety or stress reaction? Perhaps there was something in the drink?

OK,

Coming back into this... You mentioned in the other thread you take "sertraline". It is possible you "spiked" your own drink??
This medication don't work with alcohol by all acounts....

More info on "drink spiking" here... http://ie.reachout.com/inform-yourself/alcohol-drugs-and-addiction/alcohol/drink-spiking/

Could it have been a panic attack?

As Jaylee suggests, maybe there was some reaction with your meds? If people have undiagnosed diabetes, they don't have hypos - quite the opposite, in fact.

I understand you've had some tests for diabetes before which were negative. I hope your visit to the Endo goes well and you get some answers and some reassurance.

Do let us know what she/he says

Ljf123 said:

Hi guys.
This has never happened before and I've been on sertraline for four years now and I'm now on a lower dosage than what I was on the last time I had a drink. I also know it wasn't a panic attack as when I have had those, all the air gets completely knocked out of me and I hit the floor and try and suck in as much air as possible.

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It's safe to say at this moment in time. You can discount a hypo.

Ljf123 said:

Hi guys.
This has never happened before and I've been on sertraline for four years now and I'm now on a lower dosage than what I was on the last time I had a drink. I also know it wasn't a panic attack as when I have had those, all the air gets completely knocked out of me and I hit the floor and try and suck in as much air as possible.

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Perhaps you were just sickening for something then? Or it was a bit of a dodgy cocktail : D

If you're really concerned about this, perhaps you could speak to your surgery for reassurance, especially as you're on meds that might interact/not agree with alcohol.

Let us know how your consultant appointment goes on Friday : )

if you are on sertraline then alcohol would interact with it. I was on that drug for a short time and it didn't agree with me and I had a lot of anxiety attacks. It could be what you were experiencing after you had your drink. I remember sweating and hanging on to things feeling like I might die. My docs had to take me off that. It took a full week for that drug to leave my system and for me to stop having the shakes. You must be doing ok on the drug, but alcohol would change the effect of it. I'm not sure it would've been a diabetic reaction you were having. Then again if anything it would've spiked your sugar levels as it is a sugary drink. That perhaps also contributed to how you were feeling to. But I suspect the likelihood of the medication you take would be the main cause for the reaction you had. It's a good idea to speak with your doc.

Ljf123 said:

The other day I went out for dinner and decided that I would try a cocktail. I have had them before but not while I've been experiencing symptoms of possible diabetes or something else. I got a Pina Colada since why I like them and I regretted it. For about an hour or so I felt my heart was going to rip out of my chest it was going so fast, I had shortness of breath and the restaurant was a little warm which wasn't helping and just made feel tired. I also felt dizzy, as when I went outside I was wobbling and felt like I couldn't walk properly. I then started shaking and my dad told me I lost my colour (I'm pale anyway so I must have looked bad)he said I was warm though when he checked my forehead. I ended up sitting outside drinking ice water, thinking this was never going to end, it took about an hour for this to go.

What happened? I had one drink. I've tried looking this up but it always talks about excessive alcohol consumption, whereas I only had one. It really scared me and since then I have had what has felt like a milder version. I'm seeing an Endocrinologist on Friday and I will bring it up but I'm scared they are going to tell me I'm fine.

Has anyone else had this experience?
Thanks,

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Ljf123 - You've clearly has an unsettling episode which is tricky to understand, looking back.

We could all speculate for a long time as you have a few things "in play" at the moment - existing medication, investigations for a potentially new condition, plus, quite naturally, you will feel a little more anxious generally at the moment, having had this episode.

In your shoes, bearing in mind you have a specialist appointment next week, I would stay away from alcohol/cocktails until I'd had the chance to discuss the episode with the Endo and heard his views at least. If he/she can't throw any light on what happened (and personally, I wouldn't have much hope he/she will know), then I would monitor myself for a while, and maybe repeat the Pina Colada and see what happens. I'd make sure I had the Pina Colada in company though, just so that if you did suffer any ill effects someone would be there to help you, if necessary.

Any of us can have a funny turn for no serious medical reason - it might be heat, having a drink on an empty stomach, a dodgy cocktail, a dirty glass, maybe you were plain old hungry or dehydrated. There are just so many potentials.

It it recurs, then a chat with your GP to look at your medical "bigger picture" could be useful. I hope you don't need that.

Any update @Ljf123 ? I hope you got some answers from your Endo appointment in Friday.

catapillar said:

No. Undiagnosed diabetics do not have hypos. They have high blood sugar, which is the opposite. Hypos with noticeable symptoms to the extent you describe will only occur for diabetics if they are on insulin or other blood sugar lowering medication.

Perhaps it was an anxiety or stress reaction? Perhaps there was something in the drink?

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I've heard of several lada's (adult type 1) diabetics that experienced series of hypoglycemia years before diagnosis. Also my doctor told me about previous reactive hypoglycemics that had ended up as insulin dependent diabetics after years of being hypo.

Also I have a friend that had both hypos and hypers for years, his blood sugar were a mess, and last year he were diagnosed as type 1. I even have a familymember with lada that experience both loads of hypers and hypos, and that long before insulin treatment got necressary.

So you clearly don't have to be on insulin or medications for getting hypos, I have several hypos each month (even had a few really bad episodes and the symptoms gets very noticeable) , and that's because of my reactive hypoglycemia (and it has nothing to do with taking insulin shots or medications for me).

Yes all diabetics have high blood sugar at the point of diagnosis, but that does not mean that none of them experiences hypos before the point of diagnosis.

catapillar said:

No. Undiagnosed diabetics do not have hypos. They have high blood sugar, which is the opposite. Hypos with noticeable symptoms to the extent you describe will only occur for diabetics if they are on insulin or other blood sugar lowering medication.

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That may be correct for diabetics, but is @Ljf123 a diabetic? Hypos are common among people with IGT (impaired glucose tolerance). Jeff O'Connell in his book, Sugar Nation wrote a whole chapter on reactive hypoglycaemia in prediabetics (including himself). One issue he researched is that the medical profession is sceptical of the clinical importance of hypos.

I've been getting drowsy after meals for years, intermittently. Last week, I had a rare scary moment of trembling and dizziness. That is something I experience no more than, say, once a year. My condition is delayed insulin response at mealtimes. This causes glucose to rise too high. The defect is likely in the first phase response. Hypos can be a consequence of delayed first phase response. I have IGT to a degree, but it may be subclinical. But even then, it's a dysglycaemia.

I suffered with hypoglycaemia for years then eight months ago my sugar went to 24 and was diagnosed lada 1.5 .

Ljf123 said:

I forgot to reply, but I went to the Endo and I got nowhere. All they said is that I don't have an autoimmune disease. I told the doctor about this incident and he just brushed it off which annoyed me to no end. They are doing some more tests but I'm not holding out much hope. The pain in my upper abdomen where the ribs end was getting worse and when I asked about it because it was keeping me up at night, they didn't do anything. Anyway I have a scan for that next week.

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Ok, so it sounds like they did a blood test to look for antibodies then? Well, that's goodness if you didn't have any

As for your incident. Did you ask whether it could be your medication? I know you've said you've been fine before, but sometimes other things are going on and we can react to things that woukdnt affect us normally. Also, did you drink on an empty stomach? How much had you eaten that day? Some people do do better on regular meals and snacks (if you don't eat like that already).

I hope your scan goes well and you find out what's causing your abdominal pain. Do let us know the outcome of that.