What's really going wrong? Reactive Hypoglycemia|Insulin Resistance?

[LittleGreyCat]

It was more like a paleo diet. For example, I used to eat

- breakfast: eggs, high fat (healthy-organic) cheese, 15 mixed nuts, tomatos, cucumber for breakfast.
- in the middle: a coffee with full milk (sometimes)
- lunch: a small soup, a portion of meat (with it's own fat), a small side salad or veggies
- a cup of yogurt, one portion of fruit, and sometimes 10-15 nuts if I do exercise on that day (I do exercise 4 times a week mostly)

That looks a pretty reasonable diet.
I assume you checked the soup for not too much carbs and sugar.
Also that the yogurt was full fat.
Double cream in the coffee could give you that high fat lift.

You may be one of those who doesn't react the way most people do to low carbohydrate and high fat.
However unless your portion sizes are huge (like 6 eggs and half a kilo of cheese) it doesn't look like the kind of diet to pile on the fat.

RH can pile the pounds on, by converting blood glucose to fat, but for that to work you would need to be feeding glucose into the blood.

I wonder if your carbohydrate/sugar cravings are the culprit, because as already suggested once you get into the "boom and bust" cycle of RH where your blood sugar crashes and you have to eat sugars to get them back up, then they crash, then you eat sugar........you can pile the pounds on.

Perhaps you have to be really, really harsh with the carbohydrates and try and avoid the highs.
The RH experts will have loads of advice.

 

[ickihun]

When I did low carb-sugar diet, I didn't use metformin. In fact, I didn't even know I had insulin/blood sugar issues. I was just trying to şose weight with that diet. So you mean if I do low carb/sugar diet together with the metformin, I will benefit from it?

Some type2s do. Remember I'm not RH. I know metformin helps with fat cells. Which make IR worse but RH is a different ball game.
I'm just wondering if metformin will give stability with longterm use which RH lacks. I understand.

 

[ickihun]

My doctor said I have RH due to my insulin resistance. He said he prescribed metformin for my insulin resistance. So my insulin would go lower, as a result of that, my blood sugar will rise. So it will help my RH too. This is. My endoc's explanation for why he gives metformin for my case, but I thought exactly what you wrote too.

I like metformin. Used longterm it keeps insulin/glucose balance regular and not excessive.
That has to be a positive thing!

 

[Ecmy]

Protein? Can you explain what you mean by protein won't work?
Are you using protein supplements?

When I say protein, I mean meat, chicken, fish (mostly salmon), eggs. I have never used any protein included supplement.

 

[Ecmy]

Some type2s do. Remember I'm not RH. I know metformin helps with fat cells. Which make IR worse but RH is a different ball game.
I'm just wondering if metformin will give stability with longterm use which RH lacks. I understand.

I wonder if it will work too... I guess I'll only be able to see it clearly in 2-3 months.

 

[Ecmy]

I like metformin. Used longterm it keeps insulin/glucose balance regular and not excessive.
That has to be a positive thing!

Yes definatelly, that sounds like a positive thing. Fingerscrossed - hopegully it will help me too.

 

[Ecmy]

That looks a pretty reasonable diet.
I assume you checked the soup for not too much carbs and sugar.
Also that the yogurt was full fat.
Double cream in the coffee could give you that high fat lift.

You may be one of those who doesn't react the way most people do to low carbohydrate and high fat.
However unless your portion sizes are huge (like 6 eggs and half a kilo of cheese) it doesn't look like the kind of diet to pile on the fat.

RH can pile the pounds on, by converting blood glucose to fat, but for that to work you would need to be feeding glucose into the blood.

I wonder if your carbohydrate/sugar cravings are the culprit, because as already suggested once you get into the "boom and bust" cycle of RH where your blood sugar crashes and you have to eat sugars to get them back up, then they crash, then you eat sugar........you can pile the pounds on.

Perhaps you have to be really, really harsh with the carbohydrates and try and avoid the highs.
The RH experts will have loads of advice.

I always checked if what I was consuming included any sugar. When they had carbs, I made sure these carbs were complex ones (like bulgur or lentil). I have been reading a lot about nutrition and diet, since I was 15, so I believe I didn't go wrong when I tried low carb diet. It still made my complaints worse somehow, and made my weight maintanence/loss harder for sure. It's like a joke. This diet made my sugar-carb cravings better but I gained more weight. I wonder if I am an not a normal human.

When it comes to portions, in first 2-3 weeks of low carb diet, I ate a little bit more of meat, yogurt of veggies, because I paniced I guess. But for the rest of my diet, I believe my portions were pretty normal. Considering I am a 175 cm tall, 25 years old, regularly exercising women; a tomato, 2 eggs, 15 nuts and 50-60 grams of full fat cheese must be a normal portion for breakfast.

What my doctor said, this situation might be affecting my leptin hormone, which makes me store fat/and stop burning fat.

I don't think my sugar and carb cravings are to blame. They are always under my control. I am always pretty conscious about my body, and my will power is mostly under mental control. However there have been times, after fighting with it for 2 years (dieting-exercising-changing the exercise type- checking the sleep routine-trying to control the stress) without a diagnosis; I did punished the situation (and myself probably) by eating a lot of sugar and carbs for last 4-5 months (it was what I made around once a week, not more frequent)

I have been looking up to RH forum, and I am learning many new things. I hope everthing I am and have been doing will mean something together with metformin. Thank you so much for all your advices, I appreciate this a lot!

 

[Lamont D]

I'm weird!
My GP has said I'm weird!
I think I am, because since diagnosis, I've tried my hardest to eat as normal as possible going low carb, for example, reducing my carbs, reducing my plate size, doing a little bit more. It didn't work!
I have experienced and experimented so much that my food diary is my library for what my body can tolerate, and it's not much.
I don't need to eat, so I don't, only when I want to.
It is really weird!

My body would rather I didn't upset the status quo, keeping my blood glucose levels in normal range, so I try to achieve that!
I have been in ketosis for over two years and I have found it helps so much, but at the end of the day, it's your balance of protein, fats and a few carbs you are trying to determine. I fast, when I do eat its a very small meal, a few bites. I have got use to it!

I do believe we have a very rare condition, and the answer is to avoid going out of normal blood glucose levels, to do otherwise is to feel awful.
If you stay in ketosis for a while, your body begins to adjust and you start getting your health back. It has worked for me.

By the way, I know metformin is a good drug and it might work for you, but I was told that it won't help me, because of the side effects, they upset my system. It didn't need to be aggravated any more. Maybe a trial without them.

Test, test, test, record, and test some more.

Your glucometer is your best friend. Trust what it says. If a food is spiking you too much, avoid it!
You must battle your way through this. It's your health!

I'm weird, it's not weird to have problems with certain foods, but, being weird doesn't mean that you can't be healthy, just because your body does weird things with those foods that should be labelled poison.
Because, that is what those foods do.
The hyperinsulinaemia (high levels of insulin) is doing what hemlock, nicotine, arsenic and so on would do to you, slowly poisoning you!
I'm going over the top a little bit but that is how I look at the likes of potatoes, bread etc would do to me!

It took me a long time to get my health back and it was worth it!

RH is a weird condition but you don't have to be weird, I live a normal healthy life, except for what and how I eat!
Anyway, normal is boring!

 

[reactiveh]

Hi ECMY,
I have the EXACT same symptoms as you. The less carbs and sugar I do, the more weight I gain. But since I have reactive hypoglycemia, I get shaky with too much sugar. I'm on Metformin and have noticed it helping with my hypoglycemia but has not helped with the weight gain part. Have you had any luck figuring out what helps? It's so discouraging. I'd love to hear if anything has worked for you.

 

[Lamont D]

Hi ECMY,
I have the EXACT same symptoms as you. The less carbs and sugar I do, the more weight I gain. But since I have reactive hypoglycemia, I get shaky with too much sugar. I'm on Metformin and have noticed it helping with my hypoglycemia but has not helped with the weight gain part. Have you had any luck figuring out what helps? It's so discouraging. I'd love to hear if anything has worked for you.

Hi @reactiveh
I have always had a weight issue with and before diagnosis.
The oh thing that helps with either trying to lose or keep at my weight is fasting and cutting out the amount of food I need or want.
We have to be careful about how much carbs we eat, in fact doing without them as much as possible might help but it's how much we do eat that is a constant source of glucose we don't really need. We are different in many ways, but not eating or very little seems to really help.
As you say, you have already cut down on carbs, can you reduce the amount even more?
Small bites throughout the day.
Intermittent fasting really helps me.

Stay away from the sugar.
Stay away from carbs.
They trigger the symptoms you mention.

Please do read the threads on the forum.
There is some great information.
Ask any questions, we will try and help you understand what and why you are getting the symptoms.

Best wishes.