Help with hypoglycemia?

Question

I am 21 years old, 5'9", 125 pounds. I began suffering from pretty significant episodes of hypoglycemia about 6 weeks ago after getting kind of dehydrated while rollerblading. I didn't drink any soda for about 2 days because I was drinking so much water and just didn't want anything sweet. The problems began when I tried to drink a Powerade. I went to the doctor and he confirmed with several tests that I was having issues with my blood sugar levels, but he wasn't sure what the cause was. He said it could be anything from my poor diet (6-18 sodas a day) to hormone problems to a tumor and referred me to a specialist who was scheduling appointments about a month in advance. He said in the meantime to keep trying to avoid sugar. I am still having problems frequently and if anything, they seem to be getting worse. What should I do until I can see the specialist and hopefully find out what the problem is and fix it.

Hopefully, this is just a result of years of poor diet and nothing more serious, but it is really causing problems for me at work. I am a retail manager and that is fairly demanding at this time of year, physically and mentally. I lost between 10 and 15 pounds in a few weeks before this all started (I had lost about 25 pounds in about 6 weeks about a year before but didn’t get terribly concerned about it and never went to the doctor). Now I am extremely tired and weak all the time and have some mid to upper abdominal discomfort-I definitely would not classify it as pain, though. I am having a lot of memory problems and I get dizzy, distracted, and moody. Sometimes I get pretty confused and start acting strange-almost like I am drunk. With the schedule I have, eating small frequent meals/snacks is very difficult, even though my boss is very understanding. My doctor doesn’t really seem to have many suggestions and I don’t go to the endocrinologist until the end of the week.

I am totally addicted to caffeine and have had problems in the past when trying to reduce the number of sodas I drank, but I have switched to diet soda so the caffeine thing is not an issue.

Yes I do meet all three criteria, my doctor was was pretty sure about the hypoglycemia, just not about the cause. I am still tending to overcorrect when I get low which leads to more problems. As for the weight loss, I figured it was a combination of stress and increased physical activity-it was around the time I started my current job. I managed to gain back about 10 pounds but have recently dropped back down to about what I was at before. I seem to drop sharply after most meals/snacks even though I have severely restricted my sugar intake. It seems to even out hours later, but then it will drop again if I wait too long to eat again. I wondered if it was some sort of withdrawal from sugar for a while but 5 weeks seems a bit long to me although I don't have much experience in that area.

Answer 1

Until you can see the specialist, there is much you can do with your diet to improve how you feel.

First, cut down on the carbs. Drink diet drinks , although at first it is hard, you become accustomed to the taste and then don't care to go back. I am not saying cut the carbs out, but read the labels. Keep your carb calories to 30-40% of your diet.

Second, pay attention to your protein intake. Try to get 40% of your calories from proteins. Carbs raise your blood sugars quickly, but then cause a sharp drop in your blood sugars, while proteins raise your blood sugar a little slower, but holds it at a more steady level.

Third, eat more often. You should have a nutritious snack about every 2 hr. Peanuts, peanut butter and crackers, cheese or cheese and crackers are simple snacks that are very effective.

If all those sodas have caffeine, then you are getting a load of caffeine. It would be hard to cut that much out at once, but maybe starting to cut the caffeine slowly, such as every third drink could be caffeine free for a while then every other drink, etc.

Second

Answer 2

Ur condition warrants urgent meeting with a spcialist. I think u live in a country where u cannot meet spcialists when u want and have to wait. That should be USA. Hypoglycemia is opposite of hyperglycemia. If not treated well and attended to immediately, u may die of stroke. The symptoms are excessive sweating, pounding of heart, thirsty, extreme hunger.

In case u cannot meet a spcialist in USA, Please come to India, It costs u nothing, there are excellent hospitols (better than USA) Surprising check this there are medical tourisims being promoted from ur country and Europe. There are hundreds of spcialists in diabetes who charge nothing compared to USA. For more details, contact [e-mail]. First class and satisfied treatment assured.

Answer 3

I too have hypo and eating right well I have never done it, but I would think diet soda's are fine but when you are feeling out of sorts drink a regular full sugar soda but only about half of it, this will bring your levels back up. I developed hypo in my 30's . If I can answer any more questions please IM me I have tryed to IM you with no answer. Good Luck

Answer 4

How about getting your self a glucometer and some instruction to measure your own Glucose levels.
When you start realizing what you do to your self and how you influence you glucose level with your diet, you will be more careful.
you may want to read up on complications from Diabetes and hypoglycemia, like coma.

Try to keep documentary on your glucose levels and on your diet for the Doctor you will see. Saves time.

Answer 5

listen to me now
loss of weight + hypoglycemia=internal MALIGNANCY OK?,
IF WHAT YOU SAY IS TRUE (LOSING 25 LB IN 6 WEEKS).
You better talk to your doctor more seriously & ask im to explain the loss of weight as hypoglycemia does not cause loss of weight.
also poor dieting does NOT cause hypoglycemia ( r u kidding?).
what are your symptomesof hypoglycemia anyway
to diagose hypoglycemia you need to have !)neurologic symptomes plus
2) low blod suger below 40 mg/dl plus
3) quick response to suger load.
did you have all 3 chriteria?

Answer 6

Try increasing you intake of proteins and natural fats. Remember carbohydrates tern into sugar fast, so cut back on them. And try to cut back on the diet pop.

Answer 7

Go to your doctor and ask to be referred to a dietician. This can be controlled by diet in the main.

Answer 8

http://www.medicinenet.com/hypoglycemia/article.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amine_group