Hypoglycemia

[katgirl55]

I have only measured once and it was 70. Not sure that's really even low but I had the symptoms. Eating always cures it.

[roundcoconut]

I just wanted to pop back to this thread and see if everyone here has read Jeff Novick's thread on "Is it Dangerous to Skip Meals?"

In that thread, he makes the excellent point, that people commonly and regularly go eight hours without a meal -- it is called "sleep". And no one I have ever known, wakes up four hours into their nighttime sleep shaking with the need to eat some food immediately.

So what's going on?

Is this because people do not have a caffeine crash during their sleep? Or was it the aftermath of eating some type of highly processed food? Or is it the body's deep and anxious expectation of food that is expressing itself as a shaking and sweating weakness?

I don't know the answers, but it does seem to me that we are told so vehemently that we must eat frequently and richly, and then what people experience seems to ring true with what they were told to expect.

The thread I mentioned is here: viewtopic.php?f=22&t=15151&hilit=Dangerous+meal

So I don't know if this is useful to anyone, but I do think it's a good place to start, because there's a TON of fear-mongering about needing to "eat enough" even when we see that we are a society of tremendous excess not deficiency. It is a good topic, so I'm glad someone brought this up!

[katgirl55]

Hi roundcoconut,

From what I know via my partner's diabetes education, the liver secretes glucose when we wake in the morning to fuel our ability to wake up and get food. My partner would fall asleep with a sugar reading lower than the one first thing in the morning so the doctor needed to explain how that is possible with no food being eaten overnight. I am no doctor, but I also think the states of our hormones during sleep are different from waking hours. My partner has waken during the night with low readings and feeling sick, usually because she took too much insulin and did not eat enough at dinner. In her case, if she doesn't eat she could die. In my case, this has never happened to me and I am not convinced I would perish even if I don't eat, but it sure feels uncomfortable for a while.

For someone who is healthy, with no diabetes/insulin/hypoglycemia issues, I agree that skipping meals is fine. For example - at True North they do supervised water fasts for several days at a time. Physical symptoms of hypoglycemia are a much different thing than the emotional turmoil of not eating hyperpalatable food or feeling full all of the time. My only analogy is someone quitting pot versus someone quitting opioids. Pot would cause emotional withdrawals but opioids cause physical withdrawals.

[Lyndzie]

Did anyone come to a conclusion here? I ask because when this thread was originally posted I had had two days in a row of what I refer to as "the wooziness." About two hours after eating breakfast, I felt light headed, an immediate desire to eat, mental fog and irratibility. It went away, and then resurfaced this morning. It hasn't gotten much better with eating. I also have no major health issues, eat WFPBNO, and slim. Any ideas?

[Oatsandbeans]

I am still dealing with this issue. I have been 100% compliant and also SOS free. If I get enough food I feel better but don't have much of an appetite without salt. I try to eat a bowl of rice before bedtime so that I don't wake up 4 hours later in a hyper state. I have to say that when I ate the SAD I didn't notice this as much. My family keeps telling me that I am causing this condition with my crazy diet. I just want to be be as healthy as possible with no low blood sugar. Maybe this WOE is not for everyone.

[Helpinghands]

Before a fix can be found you have to define the problem. Do you both really have low blood sugar, OR do you simply have what you THINK is low blood sugar? The only way of determining this is to buy or borrow a meter and find out whether your blood sugar is actually low when the symptoms occur. I've seen real diabetic who don't control their insulin injections to match their carb intake have some serious low blood sugar problems. But neither of you are insulin dependent diabetics.

[Oatsandbeans]

I did purchase a blood sugar meter. And I've tested my blood sugar for days at a time. It never goes very high even two hours after a meal. I have never registered a blood sugar over 120. My lowest rating has been 58. What really bothers me is when it's on the 80s and then 60s an hour later. I have tried every type of diet imaginable. I probably feel better on the standard American diet; it's almost like it's giving me something that I'm not getting on a healthy diet. But of course then I have all the health problems associated with a SAD diet; such as weight gain bloating constipation hormonal issues etc. I just want be healthy but also want to feel healthy as well.

[GeoffreyLevens]

And no one I have ever known, wakes up four hours into their nighttime sleep shaking with the need to eat some food immediately.

I did not know her personally but friend's patient would wake up every single night about 2 a.m. in a cold sweat panic and stagger into the kitchen out of control and just cram every sweet thing there in her mouth. They hooked her up to a 24 hour, continuous blood glucose monitor. Turned out her bg was "crashing" from near 400 to around 300, in about 1/2 an hour, just before she would wake up like that.

It was not low blood sugar. It was the sudden change in blood sugar that was causing the reaction even though still far into diabetic high range.

[Helpinghands]

I am or was a type 2 depending on how you determine those things. My morning fasting runs mostly in the low 80's and once in awhile moves to 90 since being on The Starch Solution. On an odd day or two every month it dips to the 60's. My A1C is 5.2 and most people including my doctor would say I'm no longer diabetic. However, my glucose 30 minutes after a 300 gram oat grouts/rice milk and berry meal hits 180. Two hours later it'll drop 90 points to 90 and then will bounce between 78 and 92 for the next couple of hours. Two years ago when I did a 40 day water only fast my blood sugar after the first two weeks ran 38 to 52 right up until day 40. Never in all these wild jumps moving 90 point in two hours every morning or holding 38/52 during my water only fast did I have anything that could be characterized as low blood sugar symptoms. There is no question something is wrong with you, but I have doubts it's low blood sugar. And yes, I understand that eating fixes at least for some period the problem. A good internist might be able to figure out exactly what is happening. I doubt you'll find the answer on this or any other board.

[landog]

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=15151

SactoBob!

Thanks for digging that one up - really good read!

[Lyndzie]

This has been a really enlightening thread! I've switched to steel cut oats, and am no longer getting light-headed and ravenous a couple hours later. It's amazing how it'll keep me full for hours, when oatmeal would leave me hungry pretty quickly, even the old fashioned kind. The idea about a quick blood sugar drop causing the symptoms makes a lot of sense. I'm not diabetic, and have never had my blood sugar measured, so I'm just going on how I feel and what other people attribute that to. Thanks for starting this thread!