Low blood sugar

[Steph_D]

Here lately my blood sugar has been jumping up and down like crazy. It gets low a lot, so I've been watching it pretty regularly. I'm wondering how to get it to stay somewhat even. Today it's been anywhere between 28 and 148. I've been eating/snacking all day, trying to regulate it a little, but it still jumps. Is this normal? How can I help to even it out a little? I can eat something and an hour later it's down to 28, so I snack again. I'm going to get fat if this keeps up.

: Or am I just over reacting here? I'm sure some of you know more about this than I've been told.

I'm waiting on a medical card to come in the mail. As soon as it does (it pays our doc bills for us and they take it out of hubby's check), I'm heading straight to the doctor for a full check up :bgrin

 

[Scoopiedoo]

Orange juice!!!

 

[Marty]

Don't wait much longer.

I bottomed out here last fall and the ambulance had to haul me off to the ER. My levels were all outta wack. I had absolutely no pottasium in my system at all either and my suger was insane. I had to have IV's and pills and it was nasty. IF that card doesn't come real quick, you need to get in to the doctor anyhow quickly ok? This is important stuff if you get any worse, you are going to be in the ER too so try not to wait on this.

 

[lyn_j]

[SIZE=14pt]Steph if you are hypoglycemic ( low sugar) and you eat sweets , your body produces more insulin than it needs to digest and metabolize that so the left over insulin eats up the sugar that is in your blood and it lowers it. It is like a yo yo . You need to eat low-glycemic food, fruit, cheese, nuts. these will stabilize the sugar. The more sweets you eat the more you will fluctuate. A hypoglycemic person needs to eat the same way a diabetic does. frequent small, low complex carb meals, lots of protein.... peanut butter and crackers is a good one. Thing of this as a boomerang when you eat sugar or starchy carbs which metabolize into sugar your insulin production spikes and then when it has digested all that it grabs your blood sugar and you bottom out. does that make sense to you?[/SIZE]

Lyn

 

[CyndiM]

Steph, Lyn and Marty are right. I am always watching the lows. It can be life threatning to be too low. You can slip into a coma.

Look gylcemic food index up through google and get a list of the things you SHOULD eat and like Lyn said lots of small meals. With these foods you won't put on weight and from what I've read they can help a person loose weight.

 

[Triggy&Blue&Daisy Too]

I'm not sure how you are checking but if you are getting readings of 28 you would be comatose so if you're using a meter, it's faulty or uncalibrated for the strips your using.

 

[CharmedMinis]

First, please have your meter checked!!! 28 is low enough to slip into a coma as was already said.

I went down into the low 30's once, and luckily my Mother was there or I'd be in trouble. She said I was speaking in tongues

:

I was severely hypoglycemic when I got out of high school, and as Lyn said.........my Doctor told me to totally and completely eliminate sugar from my diet.

So for 3 years I read labels and did not eat one drop of sugar. No juice either, but I did sometimes eat some fruits, but not often.

After 3 years I was better so I started slowly going back to a normal diet. I still check my blood sugar twice a day and I'm still just fine almost 4 years later.

I still do have some low blood sugar problems every once in a while, but not scary low.

I love love love my sweets but my body really doesn't like them, so last week I decided to quit sugar again. Though I'm not going to extremes like I did before, I just decided to cut out the main stuff this time.........no cakes, puddings, ice creams, sugary cereal, stuff like that. So far I feel much better than I have in a while.

 

[Kim Rule]

Okay folks, when I found out that I was hypoglycimic during the glucose tolerance test I got down to 26. I was very sick feeling, and woozy, and felt like passing out. I could not walk very well. The doctor and a couple of nurses rushed into the room I was in and got me to drink that icky glucose orange drink :smileypuke: and I felt better. I felt like passing out, but didn't.

Everyone is right here...if you eat sugar, your bloodsugar will jump up, your body will create insulin and eat not up not just the sugar you ate, but every other bit of sugar in your system. You need sugar (glucose) for your brain neurons to fire, among other things. Sugar increases the sugar, which makes your body create too much insulin. Protein slows down the production of insulin.

I am pre-diabetic...my blood sugar goes all over the place, usually low. I have to be careful to snack on the right foods in order to feel all right. A little sugar is fine, but stick with protein. I have a can of nuts on my desk, and I grab a little handful every few hours. It helps. Stress can trigger it too. I just keep my nuts handy...and the school nurse knows about it, so she knows that sometimes I need a little orange juice to keep the blood sugar up. I follow that up with protein, so that I don't bottom out.

You NEED to take care of this. Go see a doctor! In the mean time, eat small amounts, every 3 hours, and concentrate on increasing your proteins, and reducing sugar. See what you can do to reduce the stress in your life (HA!

: yeah, right!)

Kim R.

 

[Kathy2m]

Like everyone said lots of small meals, V8 works for my sister and me, when we feel woosey and straight peanut butter on a spoon. We always carry peanut crackers in our purse. Good Luck, Kathy

 

[Lauralee]

Lyn is exactly right, as well as some of the others who have posted.

You have to eliminate all concentrated sweets, starchy foods, and high-carb items from your diet.

Stick with HIGH PROTEIN and HIGH FAT. These will not impact your blood sugar and will give you a long lasting, slow burning fuel.

Make yourself eat a high protein snack (cheese, nuts, etc...) every 2 to 4 hours while awake whether you are hungry or not.

It's the concentrated sweets that are playing havoc with your blood sugar and insulin levels.

 

[Steph_D]

Well, in my defense, I don't know squat about this meter thingy

: I was just shown how to use it and read it, that was it. I got this thing from my aunt and it came with the strip to calibrate it and the strips with the same brand name on them. I've calibrated it, too. No one ever told me what was "too low", just what was too high. I do know that I was given some bad information (like pop is good, as long as it's not Pepsi

: ). I'm trying to switch to diet, is that ok to drink? The thing is, this morning when I got up it was at 58. Now, after eating toast and drinking diet pop (and coffee, black), it's over 150. I wish I could get it to stay right around 100, that's when I feel the best

When it was at 28 yesterday, I didn't even notice it. I was just cranky, so bad that I couldn't stand myself. I didn't feel dizzy or hungry or anything like usual when it gets low

: And I had been eating all day. Good stuff like peanut butter crackers and a sandwich.

I'm so confused

:

 

[lyn_j]

[SIZE=14pt]First of all, if it was 150 right after you ate then that isnt high.... blood sugars go up when you eat and then back down to normal sometime between 1and 3 hours AFTER you eat....Another thing about getting the meter and strips second hand and not really being shown how to use it or what to eat..... even tho strips are the same brand name....each time you get a new bottle of strips, there is a coding strip that goes into the meter for that bottle..... EVERY BOTTLE CAN BE A DIFFERENT CODE...... If the codes dont match then the readings can be off as much as 40-60%! normal blood sugars are from 90-130 my doctor doesnt get upset till it is more than 170....then he changes my insulin if it is that way for 3 days or more. I start to shake at 50 and do the "speaking in tongues" ( I love that description) when what I think Im saying and what actually comes out of my mouth is different.... by 30 I would be comatose. Thats why when I take my insulin at night I have to eat a bed time snack or chances are I would not wake up in the morning. PLEASE DONT MESS WITH A WEIRD BLOOD SUGAR!!!!! This is NOT something to self treat or have a relative diagnose and treat for you. a DOCTOR IS IMPERITIVE!!!! You can DIE~[/SIZE]

Lyn

 

[Bess Kelly]

Well I've have low sugar for years and yep, all these others have obviously had some form of it -- including being diabetic.

: PROTEIN, always , & some fats. Why do you think the "perfect" diabetic breakfast has always been eggs, bacon & OJ ? You need to live on a diabetic diet plan!

Yes, stress is something that creates an extra draw on your system....then the roller-coaster ride of the sugar up & downs. When mine got bad several years ago, my husband could not understand why I would be starving all the time. I mean, I ate tuna like candy! I was hungry from the sugar lows.

While candy, cakes, etc. are the biggest no-no's, you would be shocked at how much sugar is in white bread :new_shocked: . So meat and veggies are majorly important. And frequent meals to stay "level".

Personally, I am horrid about rushing around feeding all the animals and not having time for ME to get fed. So, I always keep the lower sugar Slim Fast around, and Ensure is good, too. If you must run out the door and have found no time to eat, this is fast and has not only good protein but vit/min. I am a big milk drinker (always have been) and that helps too. I laughingly always say that I now see why you ALWAYS need to have milk with cookies....... :bgrin Peanut butter (usually right from the spoon!) and nuts are always in my cabinets. I find walnuts and almonds seem to "satisfy" the most. Soybean is good but, I'm not a tofu fan -- however, some of the soy milks are tasty.

Good luck -- and be sure to get tested!!! My hematologist put with with a nutritionist to help be through the beginning of it. At first we were concerned that I was becoming diabetic. Many of the symptoms present the same, at first -- BUT we make enough insulin for ourselves AND the diabetic that needs it. Remember that Lyn is a diabetic & nurse.......ya BETTER listen to her.

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