Hypoglycemia scare, now I'm worried

[My Peanuts]

Yesterday I was sitting with my mom watching TV when I got really dizzy, shaky and started sweating. My mom is a diabetic and I know the signs of low blood sugar, but I'm not hypoglycemic or diabetic so it shouldn't happen to me. I asked to use her blood sugar testing machine just in case. My blood sugar was 54 and dropping!!! I got some juice and a candy bar and I was fine. After it was over I felt really tired and I still don't feel right today. My normal blood sugar is between 90-100, but even after I ate the candy bar and drank the juice it was in the 80's. I read on the Internet about it and it could be 100 different things. I'm waiting to see if this is a one time deal or what. If it happens again I'm going to the doctor. I'm only 23 years old this shouldn't be happening to me. I never worry about my health, but now I'm scared. Anyone else had a similar experience?

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

I have low blood sugar (and also low blood pressure), and I know exactly the symptoms you are describing! The "quick fix" is juice and a candy bar, but I always try to follow it up with some carbs which will release back into my system slower, and for longer. I usually have a glass of orange juice with some sugar stirred in, and then have a cheese sandwich, some fruit or similar (nothing big - just to compliment the "quick-fix"with something which will keep me going a bit longer).

The problem with low blood sugar is that you can get into a kind of "roller-coaster" effect, and when your body uses up all the sugar from the quick-fix you go into a real SLUMP and feel even worse than before.

I don't take any meds for that, or for my low blood pressure, but I find that having smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day helps my sugar level to stay constant. Also try not to skip breakfast if you can help it.

It IS such a horrible feeling, and you have my total sympathy!

[tatsxxx11]

It could have been caused by a whole host of things, you're right. Had you eaten that day? What are your normal eating habits? The worst thing to do is go for a 1/2 day or more without eating. I've had similar experiences when I've forgotten to eat, especially if I'm busy working, stressed, unning around, etc. The best thing to do is go get it checked out right away to ease your mind. They'll probably do a fasting blood sugar; I'm sure you're familiar with that from your mom. If you are truly hypoglycemic though, often the worst things for you to eat are sugars and carbs as you get a re-bound effect with a further drop in blood sugar shortly after the spike upwards. You need be on a balanced diet and more importantly, eat reguarly; small, frequent meals are the best way to go to keep a steady blood sugar level. I'm thinking it was probably a sudden, one time thing. But get it checked out so you'll know for sure and can stop worrying Please check back with us....and call the dr.... {{{HUGS}}} Sandra

[slleipnir]

My mom has that I think..I don't remember the name of it, but it makes her have low blood sugars. My brother is a diabetic too. I have a question, you said your blood was like 50 something, when normal is 90? That's weird, cause ours is like 4-6 is normal. So at first when you said it was 50 I was like Uh, what? lol :X

I however have felt like that before too, somewhat. It seemed to just go away though...

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

Just found this - of course there is a huge amount of info on the net, but this summed up what I was trying to say. (I have an "attack" around once every 3 to 4 weeks, so it's not too bad!

The first basic treatment is to avoid all foods that contain elemental sugar. This includes almost all desserts and junk foods. (Actually that wouldn't be so bad for a "healthy" person would it?) It also includes all non diet soft drinks. A lot of people find that caffeine also stimulates the release of blood glucose and precipitates a reaction. That is the reason why caffeine helps keep people awake and "gives" them energy, it's really the increase in blood glucose giving them the extra energy. Beware of anything that comes in a box from the supermarket. The food industry loves to add sugar to things to entice you to eat their products. The worst offender you can think of are breakfast cereals. They not only put sugar in their product, but on their product. The cereal that I have ended up with is Shredded Wheat, which has no added sugar.

The second basic treatment is to give your body small doses of food at more frequent times during the day (the frequency people use varies from 6 times a day up to 11 or 12 times a day). These snacks should, of course, be smaller portions of things which are digested slowly. Things that are digested slowly include protein and complex carbohydrates. For comparison, simple carbohydrates are include things like sugar. Complex carbohydrates include whole grains and fresh vegetables. Beware of everything that has ingredients that end in -ose, which denotes a sugar. These include dextrose, glucose, maltose, sucrose, sorbital. Fruits are sort of in a gray area, with their fructose. If you have a fruit drink, such as apple juice, then the sugars can be absorbed quickly. If you have applesauce, then the body has to do some breaking down of the applesauce before it can get to the sugar. If you have a whole apple, then the body has a lot of breaking down to do. You have to read labels to see if the products have sugar in them

[My Peanuts]

Originally posted by slleipnir
I have a question, you said your blood was like 50 something, when normal is 90? That's weird, cause ours is like 4-6 is normal. So at first when you said it was 50 I was like Uh, what? lol :X

Hmm, that must be a different system than we have. My mom is normal around 115-140ish I think. Hers is normal higher because of her condition. But since I'm not diabetic I'm normal lower. Did you mean 4-6 or 40-60? If you meant 4-6 then I might know what you are talking about. When my mom gets her three month blood sugar check up from the doctor they give her a rating like that. Hers was high last time, I think it was 8 or 9.

[My Peanuts]

Originally posted by tatsxxx11
Had you eaten that day? What are your normal eating habits?

The weird thing was that I had just finished dinner about a half hour before. I have been trying to lose weight for the last month and a half. I have been taking it off very slowly because I don't need to lose a lot. The thing is even though I have been watching what I eat, I still eat normally.


Thanks for the advice and showing me that this does happen to other people. Also thanks for the research Ally Cat’s Mommy. It really was scary