Celiacs With Hypoglycemia!

[Guest adamssa]

hi!

i was hoping to hear from others with celiac or g-intolerance who also have hypoglycemia. i am finally starting to understand what is going on now that i 've realized i have both. i was wondering what works for everyone? i have to say, i was pretty reluctant to go on another restrictive diet, and i've always thought i've been pretty good about dealing with that. but, once i saw how the chocolate seriously messed me up for three days i am leaving the sugar alone again.

what kinds of foods do you guys find helpful? can hypoglycemia --perhaps caused by celica, ever sort of subside or is this another lifelong conditon? now, paying attention to how my blood sugar directly affects my mood and brain, i realize that i've had it my whole life, just not as severely.

i find that tuna and nuts are the best thing to eat, but it is all so boring! i am reading the krimmel book and tryng to follow that and they say to limit seriously your intake of grains. and i can do that but it gets dull. i find that any sugar at all, and too many grains just make me feel so brain fogged i am basically incapicitated. does this mean that hypoglycemiacs with celiac have to commit to a life of vegetables and meat?

thanks!

sara

[tarnalberry]

I don't find dealing with hypoglycemia very limiting any more, but I'm fairly anal retentive about making sure all my meal are balanced. I don't avoid sugar (I enjoy dark chocolate often ) but I make sure that every instance of eating that has carbs has a balance of at least fat or protein to go with it, preferably both. Exactly what works for you will likely be different than for someone else. (For me, for instance, protein isn't *the* key, but a balance of protein and fat. Just eating carbs and protein doesn't deal with my blood sugar levels as well for as long as getting some (moderate) amounts of fat in there.)

I find that if I keep things stabilized, and am cognizant of what I'm eating, then I can easily go three, four, or five hours without needing food, even if I'm not eating much. But I have to keep it BALANCED and not rely on carbs. I don't eat bread as it is (not a fan of gluten-free bread anyway ), I make my muffins to be very protein/fat balanced, and love my stirfries with plenty of veggies.

The best advice I can give is to learn your body, and realize that what you read in a book or online is a guide. It's a good place to start, but it's all based on average, and you're not eating for the average of hundreds of people, you're just eating for yourself.

[Sweetfudge]

I don't think mine are related...I was diagnosed w/ hypoglycemia 15 years ago, and only developed celiac about 2 years ago. I found it difficult to maintain my blood sugar levels without my wheat bread staples But like tarnalberry said, the key is to balance your proteins, carbs and fats.

I eat a lot of rice and potatoes, some gluten-free pasta, but not much in the way of bread, unless I make muffins, or if I'm having soup. I do eat a lot of corn tortillas, and I keep pizza crusts in the freezer as well. But I don't do sandwiches really anymore.

I also eat a lot of nuts. Before going gluten-free, I loved to make fruit and nut bread...haven't had much success making since, but I know there's good recipes here. I really have tried to incorporate more fruits and veggies in my meals.

Make sure you are eating often enough. If I go too long without eating, I get head-fogged for a day or two.

My favorite things to eat are potatoes, soups, pizza, and mexican food. Browse this site, you can find a lot of good recipes

Messagae me if you want more advice. And good luck!

[georgie]

Tiffany has good advise and that is what worked for me too. A balance of protein, carbs and fat at every small mini meal and eat before you get hungry . 'The Insulin Resistance Diet' by Drs Hart & Grossman was my bible.

However, should also add that since having Thyroid dx and receiving Armour - my hypoglycemia is much better. My blood tests for Thyroid were always 'normal' but I eventually found a good Dr. Seems all my other Drs had only ever been doing the TSH test. And not testing for Antibodies. Once you have one autoimmune disease you can get others. Chicken and egg story what came first for me...but ..something to think of as well.

[Guest adamssa]

thanks guys! i had been trying to add carbs back in without eating protein at the same time, so your advice has been very helpful i am trying now to do that gradually. i've been wondering if the brain can really get enough gluclose if you don't eat carbs? ---and if the head fog comes from a blood sugar drop or a lack of adequate supply of sugar---i suppose it is both.

thanks again. w/out the people on here to help me figure this out i would still be absolutely miserable. my body is still very whacked out, but now i at least feel like i may be able to begin to feel my way back to something else. and, best of all sometimes my brain fogged feeling is diminishing!

sara

[jnclelland]

thanks guys! i had been trying to add carbs back in without eating protein at the same time, so your advice has been very helpful i am trying now to do that gradually. i've been wondering if the brain can really get enough gluclose if you don't eat carbs? ---and if the head fog comes from a blood sugar drop or a lack of adequate supply of sugar---i suppose it is both.

sara

You *do* need carbs, just not necessarily from grains - and maybe not as many as you're accustomed to. Veggies have lots of good carbs, especially things like beans and legumes (as long as you don't have an intolerance to those as well). Don't worry; your blood sugar will let you know if you're not eating enough of them!

Jeanne

[Mamato2boys]

I've been hypoglycemic since about the age of 15, and haven't "officially" been diagnosed as gluten intolerant. I learned through having my son tested that I at least carry one gene for gluten sensitivity. I've found that since cutting out glutens my hypoglycemia has settled down quite a bit. I'm one of those people that the key *is* protein to keep my glucose stable. I'm even finding that I can get away with "junk" food (like dark chocolate) if I balance it out with a serving of protein. My brain fog is better and I can't remember the last time I had a low blood sugar episode - a couple weeks I would guess (since starting the gluten-free diet). Before then, I'd have as many as 3 or 4 episodes a day - NOT comfy at all !

[Clark Bent as Stupor-Man]

I've had hypoglycemia since I was in middle school and was diagnosed with a GTT when I was in college a few years ago... ultimately, it lead me to learning about food intolerances since I was pretty strictly adhering to a hypoglycemic diet and still not feeling well..

a hypoglycemic diet doesn't have to be all that restrictive... it's pretty much just a balanced ratio of proteins, carbs, and fats as has been said... generally speaking, you just want to keep an even blood sugar level, which means avoiding spikes in blood sugar (from high carb/sugary foods especially ones that are digested quickly) and subsequent crashes..

the less frequently you crash, the easier it becomes to recognize the warning signs beforehand... you may find it beneficial, at least at first, to keep something like nuts with you because they are an easy source of balanced protein-carbs-fats..

if your only food intolerance is gluten, you have a lot of options for what to eat on a hypoglycemic diet... eggs are a quick, easy food to cook that should work well.. you may also find it helpful to drink orange juice in the morning and then follow it up relatively quickly with a breakfast with protein... it may depend on if you also have fasting hypoglycemia but the best advice, as tiffany said, is to learn how your body reacts and adjust accordingly

and I can empathize with you about dealing with brain fog as a writer... fun times, right? I'm just over halfway through my first novel though my main character's got enough issues without having to deal with celiac disease as well...

[Guest adamssa]

hi charlie!

it is exciting to hear from another writer who has to deal with brain fog! (not that i am happy that you have to deal with it too, of course.) That is seriously probably the most difficult thing for me. i write for a local magazine, and am a journalism major. and it seems to me that whenver i start getting excited about articles i've committed to or just developing my own stuff....i get fog again. or if i don't have it, it's like i've got to do as much as i can before i get it again. it's pretty scary! and emotionally messes with me. i mean, that's what i want to do w/my life, and it's also what i've promised people i'll do, and suddenly i feel so removed from everything that's happening. or wondering what is going on.

do you have any advice for dealing with hypoglycemiac brain fog? ---is it just a matter of not crashing? i am really sure that's what i'm getting now, fog from an unsteady supply of glucose. i can literally tell sometimes that my brain is manufacturing fewer thoughts because it has less to go off of. often times it seems to be improving, the better i am about eating regularly, but i still seem to be at about 50%. it may be because i keep to the two hours thing as much as i can, but then i go to work some days and can't.

thanks! good luck with your novel. i am very interested in writing about the experience of chronic illness, which is where my interest in a celiac character comes in. guess it's because i have so much personal experience, so it won't be grasping.

Sara

[Lauren M]

I have HYPERglycemia, but from what you all share about your diets, it sounds very similar to what I'm supposed to follow: protein and fat with my carbs so my blood sugar doesn't spike. My fasting blood sugar is naturally high.

That's odd to me, that two words that technically should mean the opposites (HYPER- and HYPOglycemias) actually have a similar diet. I always thought if you were hypoglycemic your blood sugar ran low and you would have to pop candies all the time or drink soda...

- Lauren