Hypoglycemia...need Help!

[Ksmith]

Hey everyone,

I recently went to a naturopath and she indicated that i really need to get my hypoglycemia under control. She gave me some tips as to how to do this...like eating every two hours, no sugar, etc... However, from what I've read on WebMD and Mayoclinic.com it seems like hypoglycemia is caused by an underlying health condition rather than a disease itself...does anyone know what hypoglycemia can be caused by? I do not have diabetes. Not sure about thyroid, but I kinda doubt it (I was recently tesed, but haven't received the results yet). Thanks so much!

[Ann1231]

  Ksmith said:

Hey everyone,

I recently went to a naturopath and she indicated that i really need to get my hypoglycemia under control. She gave me some tips as to how to do this...like eating every two hours, no sugar, etc... However, from what I've read on WebMD and Mayoclinic.com it seems like hypoglycemia is caused by an underlying health condition rather than a disease itself...does anyone know what hypoglycemia can be caused by? I do not have diabetes. Not sure about thyroid, but I kinda doubt it (I was recently tesed, but haven't received the results yet). Thanks so much!

there are some underlying diseases that can cause it but generally when someone says they have hypoglycemia it's in response to a spike in blood sugar after eating, followed by a fast and deep fall in blood sugar levels. My son and I both have it severely and have to follow a very low sugar, lower carb diet with a bit higher protein levels. I'm to eat 45-55 grams of protein a day and 45-60 grams of carbs a day. My son, who is 6'5 is supposed to eat 55-75 grams of protein a day and 45 grams of carbs per meal. That's 3 servings of carbs per meal for him and 1 serving for me. We don't eat high protein but 'adequate' protein. This is what the dietitian and endocrinologist instructed us to do and we are doing really well with it.

Try this site, it's very, very good and has a diet to follow that is basically what I follow:

Open Original Shared Link

I found this site before I went to the dietitian a few years ago. I really feel it saved my son's life as well as my own. My son had gone into convulsions with his and that's how we found out about it. At that time we weren't given too much information other than 'watch your carb intake". I did a lot of research and this is the best site I found and completely changed our health.

[Looking for answers]

Hi,

Research shows that hypoglycemia can be caused by gluten intolerance. In fact, I was just reading about this in "Dangerous Grains." I don't know how long (or if) you've been gluten free, but it takes time to alleviate hypoglycemia. I noticed a huge improvement within the first month, but I also really try to avoid processed foods and sugar. For the first time in my life, my hands don't constantly shake and I don't find myself getting as sick between meals. It's not completely gone, but it's getting better.

Hope this helps!

[georgie]

  Quote

I recently went to a naturopath and she indicated that i really need to get my hypoglycemia under control. She gave me some tips as to how to do this...like eating every two hours, no suga

I was able to get my hypoglycemia under control by a strict eating pattern. You need to keep a food diary. After a while you will recognise foods that make you ill. For me - even fruit would trigger an attack. I had to eat small amounts of protein every 2 hours. A good book is 'The Insulin Resistance Diet' by Drs Hart & Grossman. Its protein every couple of hours but balanced with healthy complex carb. Its quite easy once you get the hang of it. 1/2 apple with a handful of nuts for eg.

However, my Hypoglycemia was due to an underlying thyroid problem that TEN Drs had failed to dx !!!!!! Including a couple of Endos. Yes - they did thyroid tests. No - they didn't know how to interpret the results ! A DO may be a good choice for you if you need to recheck some tests. Most Drs haven't a clue how to test for thyroid and just do TSH. And still don't understand that. ( TSH >2 is hypothyroid)

Always get your results in writing and do a web search / research to check what you have been told is true. Sadly for me - I wasted 30 years of my life by not being so proactive in my own health care.

[Ksmith]

  georgie said:

No - they didn't know how to interpret the results ! A DO may be a good choice for you if you need to recheck some tests. Most Drs haven't a clue how to test for thyroid and just do TSH. And still don't understand that. ( TSH >2 is hypothyroid

What is a DO? I had the whole panal of thyroid tests so it should be pretty accurate...but I haven't received the results yet. I am gluten-free and I have been for a couple years...interestingly, my hypoglycemia seemed to calm down considerably after I moved to go to grad school...and my diet changed...I becaome a lot more strict with my gluten-free diet. However, ever since a car accident I was in this past summer, my anxiety and hypoglycemia are at full force...it's weird how trauma can kinda throw you for a spin. Thanks!

[georgie]

  Quote

What is a DO?

Its a natural remedy seeking Dr that may think outside the square.Does it stand for Osteopath ??

  Quote

I had the whole panal of thyroid tests so it should be pretty accurate...but I haven't received the results yet.

I beg you to be more proactive than this. You may miss one crucial test that may leave you eating a special diet for years needlessly ! There are quite a few tests for thyroid and lab ranges can be interpreted incorrectly. They did for me - for 30 years !! I used to naively think that my Dr was doing all the Thyroid tests .... I am not naive now. It may not be Thyroid. But just triple check every piece of information you are given.Let google be your friend.

[plantime]

Thank you for this link: Open Original Shared Link

It is just what I have been searching for!

[loraleena]

Georgie is right. The one test your panel was probably missing was the Thyroid Peroxidase antibody test. This shows is your body is makin antibodies against your thyroid. It should be less than 20. This test will show if you have Hashimotos Hypothyroidism which is autoimmune and common in celiacs. All my tests were normal except this one. Adrenal fatigue can also cause hypoglycemia. You should get a 24 hour saliva test to check this. Read about both these on line.

[Ksmith]

  loraleena said:

Georgie is right. The one test your panel was probably missing was the Thyroid Peroxidase antibody test. This shows is your body is makin antibodies against your thyroid. It should be less than 20. This test will show if you have Hashimotos Hypothyroidism which is autoimmune and common in celiacs. All my tests were normal except this one. Adrenal fatigue can also cause hypoglycemia. You should get a 24 hour saliva test to check this. Read about both these on line.

I got the antibody test as well...I am kinda anxious to get the results. When you tested positive for the antibodies test, did they treat you with anything? THanks!

[Ann1231]

  plantime said:

Thank you for this link: Open Original Shared Link

It is just what I have been searching for!

I'm glad it's helped. It's a huge source of information that's well presented. they've done a great job with all that information.

[mom2jpb]

  Ksmith said:

Hey everyone,

I recently went to a naturopath and she indicated that i really need to get my hypoglycemia under control. She gave me some tips as to how to do this...like eating every two hours, no sugar, etc... However, from what I've read on WebMD and Mayoclinic.com it seems like hypoglycemia is caused by an underlying health condition rather than a disease itself...does anyone know what hypoglycemia can be caused by? I do not have diabetes. Not sure about thyroid, but I kinda doubt it (I was recently tesed, but haven't received the results yet). Thanks so much!

I was diagnosed hypoglcymic when I was pregnant 8 years ago. All of my siblings and my son are hypoglycemia. Both of my parents were diabetic. Unfortunately, both of them were hypoglycemic until their late 50's, then suddenly insulin-dependent diabetic. I will tell you that they were in Louisiana, ate almost everything fried, and my dad even put sugar on his vegetables! I don't tolerate fried foods at all, because I lost my gallbladder several years ago.

Once I went gluten-free, the crashes stopped. I still find that eating 5 small meals rather than 3 "normal" meals works best for me.

[Guest cassidy]

I had hypoglycemia my entire life, until I went gluten-free. Then it just went away. When I get glutened the symptoms come back. I would guess mine is caused by celiac.

The best diet I tried was the low glycemic diet. www.glycemicindex.com has great info. I realize that these diets are becoming a fad way of losing weight, but if you follow the guidelines and eat slowly digested carbs so there aren't any spikes in blood sugar, then it really works, and I didn't lose weight (I wasn't trying to).

Not sure what is causing yours but while you try to figure it out that diet should help lessen the symptoms.

[loraleena]

After I had high antibody test - 799! I started taking Armour thyroid meds. Switched to cytomel, but may switch back due to some info Georgie passed on. I am about to start Isocort for adrenal fatigue. If your antibodies are high you need meds. Don't let your doc put you on Synthroid. This rarely helps people. You should use Armour. Read drlowe.com. They are my consulting docs and have lots of great info on their site.

[georgie]

  Quote

I got the antibody test as well...I am kinda anxious to get the results. When you tested positive for the antibodies test, did they treat you with anything? THanks!

If you test positive ( >20) to a Thyroid Antibodies test you have autoimmune Thyroid. Its usually Hashimotos. Graves is another one but many Drs misdx that one - as Hashis can go hyper sometimes too. Hashis swings between hypo and hyper as the Antibodies attack the thyroid. These attacks can be weeks, months years apart. Do you ever remember having a hyper stage ?

And also remember that the Thyroid Antibodies test throws a few false negatives ( like Celiac blood test). I think they say about 10% error for the Antibodies blood test. So you can have 0 Antibodies and still have Hashis ! So be aware that blood tests are not 100%.

The Antibodies fluctuate and the number doesn't indicate a lot. You can have severe Thyroid damage and Antibodies of only 35 like I tested as. You don't use the Antibodies to work out your Armour meds. There are other methods like temp graphs and level of Free T3 , and Free T4 in your blood. If you Adrenal Insufficency you need to treat that first - as the Thyroid meds may not get into your cells and throw a false high blood test. TSH is useless once you have autoimmune Thyroid.

Once you have one autoimmune disease you are at risk of getting others - so autoimmune Thyroid should always be tested.

[Ksmith]

  georgie said:

If you test positive ( >20) to a Thyroid Antibodies test you have autoimmune Thyroid. Its usually Hashimotos. Graves is another one but many Drs misdx that one - as Hashis can go hyper sometimes too. Hashis swings between hypo and hyper as the Antibodies attack the thyroid. These attacks can be weeks, months years apart. Do you ever remember having a hyper stage ?

And also remember that the Thyroid Antibodies test throws a few false negatives ( like Celiac blood test). I think they say about 10% error for the Antibodies blood test. So you can have 0 Antibodies and still have Hashis ! So be aware that blood tests are not 100%.

The Antibodies fluctuate and the number doesn't indicate a lot. You can have severe Thyroid damage and Antibodies of only 35 like I tested as. You don't use the Antibodies to work out your Armour meds. There are other methods like temp graphs and level of Free T3 , and Free T4 in your blood. If you Adrenal Insufficency you need to treat that first - as the Thyroid meds may not get into your cells and throw a false high blood test. TSH is useless once you have autoimmune Thyroid.

Once you have one autoimmune disease you are at risk of getting others - so autoimmune Thyroid should always be tested.

I'm not sure about hyper...I sometimes go through stages where I can't sleep, but that may be more to do with hypoglycemia. It's hard to figure out. Thanks for all the wonderful info!!!

[loraleena]

Georgie,

What should those T3 and T4 levels be? One of mine is high and my docs started to treat the adrenals. My antibodies at last check were down to 159 from 799.

[Ksmith]

Well, my thyroid levels apparently look good according to my naturopathic doctor...she sent me the results but I haven't got them yet. So now what? I still don't know what's wrong with me...and I have no ideas anymore. Could be adrenals, I suppose. Sorry, just venting, I guess. Hypoglycemia is a daily struggle and I wish I knew the underlying cause!

[georgie]

  Quote

What should those T3 and T4 levels be? One of mine is high and my docs started to treat the adrenals. My antibodies at last check were down to 159 from 799.

Which one ? Are they FREE T3 and T4 ? Do you have the lab ranges ?Most people feel best when the Free T4 is mid range and the Free T3 is sitting at high normal or above normal. Antibodies should be crushed to 0 - so you need to work on that more.

  Quote

Well, my thyroid levels apparently look good according to my naturopathic doctor...she sent me the results but I haven't got them yet. So now what?

Before you get upset lets see the results. Sometimes you need a fine tooth comb to sort through them. It may not be obvious - even to your naturopath. Did you do a saliva test for adrenals ? canaryclub has some and you can do that yourself.

[Ksmith]

  georgie said:

Before you get upset lets see the results. Sometimes you need a fine tooth comb to sort through them. It may not be obvious - even to your naturopath. Did you do a saliva test for adrenals ? canaryclub has some and you can do that yourself.

Very true Georgie...Once I get them, I may post them up here to see if some of you may be able to help decipher it all. I haven't been checked for adrenals yet...I suppose that may be our next step. I know something needs to be helped but don't know what...I can see why everyone feels like a hypochondriac on this forum...it's nerve wracking (sp?) and makes me want to second guess myself! Thanks for all your support!

[georgie]

I was made to feel a hypochondriac 30 years ago and that's why I gave up. My Dr just wouldn't treat my borderline Thyroid and refused to say it was a problem. I now curse myself for not being more couragous to ask more questions and demand 2nd opinions. I now realise that the borders have been changed for TSH many times in last 30 years so probably my borderline reading back then was TSH = 6 !! I basically wrecked my life just because of ONE Dr !! 30 years is a long time to feel CFS and ill. He didn't even say 'come back and keep a check on it'. !!!!!!!!!!

PM me if you like. Not sure if we are allowed to post numbers here