Hypoglycemia Symptoms?

[jcgirl]

I have been gluten-free for four months. For the past few weeks I have been experiancing tingling in fingers and toes, foggy headed feeling almost like being intoxicated or on major drugs, tired and headaches. Usually feel this way in the moring and before meals. I purchased a glucose meter and my levels have been low. Sometimes I feel as though I am going to pass out. Is low blood sugar a common thing with the gluten free diet? Both my parents haare diabetic as well. I am going to my family doctor today. Has anyone else experienced low blood sugar symptpoms after going gluten-free?

[jenvan]

Open Original Shared Link

Check out the thread above where there was discussion between some members with hypoglycemia. Maybe it will help you out...

[skbird]

Here's more on hypoglycemia. I have been aware of my having it for 3 years now but am fairly convinced it's been a lot longer (pretty sure my whole life).

Open Original Shared Link

I think it's fairly common if you are gluten-intolerant.

Stephanie

[tarnalberry]

Many of the gluten-free replacement items use flours that have a high glycemic index, so they spike your blood sugar, causing a large insulin rush, which then leads to low blood sugar after it's all swept up into your cells. (Note that *technically* hypoglycemia merely refers to the state of having low blood sugar. It could be caused by a diabetic taking too much insulin, but it can also be caused by either increased sensitivity of your cells to insulin or an overproduction of insulin by your pancreas. The two situations there don't get treated quite the same way, because they aren't restrained in the same way.)

You may want to look at your diet, and see how your meals are split, nutritionally, between carbs/fat/protein. They should be fairly balanced, but *exactly* what balanced is depends on your own body. For me, I'm looking at something that's at least 20% fat, 20% protein, 60% carbs, on average, for a meal. If I'm doing good, I can play with that a bit, and let a high fiber food with less protein or fat fill in sometimes, but by the end of the day, I'm aiming for at least 25/25/50. (You can use online tools like Open Original Shared Link to help track these things.)

Going to your doctor to investiage this is also a good idea. For those with serious hypoglycemia, it can affect other parts of your body as well. (I think my PT who had it had issues with her heart - not serioius, but not fun.)

[jcgirl]

Thanks for the info. I had blood test done this morning and I almost passed out. Never had that problem before when blood being drawn. Now I have to wait for the results. As for my diet being balanced, it's a tuff one. I have been eating mainly meats, vegi's, yogurt and fruit. Not sure if that is a balanced diet or not. This is so hard, for the first 2 months I felt awesome on the gluten-free diet and now new issues come up It is so frustrating and I feel like I am just complaining all the time about something.

On the bright side however, I have been successful in getting an appointment with Strong Childrens Hospital GI department for my son. I hear they have an excellant reputation with celiac resurch, etc.. I hope he doesn't go through life the way I did.

[skbird]

Was it a fasting test? That can affect you. I was having the worst lightheadedness when getting a blood test done (had to fast from the night before) and when I got my results I was stunned my blood glucose level was 101. I thought it had to be in the 60's or lower. It made me embarassed that I'd been so cranky with having to wait (yep, love being cranky...). But then I learned that when you feel symptoms you are often on the rebound as your adrenaline has already kicked in and started raising your blood sugar so it's likely that's why I was feeling so bad that day.

Anyway, fasting blood tests can be tough if you are not stabilized by diet with hypoglycemia. And that's just something that takes time.

Stephanie

[jcgirl]

Stephanie,

Yes it was a fasting blood test. I ate small snacks throughout the day yesterday and felt a little better with the loopy-ness. However, I was so stuffed from eating, not used to that because of the stomach aches, etc of my former gluten life. As soon as I get the results of blood work and I am going to see a nutritionist. I am to the point of being totally clueless as to what I can and can not eat, when, and how much. Today I had a baked potatoe for lunch, guess that put me on some type of sugar high, felt good, most energy in awhile, but the crash was horrid. It seems to be a vicious circle.

[skbird]

There are things you can do to make even potatoes ok for you. Anything that is high-glycemic (like a potato - some claim they have the same effect on your body as if you dug out all the potato and filled the skin with white sugar) can be made lower glycemic by adding protein, fat and/or fiber. So if you use cheese and/or sour cream (whole milk, not skim) you are improving it. Add some broccoli, even better.

One of my favorite things to do is to add seeds or nuts to my food. I have lately been eating plain yogurt (whole milk) for breakfast and sweetening with real maple syrup. I also add a small handful of sliced almonds (protein/fat/fiber) and a tbsp of flax meal (protein/fat/fiber). Then I add a dollop of flax oil for good measure. The result is really tasty, sweet, full of protein, fiber, and very filling. If I had just the yogurt and the syrup I'd be flying high in no time.

I don't eat potatoes anymore but I'd add cheese and flax meal to it - that would make a difference. Flax meal adds a nutty flavor and gives you omega 3 oils - really good for anyone.

Do a search on Google for "glycemic index" and do some reading. It really will help you learn more about good foods. There are lots of good sites out there - many are based in Australia.

Take care

Stephanie

[skbird]

PS yes it is a vicious cycle! There's a web site I read once that compared it to a checking account. You can eat sugary things for a while before it starts to affect you but at some point, you overdraw. Then you eat a sugary thing to boost yourself back up and you go down even farther, think of overdrawing AND getting that insufficient funds fee. It keeps going lower until you stop going for the easy fixes of sugary foods and start building yourself back up with proteins and fats.

One of the best times I went through while trying to recover from having so many blood sugar crashes was when I had a half shot glass of extra virgin olive oil every morning. Seriously - I lost 5 pounds and I felt better, didn't have as many crashes. It was a big help. I get the same results with flax oil.

Stephanie

[tarnalberry]

definitely a vicious cycle! but absolutely - combining a starch with fat and/or protein will lower the glycemic load of the meal, and help keep from having those things happen. for potatoes, I usually have them in a soup or stew, or have a bit of olive oil with them. also, different potatoes have different glycemic loads, regular russets being the highest.

[jcgirl]

I feel like I need to go back to college just to learn to eat these days. The last couple days have been o.k. with the sugar levels that is. I have been eating meats and vegis. However, when on a school field trip to Medieval Times, had a good time but got glutanized. There were some small noodles in the soup, didn't see them and knew I should not have eaten the soup in the first place. So now I am dealing with gluten reaction. Have had a few accidents lately. It just stinks having to watch every little thing I put into my mouth. It has only been four months of gluten-free and a week of realizing how low my blood sugar levels have been. Time and patience, and alot of research I guess. Thank you all for your help.

Laurie