I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) years ago. At the time, it wasn't much of a problem. Now, however, it seems to be much worse. Anybody else have it? How are you coping with, handling it?

My daughter has this and she deals with it quite well by diet.  She makes sure to eat some protein at every meal, it digests slower than carbs and helps regulate blood sugar levels.  Several small meals are better than a few large ones.  Her snacks are also protein; e.g. those small cheeses, yogurt etc. but include lots of fruit & veggies.  Avocadoes depress insulin production, which is a problem for you, so lots of guacamole!  She stays away from processed foods, even dried fruit and bottled fruit juice is bad (too much sugar). Taking brewer's yeast, glutathione, Vit B complex and a good quality multi helps a lot.  Hope these tips help you :)

Cheers, Margaret

I've never been formally diagnosed but I had symptoms.  There are the formal diets but what would happen to me was not eating regularly enough and then I'd get a "spell."

I learned that I shouldn't eat sweet things early in the morning unless I could eat in between (no sweets at a staff meeting break, for instance).  My husband had a habit of not eating on time when we'd go shopping and that created issues.  I saw a nutritionist because I was suddenly being slammed by these "spells" and while she gave me a diet, this is what helped me most:

Eating protein doesn't help once I start having the problem, so I 'd carry lifesavers and eat a couple.  Then after about a half an hour, I would be ready for the meal with protein.  Good emergency snacks are something like peanut butter and crackers or peanut butter on a muffin.  I know I really need to eat and even more so if I'm NOT feeling hungry out somewhere - that's a bad sign.  Certain foods are especially bad for breakfast; i.e., muffins (the sweet ones) or cinnamon toast.  I'm okay if I'm at home because I tend ot nibble anyway but these aren't good things to eat if I'm going out.

Now these are just general tips, not an overall healthy eating plan of course, but having one of those episodes was pretty nasty.  BTW, this apparently runs in the family.

Diana and Margaret have both got very good tips.  It is really important to eat enough protein and to have a little carbohydrate stash with you at all times for emergencies.  Do you check your blood sugar?  You can buy blood sugar monitors right over the counter now with all the equipment you need without needing a doctor's prescription.  If you haven't been doing this I would encourage you to start testing first thing in the morning before you eat anything, at least once during the day a couple hours after you eat a meal, and at bedtime.  And of course any time you feel low blood sugar catching up with you.  Keep track of all these numbers for a week or two, usually these monitors come with little calendars you can use to do that.  Then make an appointment with your doctor and hand over all the results, tell him/her your symptoms and go from there.  I think you can also buy over the counter now a blood test you can do yourself that will give you an average of what your blood sugar has been over the past 2-3 months, it is called a glycosylated hemoglobin, but you will probably see it advertised as AIC, or just ask your pharmacist.  You really want to pay close attention to this, because sometimes hypoglycemia may be one of the symptoms of developing diabetes, and you want to be sure you know what is going on.  I'm not trying to scare you, but this is something you want to get checked out, especially if it has become worse lately.  There are of course other things that could be happening to affect it, stress, etc., but don't take a chance, get it checked out!

Blessings

I didn't know you could get the blood sugar monitors without a prescription now!  Thanks for posting that.  I'll have to get one. 

I was warned by  my doctor that it can be extremely serious if I don't take care of myself.  She said that patients with hypoglycemia can "bottom out" and not even be able to swallow.  She suggested keeping some canned frosting and said if somebody could put a finger-full of it on the inside of the person's mouth when that happens, it would "revive" them.  Kind'a scarey (sp?).

You know, Ann.  That sounds like a diabetic shock tip I've heard.  Maybe they work the same way.

Maybe I should mention that my daughter has actually passed out a couple of times.  I think she was in hot, crowded conditions but when I questioned what she'd eaten, it was obvious that she probably needed to pay attention to the hypoglycemia thing.  It's been a few years ago now. 

It was probably embarrassing enough that she did pay attention afterward.  She passed out at Children's Hospital and hit her head on something, but since she was an adult, they had to take her by ambulance to another hospital for treatment, lol.  She was ok, but mortified.

My son never passed out, but he's noticed the problems too.  It was years before I understood what was happening.  At work it was just a problem a donut would cure :)  True, I had lived through the big Hypoglycemia craze of the 70's but no way could I eat tuna for breakfast or whatever that diet was pushing.  I was even tested and after going through he**, they said it was "inconclusive." 

Yes, do tell her.  Apparently, hypoglycemics are supposed to avoid sugar, but if we "bottom out" sugar is exactly what we need.  The doctor did say that if that happened, to get to her office or a hospital asap.  Hypoglycemia can be very dangerous and is not something to be taken lightly.

I've had some problems finding some good recommendations for diet, though.  As I understand it, protein and carbohydrates should be eaten together and frequently throughout the day.

The orange juice first thing in the morning is a good tip.  Thanks!

Ann;

Just checking in with you to see how you are doing.  Did you pick up a blood sugar monitor?  Seen by your doctor yet?  Hope you are doing better.

Blessings;

Joy

I was just cleaning out my books and I found and posted "The Low Blood Sugar Cookbook".  It was my bible many years ago when I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia.  Well, I am now a full blown diabetic so I really don't have a need for it anymore.  My sugars always run high now.

Anyways, I just thought it might help someone like it helped me.

Take care of yourselves...

-Suzanne