Night Hypo

Posted , 5 users are following.

hi everyone,

sorry for the long post, i am on a quest to find out what is happening to me.

For the past 2 years (since a bad virus and lots of stress in my life), i have been a complete mess and i can barely function. I have muscle pains, i can't diget anything (i have gastroparesis), tons of reflux, went into AFIB twice, restless legs and a few other things.

Ever since i was a kid, i had problems with my blood sugar. I would pass out as a boy if deprived of glucose for too long. Over the years, i have tried to eat a low carb diet, but as soon as i go too low carb, i get sick: nausea, headache, fatigue, stomach ache, pins and needles...Despite my blood tests never revealing anything drastic (either always in the low or high range with B GL and HbA1c), i have struggled with this all my life and find myself eating carefully, every 2 hours.

In Feb this years, i had my second episode of AFIB, and i have been taking Beta Blockers since then. I am eating much more now, and i feel hypo quicker than ever. I also sleep worse than ever, with my body waking up every hour, as in a panic, with eleveted heart beat, stomach grumbles, feeling of being wired, and occasional sweat. And i also have the need to stretch my body. This happens about 7 times per night. I am totally exhausted in the morning.

I guess my question is: does this all sound like Hypo to you? i have never been diagnosed. I am especially concerned about my sleeping problems. I would almost rather be insomniac than experiencing these jolts that wake me up and freak me out so many times per night.

thank you for your help.

eric

 

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • Posted

    Have you had a glucose tolerance test done?

    Lill

    • Posted

      i did, about 10 years ago. i can't remember for sure but i have 2.3 as a result in mind for insuline basal...does this number even make sense?

      best,

      eric

       

    • Posted

      Hello Yume ~ Well that could be , however, you certainly couldn't be diabetic with that result! smile  And for all these years you continue to have symptoms and yet your doctor doesn't seem to be trying anything more...that must be upsetting. There are people who do become hypoglycemic even though they are not diabetic..

      Two types of hypoglycemia can occur in people who do not have diabetes:Reactive hypoglycemia, also called postprandial hypoglycemia, occurs within 4 hours after meals.

      Fasting hypoglycemia, also called postabsorptive hypoglycemia, is often related to an underlying disease.

      In reactive hypoglycemia, symptoms occur within 4 hours of eating. People with reactive hypoglycemia are usually advised to follow a healthy eating plan and to have regular intake.

      Fasting hypoglycemia can be caused by certain medications, critical illnesses, hereditary enzyme or hormonal deficiencies, and some kinds of tumors, although this is quite rare.

      I wonder, given that you sound as though you are having hypoglycemic episodes, if your doctor would send you to an endocrinologist who might do additional testing?

      It would be interesting and useful for you to test your sugars with a meter. Taking them after you eat @ the 2hour mark. For instance if you begin eating a 1pm, then take your sugar at 3pm.  And then also take it when you are having the symptoms.  Take it before bed and again in the morning before you eat and two hours after you begin breakfast.

      I do not  mean to do all these every day, but mix them up and for certain do the ones, even during the night when you wake with symptoms.

      Keep a log of results...time, when they were taken ie with symtoms or ie 2hours after beginning your eating. This may provide some direction as to what is happening.

      Do you take any medications? Any at all?

      Lill

    • Posted

      hi Lill,

      thank you.

      A couple of years ago, i started checking my BS in the morning. It was always around 110 / 115. My doc said not to worry. But i also remember a few blood tests when i was younger with BS of around 60 during the day.

      I currently take Beta Blockers and they make my hypo (if that is what i have) worse i think.

      best,

      eric

       

    • Posted

      Yume

      I know that beta blockers can and do influence insulin/glucose levels in diabetics but really are not found to affect those values in nondiabetics.

      Intersting that your diastolic BP reading (the bottom number) is so high...have you continued to check your BP?  Usually people who have elevated diastolic pressures go on to have full on hypertension. This would be worth checking into and if there are continued hypertensive readings you may need to have some cardiac reviews.

      How are your cholesterol/cholesterol ratio, triglyceride bldwork readings?

      Lill

  • Posted

    Hello Yume, irratic heart beats insomnia, low energy, food sensitivities and digestive problems, panic, alternating wired and tired... All thyroid symptoms, although thyroid and diabetes symptoms sometimes overlap... Check your body temp. A good rule of thumb is if your body temp is more than one degree Fahrenheit low, you may have hypothyroidism. With thyroid disease, it is common to have both high and low thyroid, but you end up treating the low (hypo) thyroid, and that usually helps. 

    The other issue you may be having is a gluten reaction, which often accompanies hypothyroidism. 

    If if your thyroid function is sporadic- both high and low, the problem likely won't show up in blood work, even if you do a full thyroid panel. At this point, you have to look at the clinical symptoms (are your fingertips colder than palms? Low body temp? Etc.) in order to find out if you need thyroid medication.

    Really,your best approach is a holistic one. Both blood sugar and thyroid are part of the endocrine system, so a good endocrinologist should be able to help if you can't sort it out on your own.

    Good luck!

    • Posted

      hello and thank you for your response,

      my doc never suspected Thyroid because my TSH, T3 and T4 always fall in the normal range, although recently my TSH was lower than it has been (below 1).

      My temp fluctuates quite a bit. I started to sweat sometimes for no reason and i also get cold easily, especially the extremeties. Coudl be the Beta Blockers.

      But an appt with an endocrinologist is a good idea. thanks.

      best.

      eric

      p.s: i stopped eating gluten many years back...

  • Posted

    Why keep guessing, buy a blood glucose meter, that is the only way you will find out.
    • Posted

      yes, you are right. i will do so. my initial post was more to gauge if people with experience of glucose related disorders could tell me if my night symptoms sound like they could be related to such a problem.
  • Posted

    Hello Yume

    ​Reading whats been happening to you i wonder if you have a over active thyriod this can bring on night sweats and hot flushes if left un-treated it can attack your body by giving you other things that can make you ill all your symtons point to this being the case i also have this so i know the signs.You need to go and see your doctor and ask if you can have a thyriod Function Test (Blood Test) and tell him whats been happening to you if he wont help go and see another doctor in the practise.

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