? for those w/blood sugar issues..

[doulachic]

was hoping that those with blood sugar issues could help me out. i am thinking (for some time now) that there is something not quite right with my blood sugar levels, but maybe i am wrong...here are some things that are going on:

sometimes, (but not always, just occasionally) i will get really tired in the afternoon, like an hour after lunch. and i mean just a regular lunch w/no sugary stuff. sometimes it is so bad i have to take a nap, not just a catnap, but like for an hour or so. Sometimes it isn't right after lunch, but more like between 1 and 4 in the afternoon. it isn't just normal "i had a busy day" tired, it is more like i am weak and just really sleepy.

also, in the morning i can not have sweets like pancakes w/syrup or cinnimon rolls, donuts, ect. or i feel really sick to my stomach and get a headache. i can eat this stuff any other time of the day with no ill effects, just not first thing in the morning, or if i have gone without a meal for a long time.

any ideas? i am thinking i need to get a fasting blood sugar test done? i just had regular blood tests about 2 months ago, but my dr. didn't say anything was unusual, but then it was just a regular checkup and he wasn't really "looking" for anything.

anyway, just thought i would throw it out there and see what you guys thought. i am thinking of going in to see my dr. about it, but i feel a little silly if i am just being paranoid.

[Älskling]

I have similar issues where I feel really weak not long after eating sometimes. I wonder if I have reactive hypoglycemia.

http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/hypoglycemia/

I don't think you're being silly but I also don't think it's a sign of anything serious. I really don't think we're meant to eat things like pancakes with syrup just by the fact that there's no food, in it's natural form that has as much sugar as something like that. That being said, I don't think you're doctor will think you're being paranoid if you ask for a test.

Maria

[piratejenny]

I too feel a bit "off" if I eat nothing but sweets for breakfast. Mornings when breakfast consists entirely of donuts that someone brought to a meeting are the absolute worst!!

Here's what I tried, based on the advice of someone who had the same problem. I started mixing in a little protein with each starchy breakfast. For example, I'll eat a muffin with peanut butter spread across. Or a bagel with melted cheese or hummus on top. Or if I'm at home, I'll make toast with one scrambled egg on the side. I feel much better if I've had that little bit of protein with breakfast.

I wouldn't worry too much about afternoon sleepiness either. That time of day, it is natural to feel sleepy, based on the body's circadian rhythms. In fact, it's the second sleepiest time of day, with overnight (midnight to 6 am.) being #1. It's so common to feel sleepy and sluggish between 1-4 PM that scientists have dubbed it "the post-lunch dip." Apparently it has nothing to do with lunch, it's just the time of day.

Good luck!
P.J.

[nonskanse]

When I was younger, and again now that I have scheduled meals, breakfast is really hard to eat.
I feel sick and a little dizzy the first few bites of my peanut butter toasted pita, and water doesn't even go so well.

I think it has to do with the fact that your stomach hasn't been working for 8+ hours (at least for me, I eat dinner around 7 or 8 and breakfast around 7, I figure the stomach has been empty at least 8 hours at that point). The sudden introduction of food probably shocks it a little bit.

I used to not eat breakfast because of this, and I was fine metabolism wise but I was 11-18 during that time and taking 2-4 dance classes a week. I also kind of ate 3 different meals, lunch dinner and dessert.

So just eat a couple bites slowly and read the paper. And go ahead and get those tests, let us know the results (if its just reactive hypoglycemia its not so bad... and more people have it than realize I'll bet).

[Kevin]

Hmm. You're not being paranoid, but I wouldn't panic.

Unfortunately, most of the symptoms you describe in both cases can be described as symptoms of either high or low Bg.

Low Bg feels like you haven't eaten for eight hours, times three. You'll be cranky, short, feel jittery, have trouble concentrating, have a headache....

High Bg feels content, maybe dopey and sleepy but not "uncomfortable". More like you'd like to take a nap than you have to take a nap. Very high Bg adds nausea, tingling of extremeties (maybe), general unrest, also crankiness - but depressed crankiness, not nasty crankiness. But not weak.

You can see this is subjective.

It's worth a visit. If you can see the doctor in the morning, go without eating for 12 hours (drink as much water as you'd like - the more the merrier if they are going to be drawing blood). Then you can tell him you've been fasting, and you can avoid another, undue trip.

The next test is a glucose tolerance test, where they make you ingest carbohydrate (dextrose syrup) and test your sugar at intervals for a couple of hours. Finger prick tests, often.


Good luck. Let us know how you feel.

Oh, I've been an insulin-dependent diabetic going on 25 years!

[doulachic]

thanks Kevin, that was really helpful and i appreciate the info. Think i will go to a different doctor and get some stuff done...the reason for a different doctor is that the one i go to is kind of old and one time my mom tried to tell him about HER blood sugar issues and he just kind of rolled his eyes more or less like he thought there was no such thing as low blood sugar. maybe that is why i haven't said anything to him about it.

anyway, once when i was pregnant, they did the test where i had to drink that syrup stuff...OH GROSS!! it tasted like orange pop syrup without the water....to this day i can't drink orange pop without thinking of it!

anyway, thanks again!

[Laff]

This is going in a whole different direction but have you any concerns about sleep apnea? Before I was diagnosed and on CPAP I would close my office door at my coffee break in the afternoon and put my head on my desk and sleep. Your description of your tiredness brought back memories.

[doulachic]

don't think it is sleep apnea, though that is something to think about. thanks!