gertie Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Is this common with dysautonomia? Do a lot of you have this problem? If so, how do you manage to finish a medical procedure where fasting is involved? The more liquids I consume that contain sugar the lower my glucose drops. The only thing that will stabilize my glucose if protein. Also, do you know what kind of IV's are given to stabilize our glucose levels? I can't image that it contains only sugars. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloppyllama Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 I do not know of anyone here who has hypoglycemia, so unfortunately I don't know how much help all of us will be. But hopefully there will be someone with some helpful tips. My only suggestion would be to drink salt water when you have to fast for medical procedures, because as gross as that is, its what your body needs and all you could take in since you cant have sugar. Best of luck to you, I hope you figure out something that works when you have to fast.Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajw4790 Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 Hi, As part of my autonomic neuropathy I do get hypoglycemic/reactive hypoglycemia. It tends to come on quick and I have yet to find a real pattern to it. It can be a symptom for dysautonomics. I personally do not have much recent experience with fasting prior to a procedure, so I don't have great advice. If you can drink, I would think it is important to stay hydrated. Make sure the the last food/meal prior to fasting is more protein and fiber and not many complex carbs/sugars. Then, try to take it easy so to not burn off all the calories quickly so you feel hungry and your body starts prepping for a meal that it will need to wait longer than usual to receive. I would think for myself if I was sleeping the most of the time prior to the procedure it may help as well. Also, to plan to have a ride there and back to be safe. Also, have a snack ready for when you can consume it.Also, I guess I do see a correlation with when I kind of get an adrenaline surge that it can cause hypoglycemia, so I guess to try and avoid that as well (stressful situations, stress on body- a lot of posture changes etc.).Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawson20 Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 I have occasional lows but for the most part I handle fasting alright (my lows are usually reactive to overly sugary foods with little or no protein). My youngest son however has severe ketotic hypoglycemia - he cannot fast at all for more than 3-4 hours during the day and requires a massive dose of corn starch at bedtime to stabalize his blood sugars overnight. Any medical procedure requiring fasting requires that he be admitted ahead of time for IV D10 (saline solution with 10% Dextrose). IV D10 is usually more than enough to stabalize a persons blood sugar while fasting when their prone to hypoglycemia, provided it is run continuously... as soon as its stopped the blood sugar will tank as it is akin to drinking nothing but sugar water steady... theres no protien to stabalize it at all. as long as its running though, blood sugar will stay steady. IV D5 (5% dextrose) is used sometimes for my son, when he is not sick, but more often than not they opt for the D10. We find with Tyler that sugary liquids (apple juice for example) are good for bringing his sugar up in a hurry if hes low, but they stink for keeping it there - if we dont follow up with some protein fast his sugar will tank even lower than when we started. we only ever give him sugary stuff when his sugar is low and we need to get it up fast, otherwise sugars are just bad news for him. Fruit will do this too - he needs to balance fruit with protiens or we end up in teh same place. Corn starch (raw, mixed with milk) will keep his sugar up for longer periods of time (Its a very complex carbohydrate and takes alot longer to break down than other stuff, so it acts as a 'slow release' carb to keep the sugar up longer) which is why we give it to him at bedtime and occasionally during the day if he is sick and his intake is down. This is generally only reccomended on the advice of a doc though because the amount of raw cornstarch needed to keep sugars up is alot and that can cause problems of its own (we deal with absorption issues, diarrhea and high sugars with Tyler because of this... fair trade given that without it he wakes up with a blood sugar around 40 (2.4) most mornings. Anyways, weve been immersed in hypoglycemia control over here... sounds like you have already figured out hte biggest triggers (too much sugar, not enough protein)... but yes the IV solution that they run to deal with hypoglycemia is essentially just sugar... its the constant flow that keeps it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carinara Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 I experienced very bad low blood sugar problems in the past. In fact whenever my POTS gets really bad to a point where I am more or less bedridden for a few weeks (that happened 3 times in the last 10 years) my blood sugar went total out of control.Even now since my body is a little more in balance because of a lot of adjustments and so on... i still have to watch what i eat in order to keep my glucose level somewhere normal. (and my POTS Symptoms as well, but thats a different story...)I changed my whole eating happits 4 years ago. I eat well-balanced food now and made myself a eating plan which i stick to since 4 years. No more white bread just wholemeal bread, no fast sugars and almost no chocolate. I prepare my food one day ahead and always take it with me to work, i never go anywhere without some food, because if i feel my blood sugar dropping, i eat a tiny bit (a few bites) and drink some apple juice with water and wait until i feel better. In emergencies i eat a sugar cube plus eat a bit of my food as well. In fact i never eat just something sweet on its own, because then my blood sugar gets high quick but drops down even lower afterwards. I also try to avoid much carbohydrates. They make me worse in general, POTS wise and Blood sugar wise. When i had a medical test were fasting was involved i talked to the doctors and they told me, that a little mouthfull apple juice is ok. It depence on what kind of test you have to go through i guess. If its a glucose test then of course you cant drink anything sweet.I know of cinnamon drugs that should help to stabilize the glucose level. carinara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carly87 Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 I have problems with hypoglycemia. I've been dealing with it for quite some time now, and have gotten it pretty much under control. It is of a reactive nature, so I've solved the problem by eating smaller meals/snacks throughout the day. For tests that require fasting, well, I've never had to do one for more than 6 hours...If I had to go ALL day/night like before a surgery, I don't know what I'd do! I DO know there are liquid protein drinks available, so maybe that would work. Another tip for those hypoglycemics out there: The best "on the go" food to bring with you (that works really well stabilizing blood sugar) is a packet of NUTS! Any kind. If I'm in an emergency, I usually will have a small cup of juice or something sugary that I can get my hands on, followed up by the nuts. Granola bars like the clif mojo bars are good in this case too. I always have something on me...My friends think I'm weird because I always randomly pull something out of my purse! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gertie Posted June 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 Thanks all! From all the research I've done there is no easy solution. I have had IV's that contain nutrients & glucose & did fine during the IV. By the time I got home I passed out & at that time didn't understand why. Now I know to have protein available at all times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawson20 Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 We keep protien bars in our backpack (power bar etc) all the time... their a great quick source of protein that keeps well in my bag... same with any kind of nut bar, packs of peanuts, beef jerky and even peanut butter packs (I have been known to give Tyler strait peanut butter off a spoon in the past!)Your right though - no easy solution, just lots of precautions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megan Posted June 26, 2008 Report Share Posted June 26, 2008 Whenever I have to fast for a test, I make sure that someone is around to take care of me (usually my mom) as I know that I'm going to have to stay in bed and usually borrow a wheelchair to get to and from the car, etc. I have a lot of difficulty. I have to make sure I eat at the last minute before I have to start fasting and as soon as I'm done with the test.Meg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gertie Posted June 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 Thanks Meg, I know you're thankful for your mom. I have no one but DH & by the time I got his attention & told him everything to do, I would be passed out from the stress of it. LOL! Sad but true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 HiIf you have such a bad reaction to fasting for a blood test & after the blood test, I would rather recommend you talking about it with your doctor. You might have to get IV saline solution & glucose before, after and/or during the blood test...Take care,LoveTessaP.S.: Get the test done for problems with sugar... Though you might have hypoglicemic issues even not being a diabetic.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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