Whatever I Eat Before Noon Gives Me Hypoglycemic Symptoms

[It'sMyLife]

For the past week, after every meal (no matter the size) that I have before lunch time I am bombarded with POTS and hypoglycemic symptoms: weakness, tachy, winded, shaky, and sweaty. I have not taken my blood sugar since I don’t have a monitor, but I have taken my bp. I usually have a narrow pulse pressure and mild tachycardia.

This happens within minutes of finishing eating. The symptoms never completely go away until around lunch time.

Some of the things I’ve been eating are Balance Bars (peanut butter protein bars), bagels with peanut butter, bacon and eggs, pancakes and bacon, and waffles and bacon (usually only put a tiny bit of syrup on these). I have also tried oatmeal with a little brown sugar and it usually does the same thing. Oh, and cheerios and milk without adding any additional sugar to it.

Can anyone give me any info as to why this might be happening?

ETA: This has happened to me in the past but usually when I have a lot of sugar too early in the day. Now, it's everything I eat.

[sue1234]

The only way to know what is going on is to check your blood sugar all morning--when you get up, before you eat and again when symptoms hit. Do you know anyone who has a monitor you could borrow?

I fight low blood sugar every morning, but mine doesn't happen until about 2 1/2 hours after I eat.

[It'sMyLife]

I'm not sure I have anyone I can borrow from but maybe my doc can loan me one???

I just came accross something interesting though. This is part of a Wikipedia article on Reactive Hypoglycemia.I found it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_hypoglycemia

Postprandial Syndrome and Adrenergic Postprandial Syndrome

If there is no hypoglycemia at the time of the symptoms, this condition is called Postprandial Syndrome. It might be an "Adrenergic Postprandial Syndrome" - the glycemia is normal, but the symptoms are caused through autonomic adrenergic counterregulation.^[9] Often, this syndrome is associated with emotional distress and anxious-behaviour of the patient [1] [2]. Dietary recommendations for reactive hypoglycemia can help to relieve symptoms of postprandial syndrome.

[It'sMyLife]

I found a good one here I think. I haven?t read the whole thing as my 3 yo is playing with legos all over me right now. Lol

http://www.em-consulte.com/article/79899#N10272

Abstract

Postprandial reactive hypoglycemia (PRH) can be diagnosed if sympathetic and neuroglucopenic symptoms develop concurrently with low blood sugar (< 3.3 mmol). Neither the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) nor mixed meals are suitable for this diagnosis, due to respectively false positive and false negative results. They should be replaced by ambulatory glycemic control or, as recently proposed, an hyperglucidic breakfast test. PRH patients often suffer from an associated adrenergic hormone postprandial syndrome, with potential pathologic consequences such as cardiac arrhythmia. PRH could result from (a) an exaggerated insulin response, either related to insulin resistance or to increased glucagon-like-peptide 1; ( renal glycosuria; © defects in glucagon response; (d) high insulin sensitivity, probably the most frequent cause (50-70 %), which is not adequately compensated by hypoinsulinemia and thus cannot be measured by indices of insulin sensitivity such as the homeostatic model assessment. Such situations are frequent in very lean people, or after massive weight reduction, or in women with moderate lower body overweight. PRH is influenced by patient's alimentary habits (high carbohydrate-low fat diet, alcohol intake). Thus, diet remains the main treatment, although a-glucosidase inhibitors and some other drugs may be helpful.

[jem15]

Though I"m not sure why it's happening, I know some people's POTS symptoms get worse after eating, especially bigger meals. I want to say it has something with the blood flow going to the abdomen to aid with digestion, but don't quote me on that.

Anyway I've been hypoglycemic for years, and every once in a while it'll randomly get worse for some reason, and even if I ate something seemingly appropriate, sometimes my blood sugar drops quickly and need to eat something else. Sometimes, if youre waking up in the morning with already low blood sugar or on the way down, depending on what you eat in the morning, it might not be enough or might aggravate things. Sometimes it's lowered from the night before , and sometimes can get "nocturnal hypoglycemia" which happens overnight. Usually they'll say to eat a small snack, with protein and complex carbohydrates at night.. like maybe a whole grain slice of bread w/ peanut butter or something.... that may help you last through the night and keep your level more stable in the morning. Depending on my reflux issues, sometimes I do that at night, but sometimes dont have to.

If it seems to not be going away, I'd maybe get a blood sugar monitor so you know its that for sure. I eventually did and it's helpful sometimes when I cant tell if it's hypoglycemic faint or POTS faint, though usually I can. You can get the monitors sent to you for free from some companies and they usually include sample needles and test strips. Also check with your insurance about which brands have the cheapest test strips/needles. Some are cheaper, some are more expensive, some I think you can get OTC,but I've gotten some thru Rx to from my doctor since it's cheaper. I got a free Contour monitor, but the strips were too expensive. So I switched to FreeStyle lite cause it was cheaper.... They sent a free monitor/kit... as does One Touch I believe... I'm sure you could google it.

If indeed your sugar is low or borderline, maybe due the hypoglycemic diet thing(smaller meals/snacks in between), or at least try it in the morning.. try eating every 3 hours or so and adjust it as needed...One nutritionist said to do about 30g carbohydrates for breakfast or meals, but not too much higher than that, and 20g for snacks. You always want high protein with it. And you want to go for complex carbs instead of just regular that more quickly converts to sugar. I'd stay away from all sugar, syrups ,etc in the morning, even if it's only "a little".. and even if it's combined with protein. With me, I cant have a sweetened yogurt in the morning, evethough there's protein and even if i add more protein to it... my blood sugar drops quickly after.

Bagels are generally high in simple carbs and could be too much for you in the morning. If you still want to try it, maybe only do half, or a quarter of the bagel. Peanut butter is good depending on the kind, it might have too much sugar for you if you're not doing the natural, just peanuts/salt kind, it might help to switch. protein bars sometime have too much sugar too, so that might not be the best option depending on the bar. Oatmeal has some protein, but I know for me, I cant just have oatmeal, or my blood sugar drops too quickly.. 4g or so isnt enough for me, so I have to add egg whites or something else with it. Eggs/bacon should be fine, I'd just add a slice 100%whole wheat/ whole grain bread.. you need a "good carb" in there, just not regular. Fruit may or may not be ok for you.. If I do a small amount of fruit in the morning, I just need to make sure I have enough protein to balance it out, and count the fruit towards my 30g carbs. And then of course, make sure you eat a protein snack/good carb 3hrs or so later. That should help prevent getting hypo.(the protein/good carbs) If you already have low blood sugar, to quickly get it up, that's when you'd have regular sugar, just to get it stabilized, then the right food to maintain it.

Ha, you might know/be doing all that already, but figured I'd share my experience in case it helps

[sue1234]

I bumped up the "All about low blood sugar" thread I had started a few weeks ago. You might see that quite a few of us have the problem. Thanks for your posts of articles here on this thread too.

[juliegee]

Great article connecting dysautonomia with hypoglycemia (!!!!) & sounds exactly like what happens to me too.

I have a few thoughts. Are you drinking coffee in the AM? If so, what sweetener? Even splenda can worsen hypoglycemia. I have found that stevia is the only one that doesn't. With really severe hypoglycemia- no caffeine or alcohol is the rule. Both severely mess with glucose levels.

Protein should be your primary fuel- soft or hard boiled eggs, bacon. If you want to add a carb, whole wheat toast only- with butter, no jam.

No, no, no sugar in the AM. No fruit, no "bars", no white or partially white bread or cereal, no syrup, nothing sweet or remotely sweet

Mid morning, try more protein: cheese on a whole wheat cracker, turkey slice on 100% whole wheat bread or cracker.

I had to go to a diet like this- works wonders. I hope it helps.

Julie

[futurehope]

Over the years, I've come down to:

oatmeal with dried cranberries, cut up dates, and 2 prunes. This is a relatively minor amount of "fruit" sugar. No pancakes, syrup, caffeine, orange juice, french toast. I also eat cooked egg whites for protein. This works for me. I have to be especially careful what I ingest for "breaking the fast", as I overreact to processed, and sugary foods. I'm okay with the minor amount of fruit in my cereal, though. I do not use white sugar or any sweeteners in the morning.

[MightyMouse]

It may not be blood sugar at all... post prandial hypotension can cause all those symptoms--and it is set off by eating, when the stomach starts to utilize more blood flow in order to start digestion; this can pull blood volume away from your general flow, causing a quick drop in BP that can make you feel awful.

http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec03/ch023/ch023d.html

small, low carb meals may help. I have personally found that I have much more energy since dropping many carbs out of my diet and eating mostly protein rich meals, with fiber and a small amt of carbs.

[It'sMyLife]

Thank you all so much for your informative and helpful replies. I will experiment with my morning diet and do some more reading. I may ask my Dr. for a script for a glucose monitor and then I'll know if I'm actually becoming hypoglycemic or not.

Thanks again!

ETA: I am also going to take my bp before and after I eat tomorrow to find out what's going on there. I usually only take it after I eat and start to feel bad.

[Dizzysillyak]

All I could think of when I read your food list was the amount of carbs in those foods that you're eating ...

I have chronic hypoglycemia, recently proven via a GTT w/ insulin, which has gotten worse in the last few months so I'm just eating real meat protein (steak, salmon, mahi mahi, etc ) and brocolli or aspargus or lettuce with pumpkin seed salad dressing for breakfast and 0 carbs ... otherwise I feel sick ... the protein in eggs or bacon isn't enough to help me either.

I can have a few carbs later in the day but right now anymore than a slice of apple, a bite of banana or a slice of an orange and I start feeling sick again ... (This too shall pass ... )

I'd get a GTT w/ insulin if I were you ... or maybe you can borrow a monitor from a diabetic friend so you can watch your glucose ...

[It'sMyLife]

Thanks Dizzy!

ETA: I forgot to add that I do not drink any caffeinated beverages due to another condition that I have. I sure do miss my tea and occasional cup of coffee though.

[juliegee]

FYI, I bought my glucose monitor at Wal-Mart (store brand) w/o a prescription.

Julie

[EarthMother]

I have issues with reactive hypoglycemia and post pranial hyptension ... I can pretty much count on getting sick after eating anything before 3 in the afternoon. But I DO eat because it is much worse for me if my blood sugar drops on its own.

I eat every 2-3 hours ... VERY SMALL AMOUNTS until later in the day (usually dinner) when I can eat a normal size meal.

What works best for me to stabilize things is four ounces of whole milk. Low fat milk has milk solids added to it and these tend to cause an MSG like reaction (http://msgmyth.com has lots of info on hidden sources of glutamates.) I also take two ounces of aloe vera papaya ... to settle my stomach and aid in the digestion.

Good luck finding what works for you.

[Chaos]

I'm with the rest of these folks... can't eat pancakes (even with tiny amounts of syrup) or french toast or oatmeal (unless I mix in a LOT of protein powder with it). I've taken to eating a piece of whole wheat toast with cheese and salt added to it. Figure it kills two birds with one stone as they say.

My sister-in-law had recommended reading "The Zone" several years ago. It gave me a good idea about relative glycemic levels of food and has helped me keep a better sense of the carbs I'm eating. Caterpilly 15 did a good job of giving ideas too.

Julie (Mack's Mom) thanks for the tip about getting an OTC glucose monitor.

[comfortzone]

Yoplait now has a Greek style yogurt in vanilla-honey, raspberry and some other fruit flavors for about 130 calories -- The good thing about it is that it has twice the amount of protein as any other yogurt -- They bumped it to 12 grams....I think it has 19 of carbs. It says 2X protein on it. I only mention it because fitness trainers will tell you that your body loves dairy after a workout as the first thing you ingest.......absolutely don't know why or what dairy does - but if it doesn't bother you - maybe that kind of protein could help at breakfast. It's a $1.29 for a six ounce carton where I live..........good luck to you! Oh and I got my glucose monitor for free by talking with the nurse that my insurance company provided on the phone.........these phone triage nurses that work for insurance companies can do things like that if you tell them what's going on -- I think I had Pacificare or United Health at that time -- now I have different insurance - but you could check with yours if you have it and see what the nurse can do for you.

[Birdlady]

As another poster recommended, just go to wal-mart and buy the ReliOn brand meter. Their test strips are WAY WAY cheaper than the other brands. Don't get suckered into buying the other brand meters or you'll be forking out $50+ for the test strips. Meters are cheap, test strips are not. That's how they get you.

[MightyMouse]

I eat bread, pizza and pancakes that I make using recipes I've found online; all of them are very low carb, high protein and fiber, and completely gluten free. This morning I had my homemade toast with sugar free apricot preserves. Last night I had pancakes and sugar free syrup. If you choose to try this method, you can look at the website called "chow", and look up recipes from Elena's Pantry; I've found her stuff to be really tasty. Also, there is a modified pancake recipe of hers I found elsewhere, but cannot locate the original link-- it has about a 1/4 cup of ricotta cheese added, along with using seltzer to make the pancakes fluffier--it's the version I use when I make them. I usually make a double batch, and wrap up extras each in single servings so I can reheat quickly in the morning.

Nina

[It'sMyLife]

Thank you for the helpful replies.

I took my bp today before and after eating and there was a noticable drop in bp and rise in pulse. I hope to post the numbers soon

[juliegee]

I'm with the rest of these folks... can't eat pancakes (even with tiny amounts of syrup) or french toast or oatmeal (unless I mix in a LOT of protein powder with it). I've taken to eating a piece of whole wheat toast with cheese and salt added to it. Figure it kills two birds with one stone as they say.

My sister-in-law had recommended reading "The Zone" several years ago. It gave me a good idea about relative glycemic levels of food and has helped me keep a better sense of the carbs I'm eating. Caterpilly 15 did a good job of giving ideas too.

Julie (Mack's Mom) thanks for the tip about getting an OTC glucose monitor.

Chaos-

I also eat cheese melted on whole wheat toast with salt- Breakfast of Champions Thought I was alone. Good to find another connoisseur

Julie

[issie]

Thank you for the helpful replies.

I took my bp today before and after eating and there was a noticable drop in bp and rise in pulse. I hope to post the numbers soon

After having read what has been written, so far. All I can think of is FOOD ALLERGIES!! It can cause the pulse rise too. Just about everything listed as being eaten at breakfast in the first post, can cause allergies in sensitive people. It may not be a full blown allergy but a sensitivitiy to it.

[carinara]

the same happens to me as soon as i eat carbs. Carbs dilate blood vessels and everything that dilates blood vessels makes me very sick.

[It'sMyLife]

Thank you for the helpful replies.

I took my bp today before and after eating and there was a noticable drop in bp and rise in pulse. I hope to post the numbers soon

After having read what has been written, so far. All I can think of is FOOD ALLERGIES!! It can cause the pulse rise too. Just about everything listed as being eaten at breakfast in the first post, can cause allergies in sensitive people. It may not be a full blown allergy but a sensitivitiy to it.

It could be sensitivities but I have the most symptoms in the morning. Don’t you think that I would have the same response regardless of the time of day?

[MightyMouse]

No, your response will be different at different times of day because the hormones in your body that keep bp low are at their peak in the morning and then lessen across the day. Check out information on cortisol, as well as catecholamines--you can find all of this on the main DINET/POTSplace website. This is why mornings tend to be so hard for so many of us.

Nina

[MightyMouse]

Okay, it took me a gosh darned while, but I finally found the alternate recipe for the pancakes that used ricotta; this is the link, which suggest yogurt but I blend some ricotta instead, then use it.

http://www.the-gluten-free-chef.com/almond...r-pancakes.html

you can get blanched almond flour and many of the big groceries like Wegmans, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, or make your own by using a mill or grinder and blanched almonds.