Hello! I recently had my annual check up with my primary doc and while I was there I talked to her about trying IV therapy for my POTS. So, she wrote me a script for 1L of Lactated Ringer’s with 5% Dextrose administered over an hour.
Well, I had the IV and it went fine except that by the time I got home (15 min drive), I was really weak and shaky and lightheaded and sleepy. I checked, and my blood pressure was actually normal, but my heart rate was a little high. I thought laying down would help like it usually does but I didn’t feel any better and was actually really hungry, so I managed to drag myself to the kitchen to heat up a can of soup. After eating a small bowl of it I felt better, but still felt terrible the rest of the day.
I couldn’t figure out why I felt so awful. I attributed it to having had a lot of blood drawn for labs that morning (about 12 tubes) and I also hadn’t eaten in a few hours. However, thinking back on it after doing some research, I think I was actually very hypoglycemic? It seems to fit my symptoms. Also, my doctor had previously mentioned I might have reactive hypoglycemia because my POTS seems to get worse after eating, especially when I eat carbs. So, I have been trying out a low carb diet and that seems to help. However, I thought reactive hypoglycemia was a digestive issue and my IV had nothing to do with my digestive system.
I messaged my doctor about it and she said the clinic only uses Lactated Ringer’s IVs with Dextrose, but she will try and special order them without dextrose but must get approval from the director. I do not have a blood glucose monitor, so I do not know if it really was a hypoglycemia episode or something else. I have only been able to find information about Lactated Ringer’s IVs with Dextrose causing hyperglycemia not hypoglycemia. Has anyone else experienced anything like this after getting an IV?