I had a bg of 39 without taking anything when I was hypoglycemic and I wasn't taking anything, didn't even know I had D then, nor did I have any rare disorder. Some people do have pure hypoglycemia also I think, one of my nurses said she had that and was afraid to do finger sticks.
hum, IDK, as I said, just went to a seminar about this and every endo said there is no such thing as just hypoglycemia and that's what's stated in all the medical literature..unless something else is going on, prediabetes won't cause hypoglycemia. just stating what i was told and what was taught in the seminar and in medical literature.
maybe you shouldn't believe everything you're told.. especially by docs... lol :-)
although I agree there is some cause for hypoglycemia when it isn't D. I have read several accounts here from people who are type 1 who had reactive hypoglycemia, or what seemed to be that long before D, and one had severe episodes shorty before her onset.
how would you know you had a BG of 39 when you didn't know anything was wrong, didn't or wasn't diagnosed with diabetes yet...how would you know to even test or have any meter to test if you hadn't even thought something was wrong or didn't have diabetes yet?
there's always a 'once in a lifetime' only one in a million type of story on here, i suppose.
The body doesn't just push a blood sugar down (without something like meds, etc..)to a very low level without something else happening, it's a symptom of something else and prediabetes is not one of them. there is nothing within 'prediabetes' that would cause the blood sugars to become dangerously low. one can feel hypoglycemic, shaking, etc..if they don't eat, but TRUE hypoglycemia doesn't 'just happen'.
What I meant to say is that I had reactive hypoglycemia for about two years before my actual T1D diagnosis. My candy bar hypo-fix was pre-diagnosis. I usually use Dex4 glucose tablets. It's easier to resist over-treatment and the glucose roller coaster ride.
homesteader, i hope you're able to get in and see an endo. keep logging your numbers, etc...they'll be able to test you for type 1 or whatever type? maybe there was something within your Hodgkin's disease and treatment (chemo - radiation, etc..???)and, BTW, so sorry to hear about that..and yes, you're a survivor for sure:) which could be the result of prior hypoglycemia or your lower blood sugars? Best of luck to you. Keep us posted.
I had understood that you meant pre-diagnosis. :) I have to remind myself now that it is okay to have a high-sugar food to correct the hypo. I am so used to thinking of high-sugar food as bad now! Thankfully, I haven't had any hypos in a quite a while.
Actually, it's better to use glucose tablets to treat a low. You can compute a precise dose and they are the most rapid acting. Also you won't be tempted to overdo and then go high like you might with a good tasting treat.
Sarah, not sure what to tell you- I knew I was having bg issues somehow from my symptoms and I bought a meter to test myself... I was testing and got a 39. I wrote records of my tests and asked for advice on a hypoglycemia site. and later re-read it, years later after my dka..
I don't know why you find that so hard to believe that someone could be sensitive to their own body and know something was going on? it's not a once in a million... as I told you, other people here wrote they had the same experiences... I'm not sure if they went as far as testing themselves... I did and I wish that had been testing myself prior to dka because most certainly I would not have wound up in a life threatening situation. None of my docs did bg testing when I had signs of high bg- not one of them! Until it was too late and I was in dka, and even then my gp did not put me in hospital, he nearly killed me and caused me to have serious complications.
@ Sarah
um, yes it does and has ....it is called reactive hypoglycemia. And some folks find they are diabetic once they find they are hypoglycemic, and sometimes some become pregnant and the first trouble is low bg and often they are not aware until a test shows this. So yes, TRUE hypoglycemia does just happen.
Reactive hypoglycemia happens when the body overreacts to a rise in blood glucose caused by a carby meal and produces too much insulin, resulting in a crash in blood sugar.
I have researched this in the past and find some sources that say it has nothing to do with diabetes and others that say that, in some cases, it can be an early sign of diabetes.
Here's a synopses from dLife. Quoting from dLife:
The causes of most cases of reactive hypoglycemia are still open to debate. Some researchers suggest that certain people may be more sensitive to the body’s normal release of the hormone epinephrine, which causes many of the symptoms of hypoglycemia. Others believe deficiencies in glucagon secretion might lead to reactive hypoglycemia. Low blood sugar levels after eating may also be an early sign of prediabetes (or diabetes) as the body may over-produce insulin in response to hyperglycemia after meals, leading to subsequent hypoglycemia.
I think its fair to say that it is poorly understood. Several have posted here on tuD that reactive hypoglycemia was the first clue they had that something was not right with their sugar metabolism. Of course such anecdotal evidence does not constitute scientific proof of cause and effect, but it does seem to be a recurring theme.
I realize this is an old post, but I thought I would throw my $0.02 in, since I feel in a similar boat. I suffered from hypoglycemic episodes all growing up and was lucky enough to have a father who was diagnosed (through a 5 hour GTT) with reactive hypoglycemia and kept me on track. Then I went off to college and decided I needed to lose some weight (on a diet of cereal, pasta, and veggies) and ended up with my own 5 hour GTT and reactive hypoglycemia diagnosis (BG of 54 mg/dl at 3 hours) and my first experience with a glucose meter. Add in 3 pregnancies with gestational diabetes and a high A1C 4 years ago (6.1 despite healthy weight and active lifestyle) and I decided to start tracking my sugars on my own (sporadically). Over the last three years my A1C has been climbing back up (after getting it down to 5.7 with lower carbs and more exercise) and I decided to get serious. I've been regularly checking for the last three months and am not thrilled. If I eat even a reasonable about of carbs (say 40-60 grams), my numbers shot up past 140 and sometimes (at least lately) stay there for awhile. I've finally decided to go to the doctor about it. I hope you have gotten some answers since this post. And thanks for sharing - I found your story helpful to me.