Post prandial idiopathic hypoglycaemia and Rapid Gastric Emptying

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I am a Newbie of 1 week and already finding the forums very helpful but I have another query, can anyone help, please.
Yesterday I played golf. For breakfast I had 2 soft boiled eggs and 1 small slice of Burgen bread with butter and a glass of boiled water (I only drink water). I had already drunk 2 pints of water during the night which is about the norm each night.

On the golf course I had a 'smoothie' made with single cream, natural yogurt and a little skimmed milk to make it thinner. (Skimmed milk is what we have always used and all I had in). Into this I mixed some blueberries. I seemed to cope well with this, together with more water to drink. When this ran out I had 1 round of small sliced Burgen bread with butter and peanut butter. (I am trying to have more fat ). This sandwich was cut into 1/4s. I nibbled these very slowly over several holes of golf. During this time I started shaking on 3 separate occasions - each time I had 1 glucose tablet and then followed it with part of my sandwich.

Almost as soon as I came off the golf course I got very blurry vision and 4 hours later I still had the blurred vision, also 'warm' pins and needles and numbness in my left thigh. My thigh muscles in both legs feel as though they are seizing up.

Any comments on this thread/advice on what to eat whilst I am playing golf would be very much appreciated.
 
I would recommend testing just before eating, but to pair it up via Bluetooth on smart phone (presuming you have both). Carry glucose tabs just in case. Mainly I think you could keep the Bluetooth records and food diary and to also take into consideration duration and intensity of your golf ie distance walked vs time. A health smart watch, also Bluetooth compatible, would be good maybe
 
Hi Jen, sorry I wasn't able to reply sooner. Glad your golf yesterday was better - I hope things continue to improve, though 3 lots of shaking doesn't sound great to me :(

I hope the blurred vision doesn't mean you overdid it with the glucose tablets (it's a symptom of rapidly changing blood sugar, so you might get it if your blood sugar's going down fast, but you might also get it if it's gone up too high too fast). I think the temptation with a hypo is often to overtreat it, so it's important to learn just how much you need to stop the shaking without sending your blood sugar into a spike (that's one reason I suggested dried fruit, you can have quite a small amount at a time - though I don't know if it's suitable for your digestive system). Now R's hypoglycaemia is much more under control, he finds that if he does start shaking he can treat it with something like a tomato, but I think in the past he would have needed something higher carb. I showed him your posts and my reply, and he suggested that a small carton of fruit juice to carry round with you for when you start shaking might be another alternative (that's what I use to treat hypos too).

R said the other thing that's helped him is having inulin every day - he thinks it's improved his gut bacteria, and this has improved his digestion. I don't know whether extra fibre is something you'd want though, with your other condition.

R often used to wake up with cramped muscles in his calves - he thought at the time it was lack of salt in his diet, but since he's got his hypoglycaemia much more under control the cramps have stopped, so it could be that this was the same sort of thing as your seized-up thigh muscles.

I'm afraid that I don't know of any other tests for hypoglycaemia - R was just diagnosed by his GP and hasn't seen any specialists about it. They just told him to carry carbs about with him at all times so he didn't risk starving, and that was all the professional advice he's ever been given! 😱 - he's had to work everything else out for himself, though we do know a couple of other people who have it, so that helped.

You could invest in a blood sugar meter if you want to try to keep track of what your blood sugar is doing on a daily basis - I imagine you'd have to buy one unless you have a very understanding GP. Most type 2s here who can't get them on prescription recommend the SD Code Free - it has much cheaper test strips than other meters, apparently.

The other thing I wondered, reading your post, is why did they put you on Metformin? You're not diabetic, and it surely can't help with the rapid gastric emptying - it's notorious for causing stomach upsets!
 
Sedbet said:
I am a Newbie of 1 week and already finding the forums very helpful but I have another query, can anyone help, please.
Yesterday I played golf. For breakfast I had 2 soft boiled eggs and 1 small slice of Burgen bread with butter and a glass of boiled water (I only drink water). I had already drunk 2 pints of water during the night which is about the norm each night.

On the golf course I had a 'smoothie' made with single cream, natural yogurt and a little skimmed milk to make it thinner. (Skimmed milk is what we have always used and all I had in). Into this I mixed some blueberries. I seemed to cope well with this, together with more water to drink. When this ran out I had 1 round of small sliced Burgen bread with butter and peanut butter. (I am trying to have more fat ). This sandwich was cut into 1/4s. I nibbled these very slowly over several holes of golf. During this time I started shaking on 3 separate occasions - each time I had 1 glucose tablet and then followed it with part of my sandwich.

Almost as soon as I came off the golf course I got very blurry vision and 4 hours later I still had the blurred vision, also 'warm' pins and needles and numbness in my left thigh. My thigh muscles in both legs feel as though they are seizing up.

Any comments on this thread/advice on what to eat whilst I am playing golf would be very much appreciated.
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Do you have a blood glucose monitor to evaluate your hypoglycaemia? From the symptoms you describe it's difficult to be certain what your BG might have been, or whether it was to do with 'rate of change' which can trigger its own symptoms.

It sounds like you need to be monitoring your blood glucose levels quite closely around exercise/activity in order to take appropriate corrective carbs - particularly if you drive to the golf course. I'm not sure how the DVLA rules apply to someone with your diagnosis, but it would be worth checking them out.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Do you have a blood glucose monitor to evaluate your hypoglycaemia? From the symptoms you describe it's difficult to be certain what your BG might have been, or whether it was to do with 'rate of change' which can trigger its own symptoms.

It sounds like you need to be monitoring your blood glucose levels quite closely around exercise/activity in order to take appropriate corrective carbs - particularly if you drive to the golf course. I'm not sure how the DVLA rules apply to someone with your diagnosis, but it would be worth checking them out.
Click to expand...
 
Hello Mike and thank you so much for your message.
My Dr has very kindly authorised a BG meter, pen and strips and I am collecting them tomorrow. Hopefully after that I will be able to do quite a bit of testing and work out what are causing my spikes and the dreadful side effects I have been getting. Since I joined here last week I have started following the LCHF way of eating and I have had the best few days I can remember for a very long time!

I will bear what you say about the DVLA in mind but I want to see if my new diet/testing shows some improvement with my blurred vision. In the meantime my husband is quite happy to do the driving.
 
Sedbet said:
Since I joined here last week I have started following the LCHF way of eating and I have had the best few days I can remember for a very long time!
Click to expand...
That's great news.....
 
So glad your doctor has authorised you to get a BG meter etc, that's really (unusually!) good, and will help you to understand what's going on with all your various symptoms - it's sometimes hard to work out whether you are high or low or even whether it's nothing to do with blood sugar at all (we've tested R's blood sugar a couple of times when he's suddenly become ridiculously tired, practically falling over with it, assuming it was a problem with his blood sugar, only to find his reading was a perfect 5.3 and he just happened to be very tired!).

Glad the LCHF diet is working so well for you too 🙂
 
TheClockworkDodo said:
Hi Jen, sorry I wasn't able to reply sooner. Glad your golf yesterday was better - I hope things continue to improve, though 3 lots of shaking doesn't sound great to me :(

I hope the blurred vision doesn't mean you overdid it with the glucose tablets (it's a symptom of rapidly changing blood sugar, so you might get it if your blood sugar's going down fast, but you might also get it if it's gone up too high too fast). I think the temptation with a hypo is often to overtreat it, so it's important to learn just how much you need to stop the shaking without sending your blood sugar into a spike (that's one reason I suggested dried fruit, you can have quite a small amount at a time - though I don't know if it's suitable for your digestive system). Now R's hypoglycaemia is much more under control, he finds that if he does start shaking he can treat it with something like a tomato, but I think in the past he would have needed something higher carb. I showed him your posts and my reply, and he suggested that a small carton of fruit juice to carry round with you for when you start shaking might be another alternative (that's what I use to treat hypos too).

R said the other thing that's helped him is having inulin every day - he thinks it's improved his gut bacteria, and this has improved his digestion. I don't know whether extra fibre is something you'd want though, with your other condition.

R often used to wake up with cramped muscles in his calves - he thought at the time it was lack of salt in his diet, but since he's got his hypoglycaemia much more under control the cramps have stopped, so it could be that this was the same sort of thing as your seized-up thigh muscles.

I'm afraid that I don't know of any other tests for hypoglycaemia - R was just diagnosed by his GP and hasn't seen any specialists about it. They just told him to carry carbs about with him at all times so he didn't risk starving, and that was all the professional advice he's ever been given! 😱 - he's had to work everything else out for himself, though we do know a couple of other people who have it, so that helped.

You could invest in a blood sugar meter if you want to try to keep track of what your blood sugar is doing on a daily basis - I imagine you'd have to buy one unless you have a very understanding GP. Most type 2s here who can't get them on prescription recommend the SD Code Free - it has much cheaper test strips than other meters, apparently.

The other thing I wondered, reading your post, is why did they put you on Metformin? You're not diabetic, and it surely can't help with the rapid gastric emptying - it's notorious for causing stomach upsets!
Click to expand...
TheClockworkDodo said:
So glad your doctor has authorised you to get a BG meter etc, that's really (unusually!) good, and will help you to understand what's going on with all your various symptoms - it's sometimes hard to work out whether you are high or low or even whether it's nothing to do with blood sugar at all (we've tested R's blood sugar a couple of times when he's suddenly become ridiculously tired, practically falling over with it, assuming it was a problem with his blood sugar, only to find his reading was a perfect 5.3 and he just happened to be very tired!).

Glad the LCHF diet is working so well for you too 🙂
Click to expand...
 
Hello Juliet,
Thanks for your e mail and all your advice.

Sorry I didn't reply yesterday BUT... The night before, for my supper I had a ramekin dish with a few blueberries and some natural yogurt - no shakes which was great but during the night I was hungry. So, last night I had a bigger dish with more blueberries, natural yog and cream. Not a good idea, my shaking and all the other symptoms kicked in very quickly and I felt yuk! I was annoyed with myself as I had had a really great day.

I thought it was a good idea to carry the small carton of juice so I have put that on my shopping list and I will try the Inulin as extra fibre might just help the Rapid G. Emptying by slowing my food down a bit more. That is the reason they put me on Metformin but it made me so sickly.

I collected my prescription this morning so now I am testing. Already it is a revelation and I am sure things will only get better as I find what works and doesn't work for me.

My two health problems started in 1997 and I was finally diagnosed in 2010 and 2012. I joined this forum on 21 August this year and already I have had more consecutive good days than since 1997:D. Jen x
 
Sedbet said:
Already it is a revelation and I am sure things will only get better as I find what works and doesn't work for me.
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It really is an eye-opener when you start monitoring your BG readings, I so wish that it were easier for you (in the UK) to get monitors & test strips without having to go the self-funded route; looks like you are one of the lucky ones though there is a big justification with the reactive hypoglycemia.
 
Thank you Martin for your reply. I realise how lucky I am, having read a lot of the threads, that my Dr has agreed to me having the meter etc. I will post again in a few days, hopefully with some good results.
 
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