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Reactive Hypoglycemia terrified and confused

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Goody Girl

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Hi everyone

thank you for having me. It’s so good to have somewhere to share information and concerns. I am newly diagnosed. My sugars were up to 22 and dropping within the hour to low on my monitor which I believe is below 0.7 and I have conked out completely while shopping and spend most of the day trying to stay awake. I seem to nod off all over the place. I have been put straight on medication and doubled after a week but even with low GI foods I am hyper then hypo. Today I had a green apple really small and I still went to 10.8. Is this bad? I am doing my bloods every half hour and they either rise or fall rapidly. I have tinnitus, blurred vision and numbness in my hands and feet. Headaches on and off and wake up every hour and half through the night shaking after nightmares and shouting out. My mouth is bone dry and I feel a sense of panic. Can anyone relate? I’m really trying but getting to the point that tomorrow will have to be a meat only day as I’m still trying to understand. Any advice greatly appreciated. I’m confined to my house pretty much because of it xx
 
Hello @Goody Girl and welcome to the forum 🙂

Sorry to hear you're having such a bad time with RH spiking and plummeting your blood sugar. My partner has it and used to have hypos where he collapsed too, but he has it very well managed now, so please don't worry - it is possible to live a perfectly normal life with it.

The things he does to manage his RH are:
1) eat little and often - split all your meals in half so you eat a small amount every couple of hours
2) don't eat empty carbs (ie if you're going to eat carbs, make it something useful like an apple, not a sugary cake)
3) only eat carbs with other things, eg bread is only OK if eaten with something like cheese or fish
4) eat something fatty last thing at night to prevent night-time hypos (a yogurt is ideal)
5) eat plenty of fibre - eg a teaspoonful of inulin a day
6) exercise
7) never give in to the temptation to over-treat a hypo, that just leads to a cycle of more highs and lows.

There's a good article about RH on Wikipedia here which recommends the same sort of things.

You may find with yours, as it sounds really severe, that it will help you to cut carbs a lot more than my partner's needed to - if you have a look at some of the recipes on this forum which are aimed at type 2 diabetics you'll find lots of ideas for very low carb eating (maybe 20g carbs per meal, or 10g per half meal if you're cutting all your meals in half and eating little and often - you'll need to find what works for you though, as it obviously needs to be sustainable in the long term). Eating low GI probably won't be enough though, you'll need to drastically cut all carbs. The more you can cut carbs the easier it will be to manage your RH, as if you can keep to very small amounts your blood sugar won't spike which means it won't plummet either. There are plenty of foods you can eat, not just meat, but fish, eggs, full-fat dairy, nuts, and all kinds of veg and salads.

You presumably already know you'll need to carry something sugary everywhere you go so you can treat hypos - my partner used to carry dried fruit, as a few raisins or a dried apricot gives a boost to your blood sugar without spiking it up too much. He only carries these for long journeys now though - he never used to go anywhere without them. For a real low you may need glucose tablets or jelly babies or fruit juice, but never over-treat a hypo, that just leads to more highs.

10.8 is not horrendous, but it's a bit higher than you want your blood sugar to be (though it does depend very much on what your blood sugar was before you ate the apple - if it was 8 then 10.8 is not bad at all; if it was 4 then going up to 10.8 is quite a big spike). In an ideal world most diabetics are aiming for our blood sugar to be around 4-7 before meals and 5-9 after meals, so I imagine you're aiming for much the same. But the main thing is to stop it spiking and plummeting so rapidly.

I'm curious to know what meds they've put you on? My partner was pretty much left to manage his RH on his own, and there are others on here with it who've just been diagnosed with it and then just left to get on with it with no support. It's good that you've got a blood sugar monitor, and it sounds like they're taking seriously how badly RH is effecting you.
 
Thank you so much. It’s really really helpful. It’s only been two weeks and they’ve doubled my meds. They said they’re not licensed for it but for low blood pressure but they’ve had good results in the research. The are called Nifedipine. Every time I think it’s improving slightly I eat something that they’ve recommended that spikes me like a small green apple Before 5.6 after 10.8 within 15 minutes but 10.8 is better than the 22 when I started. I still start dropping rapidly on a 10 but through monitoring and eating every couple hours I can stop it before the hypo when I’m awake. I just am struggling with the eating low gi and any carb seemingly. I also spend most of my time trying to think, prepare and cook and take bloods in an already exhausted double vision brain foggy way. That’s not so bad if I’m at home but I can’t go out for food as I’m tooscared. Exercise makes me hypo too. I seem to be ok on protein but I’m a bit cheese fish andmeated out and this is for life I also have quorn but maybe I’m just a bit overwhelmed with it all. Perhaps it will improve over time. Thank you so much. I’m going to check out some type 2 foodideas and cut any carbs if I can.Xx
 
I checked out low GI foods early on in my low carb testing - as far as my insides are concerned - they did not get the memo about slow digestion or whatever the benefits are supposed to be - so I do not go that route.
I did have a few attacks of wobblies during my drop from a Hba1c of 91 to get below 50, not nice at all, but once my brain stopped throwing tantrums at lower levels of glucose I was OK - something I suspect is not going to be as easy for you, though as you seem to be happy with the idea of low carbs you could be onto a winner.
Possibly a copy of Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution might help - you can find various versions online to download for free - also getting shopping delivered might get you past this first stage. I tried to eat low carb right from my early 20s - I am 68 now, but it has always been difficult even though it did not suit me at all I was told how bad all that fat was, how essential carbohydrates are - even though I knew from doing A level Biology that was rubbish.
If you need a low carb shopping list just say - and there are some good recipes around too - though for the most part I find that they are simpler versions of standards rather than something more complex - I started off making cauliflower cheese with just cauliflower and Red Leicester - then I moved onto coating the heap of steamed cauliflower with cream cheese, sprinkle on a small amount of a herb or spice of your choosing, THEN add the Red Leicester - all in a warmed dish, and put it back into the oven to go just very slightly golden on top.
 
I checked out low GI foods early on in my low carb testing - as far as my insides are concerned - they did not get the memo about slow digestion or whatever the benefits are supposed to be - so I do not go that route.
I did have a few attacks of wobblies during my drop from a Hba1c of 91 to get below 50, not nice at all, but once my brain stopped throwing tantrums at lower levels of glucose I was OK - something I suspect is not going to be as easy for you, though as you seem to be happy with the idea of low carbs you could be onto a winner.
Possibly a copy of Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution might help - you can find various versions online to download for free - also getting shopping delivered might get you past this first stage. I tried to eat low carb right from my early 20s - I am 68 now, but it has always been difficult even though it did not suit me at all I was told how bad all that fat was, how essential carbohydrates are - even though I knew from doing A level Biology that was rubbish.
If you need a low carb shopping list just say - and there are some good recipes around too - though for the most part I find that they are simpler versions of standards rather than something more complex - I started off making cauliflower cheese with just cauliflower and Red Leicester - then I moved onto coating the heap of steamed cauliflower with cream cheese, sprinkle on a small amount of a herb or spice of your choosing, THEN add the Red Leicester - all in a warmed dish, and put it back into the oven to go just very slightly golden on top.
 
trophywench said:
What veg are you eating? How many eggs? What fats?
Click to expand...
Today I had a small amount of cauliflower, leeks, mange tout, peas and I still shot up from 6 to 9.8 I’m currently rapidly on the way down. I woke twice in night and this morning with banging headache bone dry mouth, back pain and nightmares, sweating and shaking plus I couldn’t see properly. Fats, I rarely used but now am putting butter on veg and olive oil on stuff. Eggs maybe 1 a day. Fish salmon tuna.
 
Drummer said:
I checked out low GI foods early on in my low carb testing - as far as my insides are concerned - they did not get the memo about slow digestion or whatever the benefits are supposed to be - so I do not go that route.
I did have a few attacks of wobblies during my drop from a Hba1c of 91 to get below 50, not nice at all, but once my brain stopped throwing tantrums at lower levels of glucose I was OK - something I suspect is not going to be as easy for you, though as you seem to be happy with the idea of low carbs you could be onto a winner.
Possibly a copy of Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution might help - you can find various versions online to download for free - also getting shopping delivered might get you past this first stage. I tried to eat low carb right from my early 20s - I am 68 now, but it has always been difficult even though it did not suit me at all I was told how bad all that fat was, how essential carbohydrates are - even though I knew from doing A level Biology that was rubbish.
If you need a low carb shopping list just say - and there are some good recipes around too - though for the most part I find that they are simpler versions of standards rather than something more complex - I started off making cauliflower cheese with just cauliflower and Red Leicester - then I moved onto coating the heap of steamed cauliflower with cream cheese, sprinkle on a small amount of a herb or spice of your choosing, THEN add the Red Leicester - all in a warmed dish, and put it back into the oven to go just very slightly golden on top.
Click to expand...
Goody Girl said:
Today I had a small amount of cauliflower, leeks, mange tout, peas and I still shot up from 6 to 9.8 I’m currently rapidly on the way down. I woke twice in night and this morning with banging headache bone dry mouth, back pain and nightmares, sweating and shaking plus I couldn’t see properly. Fats, I rarely used but now am putting butter on veg and olive oil on stuff. Eggs maybe 1 a day. Fish salmon tuna.
Click to expand...
 
I'm only thinking in the absence of any starchy carbs whatever, you'd need quite a bit of fat in the meal to slow the carbs in the veg down enough.

What happens if you include a modest amount of slowish carbs - eg 2 Ryvitas - well buttered on the 'craters of the moon' side?
 
I suspect it'll be the peas which sent you up from 6 to 9.8 today, but tbh that's not a huge spike - it's the plummet afterwards which is more of a problem, if it means you end up hypo. Most other veg (other than things like baked beans and potatoes, which are higher carb) are probably going to be OK for you to eat though.

Jenny posted while I was typing - as she says, you need something to slow your carbs down - I had assumed the veg you had were with fish or meat or cheese or eggs, but if you had them on their own it might indeed be a good idea to eat something with them.

Goody Girl said:
I woke twice in night and this morning with banging headache bone dry mouth, back pain and nightmares, sweating and shaking plus I couldn’t see properly.
Click to expand...

Not being able to see properly is common with swinging or spiking blood sugar - for a lot of diabetics blurred vision is one of the first symptoms. Once you've worked out which things will help to get your blood sugar more steady your sight should hopefully go back to normal.

Waking with a banging headache is a classic sign of having been hypo in the night, and sweating and shaking are common hypo symptoms too - did you test your blood sugar when you woke in the night, and/or first thing (before getting up, or at least as soon as you got up)? People often find their blood sugar goes up as soon as they get up, so testing asap in the morning is always a good idea. If you're hypoing in the night, eating something fatty before bed is likely to help - a full fat yogurt or a ryvita/couple of TUC biscuits with a big chunk of cheese, for instance. I'd try to keep the biscuits under about 10g carbs, but it might be worth keeping some extra ones by the bed in case you wake up in need of more.

Btw I spent half the night hypo too, so I know how the banging headache feels - too much insulin, in my case (at the moment half a unit more or less is making the difference between spending most of the night with my blood sugar around 9 or my blood sugar around 3, and I'd really like insulin pens with quarter units!).
 
Thank you Jenny and Juliet. Sorry I had the veg with beef. I’ll avoid peas for now. I thought ryvita were bad? That’s great news as I like them. I’ll try that tomorrow night. Tonight I had peanut butter and 1 piece of multi grain whole meal and my ears are already screaming and feet fizzing so I’m guessing I should not have any bread but I was so hungry. My stomach growls even hungrier just after I eat. It’s all very confusing but having suggestions is a massive help. I’ve been able to head of hypos by eating every 2-3 hours but at night I’m obviously having hypos. I think something kicks in to wake me and by the time I’ve stopped shaking and loaded my monitor they are 5.4. Just did blood now and within 30 mins of bread 10.8 from 6.7. And I’m starving
 
I meant to also ask if there is such a thing as I 24 hour glucose monitor with an alarm maybe as I think I’m having 2-3 a night. Also is RH considered diabetes? So will I get free prescriptions. Sorry to ask so many questions xx

Angie
 
Juliet I feel your pain. I hope you manage to balance your insulin. It’s pretty rubbish bouncing up and down. Thank you again for the help. I really appreciate it xx
 
If you are hungry there is always something you can eat - scrambled egg cheese and a thinly sliced tomato is quick, easy and quite filling - I've not eaten properly today, so will make a bowl of salad with a tin of tuna before going to bed.
 
Thank you Drummer. I grabbed some chicken fridge raiders as my BG is now 11.9 but I like the eggs idea and tuna. Seem to be reacting to veg though x
 
Veg contain carbs, and you are obviously reacting to them quite violently - hopefully if you reduce your intake, and avoid having dense carb foods you'll not get such wild fluctuations. I can't imagine that it will be a quick fix but hopefully making the flow of carbs just a trickle rather than a torrent will improve things for you.
 
Ryvita are bad in that they're carbs (so you wouldn't want to sit and eat a packet of them), but they're good in that they're only 6.7g carbs each, so eating one of those is much better than (say) eating a 20g carb slice of bread. And if you are waking hypo (or even waking with false hypos - which is what happens when your blood sugar has been really high and is dropping fast, so you feel hypo when you're not) you need to eat something carby but not too carby to deal with it. For most hypos I'd make that glucose followed up 15 minutes later by a small savoury biscuit, but for a false hypo or even for a very mild hypo the biscuit on its own should be enough.
 
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