Low Blood Sugar

I suffer a bit with low blood sugar ie I get the cyclists' "bonk" if I
walk too far or ride too far without food.

My main problem is that a couple of times per year I begin feeling ill
as if I am about to come down with something. I lay off the training,
but all the time I feel this lightheaded, almost dizziness, as if I
have gone ages without food. Eating doesn't seem to help (just makes
me weigh more and get more depressed as I am not training. Sometimes I
feel like my eyes are really diffiuclt to focus and sometimes I feel
really nauseous. I have an underactive thyroid but the doctor has
checked my blood levels and also checked for anaemia and diabetes and
found nothign. Yet this feeling persists sometimes for a month or
more.

It wiped out my whole triathlon season in 2001/2002 as I just was so
far behind with the training that I couldn't do the races I had
planned. It is now threatening to do the same again. Is it just a
tedious version of a virus (I no longer get proper colds) combined with
the Low blood sugar or can anyone suggest anything. All help very
gratefully received. Thanks Jackie

Jackie, are you sure you are getting enough rest & sleep? I know that
if I have gone through a few weeks of hard training, work and other
activities without sufficient sleep I get similar symptoms, which tells
me I need to get some rest. Sometimes it's better to let go of the
training schedule in favour of some well deserved rest. Your body will
thank you for it.

jackie.chubb@ntlworld.com wrote:
> I suffer a bit with low blood sugar ie I get the cyclists' "bonk" if I
> walk too far or ride too far without food.
>
> My main problem is that a couple of times per year I begin feeling ill
> as if I am about to come down with something. I lay off the training,
> but all the time I feel this lightheaded, almost dizziness, as if I
> have gone ages without food. Eating doesn't seem to help (just makes
> me weigh more and get more depressed as I am not training. Sometimes I
> feel like my eyes are really diffiuclt to focus and sometimes I feel
> really nauseous. I have an underactive thyroid but the doctor has
> checked my blood levels and also checked for anaemia and diabetes and
> found nothign. Yet this feeling persists sometimes for a month or
> more.
>
> It wiped out my whole triathlon season in 2001/2002 as I just was so
> far behind with the training that I couldn't do the races I had
> planned. It is now threatening to do the same again. Is it just a
> tedious version of a virus (I no longer get proper colds) combined with
> the Low blood sugar or can anyone suggest anything. All help very
> gratefully received. Thanks Jackie

How low is the blood sugar? If it's staying between 60 and 130 mg/dL
whole blood at all times, chances are you are normal (not diabetic or
prone to reactice hypoglycemia). If it gets lower than 60 many hours
after a meal containing large amounts of rapidly-digesting carbs, it
may be reactive hypoglycemia, a condition in which the pancreas
probably over-responds with phase 2 insulin secretion. This condition
is sometimes a precursor to type 2 diabetes. I think what happens is
that the pancreas cannot produce enough phase 1 insulin for the
carb-rich meal, so it compensates by producing phase 2 insulin
instead, and often produces too much. Another possible, but very
unlikely scenario is an insulin-producing tumor somewhere in the body.

If you want to do you own crude test for pre-diabetes and/or reactive
hypoglycemia, just try checking your blood sugar right before a large
meal loaded with carbs and also check afterwards, at 1,2, 3, and 4
hours after finishing the meal. If you get abnormal results or feel
bad, see a doctor. If you don't get a satisfactory answer, see a
different one.


On 9 Jun 2005 08:40:36 -0700, jackie.chubb@ntlworld.com wrote:

>I suffer a bit with low blood sugar ie I get the cyclists' "bonk" if I
>walk too far or ride too far without food.
>
>My main problem is that a couple of times per year I begin feeling ill
>as if I am about to come down with something. I lay off the training,
>but all the time I feel this lightheaded, almost dizziness, as if I
>have gone ages without food. Eating doesn't seem to help (just makes
>me weigh more and get more depressed as I am not training. Sometimes I
>feel like my eyes are really diffiuclt to focus and sometimes I feel
>really nauseous. I have an underactive thyroid but the doctor has
>checked my blood levels and also checked for anaemia and diabetes and
>found nothign. Yet this feeling persists sometimes for a month or
>more.
>
>It wiped out my whole triathlon season in 2001/2002 as I just was so
>far behind with the training that I couldn't do the races I had
>planned. It is now threatening to do the same again. Is it just a
>tedious version of a virus (I no longer get proper colds) combined with
>the Low blood sugar or can anyone suggest anything. All help very
>gratefully received. Thanks Jackie

I was not being at all scientific when I talkked off low blood sugar.
I've never done any measurements and would not know how to! I just
know that if I go more than two hours without eating I feel faint and
dizzy and a bit 'cut off' from the world. this seems worse when I am
suffering from the "un well stte" that I descirbed in my first message.
The doctor took a non-fasting glucose measurement and said it was
fine, but than I had eaten recently at the time of the blood tests.
Should I ask for a fasting test??

I feel a bit over my head now :-).
Thanks to everyone who replied so far, it's been a really big help and
encouragement.

Radioactive Man wrote:
> How low is the blood sugar? If it's staying between 60 and 130 mg/dL
> whole blood at all times, chances are you are normal (not diabetic or
> prone to reactice hypoglycemia). If it gets lower than 60 many hours
> after a meal containing large amounts of rapidly-digesting carbs, it
> may be reactive hypoglycemia, a condition in which the pancreas
> probably over-responds with phase 2 insulin secretion. This condition
> is sometimes a precursor to type 2 diabetes. I think what happens is
> that the pancreas cannot produce enough phase 1 insulin for the
> carb-rich meal, so it compensates by producing phase 2 insulin
> instead, and often produces too much. Another possible, but very
> unlikely scenario is an insulin-producing tumor somewhere in the body.
>
> If you want to do you own crude test for pre-diabetes and/or reactive
> hypoglycemia, just try checking your blood sugar right before a large
> meal loaded with carbs and also check afterwards, at 1,2, 3, and 4
> hours after finishing the meal. If you get abnormal results or feel
> bad, see a doctor. If you don't get a satisfactory answer, see a
> different one.
>
>
> On 9 Jun 2005 08:40:36 -0700, jackie.chubb@ntlworld.com wrote:
>
> >I suffer a bit with low blood sugar ie I get the cyclists' "bonk" if I
> >walk too far or ride too far without food.
> >
> >My main problem is that a couple of times per year I begin feeling ill
> >as if I am about to come down with something. I lay off the training,
> >but all the time I feel this lightheaded, almost dizziness, as if I
> >have gone ages without food. Eating doesn't seem to help (just makes
> >me weigh more and get more depressed as I am not training. Sometimes I
> >feel like my eyes are really diffiuclt to focus and sometimes I feel
> >really nauseous. I have an underactive thyroid but the doctor has
> >checked my blood levels and also checked for anaemia and diabetes and
> >found nothign. Yet this feeling persists sometimes for a month or
> >more.
> >
> >It wiped out my whole triathlon season in 2001/2002 as I just was so
> >far behind with the training that I couldn't do the races I had
> >planned. It is now threatening to do the same again. Is it just a
> >tedious version of a virus (I no longer get proper colds) combined with
> >the Low blood sugar or can anyone suggest anything. All help very
> >gratefully received. Thanks Jackie

On 14 Jun 2005 02:31:30 -0700, jackie.chubb@ntlworld.com wrote:

>I was not being at all scientific when I talkked off low blood sugar.
>I've never done any measurements and would not know how to! I just
>know that if I go more than two hours without eating I feel faint and
>dizzy and a bit 'cut off' from the world. this seems worse when I am
>suffering from the "un well stte" that I descirbed in my first message.
> The doctor took a non-fasting glucose measurement and said it was
>fine, but than I had eaten recently at the time of the blood tests.
>Should I ask for a fasting test??

There is some debate about the value of fasting blood sugar tests vs.
glucose tolerance tests among diabetes experts. Often, in cases of
both type 1 and 2 diabetes, it is the postprandial (after meal) blood
sugar that gets too high long before the fasting blood sugars get out
of control. The reason for this is that a partially-functioning
pancreas still tries to control the blood sugar, but often ends up
taking many hours. As things deteriorate, the insulin deficiency will
eventually manifest itself as high fasting blood sugar.

If it is reactive hypoglycemia for which you're testing, you'd
probably want to do your own hourly post-meal testing one day after a
large, carb-rich meal.

If you're interested in doing your own tests, just a get a generic
blood sugar test kit, along with the smallest package of strips
(typically 25) at a department store. Usually, this can be had for
about $35 or a bit less.


>
>I feel a bit over my head now :-).
>Thanks to everyone who replied so far, it's been a really big help and
>encouragement.
>
>Radioactive Man wrote:
>> How low is the blood sugar? If it's staying between 60 and 130 mg/dL
>> whole blood at all times, chances are you are normal (not diabetic or
>> prone to reactice hypoglycemia). If it gets lower than 60 many hours
>> after a meal containing large amounts of rapidly-digesting carbs, it
>> may be reactive hypoglycemia, a condition in which the pancreas
>> probably over-responds with phase 2 insulin secretion. This condition
>> is sometimes a precursor to type 2 diabetes. I think what happens is
>> that the pancreas cannot produce enough phase 1 insulin for the
>> carb-rich meal, so it compensates by producing phase 2 insulin
>> instead, and often produces too much. Another possible, but very
>> unlikely scenario is an insulin-producing tumor somewhere in the body.
>>
>> If you want to do you own crude test for pre-diabetes and/or reactive
>> hypoglycemia, just try checking your blood sugar right before a large
>> meal loaded with carbs and also check afterwards, at 1,2, 3, and 4
>> hours after finishing the meal. If you get abnormal results or feel
>> bad, see a doctor. If you don't get a satisfactory answer, see a
>> different one.
>>
>>
>> On 9 Jun 2005 08:40:36 -0700, jackie.chubb@ntlworld.com wrote:
>>
>> >I suffer a bit with low blood sugar ie I get the cyclists' "bonk" if I
>> >walk too far or ride too far without food.
>> >
>> >My main problem is that a couple of times per year I begin feeling ill
>> >as if I am about to come down with something. I lay off the training,
>> >but all the time I feel this lightheaded, almost dizziness, as if I
>> >have gone ages without food. Eating doesn't seem to help (just makes
>> >me weigh more and get more depressed as I am not training. Sometimes I
>> >feel like my eyes are really diffiuclt to focus and sometimes I feel
>> >really nauseous. I have an underactive thyroid but the doctor has
>> >checked my blood levels and also checked for anaemia and diabetes and
>> >found nothign. Yet this feeling persists sometimes for a month or
>> >more.
>> >
>> >It wiped out my whole triathlon season in 2001/2002 as I just was so
>> >far behind with the training that I couldn't do the races I had
>> >planned. It is now threatening to do the same again. Is it just a
>> >tedious version of a virus (I no longer get proper colds) combined with
>> >the Low blood sugar or can anyone suggest anything. All help very
>> >gratefully received. Thanks Jackie