Blood sugar and fainting....(long)

want2bpg · 05-31-2003, 08:41 PM

Ok....Here is my situation.....

I was diagnosed with PCOS in MAy 2001. A military DR. diagnosed me and gave me a referal to see the OB/GYN doc. At first, I was blown off because I was thin, (5'4" and 116) but when blood results came back, he saw that I indeed had PCOS.

Fast forward to 1 week ago.....

I am in the Army...I am a clarinet player in an army band. I am stationed at FT Bliss. (yes that is my job. I am a miltary musician). We were playing for some troops that we coming home from Iraq. So, here I am playing songs for the troops and I started feeling strange. (dizzy, heart palpitations, sweating). I kept stopping and starting playing my horn, but these strange feelings kept coming back.

We got the signal to stop playing from the commander......next thing I remember, I'm laying on the tarmac (solid concrete) and people are telling not to move. (I passed out) The paramedics show up and start asking questions. The back of my neck and head were killing me, not to mention that all of my co workers were crowded around me concerned. Other than that I felt fine. According to some of my co-workers, my head bounced several times after hitting the tarmac.

In the ambulance on the way to the hospital, they stuck me and said my blood sugar was 86. They said it was normal. The CT and X-rays at the ER also came out normal. I was put on 48 hrs quarters (that means I was supposed to stay home for 2 days)

Fast forward to Wed. I went to the doc. During screening, my Blood sugar was 84 and I had eaten Approx. 2 hrs prior.

Next morning, I fasted, went to the lab and gave then 2 vials of blood and a urine sample. After that, I ate a good breakfast, but ended up feeling dizzy a few hours later afer standing for 7 minutes.

Doctor calls me the next day and tells me that everything appears normal. (thyroid, blood glucose, ect).

The thing is, the problems start after I eat. (I get the shakes, brain fog, irritalbility)

Now, I don't know if the Dr. performed the test right. All she did was perform a base-line glucose, but did not check to see what happens after I eat.

Should she had done the test where you drink the glucose solution?????

prunepie · 06-02-2003, 07:36 PM

i havent officially fainted but same thing as far as almost fainting then to findout my bs was normal..i did the 4 hour fasting and each our sucking down orange sugary water...found out my bs went down to 56 after 3 hours...plus has anyone tested your insulin not just sugar..sometimes with insulin resistance the body will push out tons of insulin and then our sugars go temporarily crazy..and then maybe by the time they test you they are normal??? not sure but i would suggest and glucose tolerance test and your insulin levels checked good luck xoxo jenn

simone · 06-02-2003, 08:13 PM

want2bpg --

Do you eat a lot of carbs at your meals? I wuold try decreasing your carb intake (esp. sugars) and eating more protein. THe first few days can be a bit rough but after that you should start to feel much better. I'm contantly being told that my lab values are normal for all kinds of things when I know that there is something wrong with me. The best indicator is HOW YOU FEEL.

Simone

sunflower77 · 06-02-2003, 09:18 PM

sorry to hear about your fainting episode.........I know it can be scary.......were u standing when this happened........how long had it been since u ate and what did u have to eat......also was it very hot that day......sorry for all the questions but there are many things which can cause fainting.....hope u are doing better!!

want2bpg · 06-03-2003, 10:51 PM

Hi ladies-thanks for your replies

Prunepie-Only my sugar was tested. Each time it was in the 80's. See, I have no problems when I'm fasting.....its after I eat something! I will be finding a new Dr. and I will see if they will check my insulin and do a GTT. The woman I saw was rather incompetent.

Simone-Sometimes I do tend to eat carbs with meals (potatoes, pastas) I do not consume much sugar at all. I hardly ever drink soda, but I do drink sugar-free Kool-aid. I have noticed sometimes that I get the shakes.

Sunflower-Yes, it was scary. Especially since it had never happened before. And even more so when I finally opened my eyes and my co-workers were standing over me, and everyone had the same wide-eyed "Oh, ****" look on their faces. I had eaten almost 3 hours before this happened. I think I ate 5 lumpia (filapino eggrolls) a pear, and several glasses of that sugar-free kool aid. Also, yes I was standing. The key to standing for a long time is to "not lock your knees". You keep your knees slightly flexed and wiggle your toes everyone in a while. I've had this job for almost 8 years and this something they alway stress to us. I know for a fact that my knees were not locked. Also, this happened around 8:30 at night, so the sun had already gone down and it cooled down.

By the way----I'm feeling much better now. I've recovered from my concussion and I am back to my old self. I'm just irritated with some of these idiot doctors trying to find out what is going on with my body.

Thanks again for your replies

prunepie · 06-03-2003, 11:50 PM

hey i had a thought... sugar free koolaid...okay this might sound wierd..but sweetners... almost act like sugar in us.... meaning our bodies dont understand its fake sugar and although it might not up our sugars and drop it low as much ... it ..meaning sweetnlow , aspartame etc....it definately ups our insulin and gives us hypoglycemia... i NEVER knew this until i researched and saw an pcos nutritionist who explained all of this to me... just food for thought xoxo jenn

want2bpg · 06-04-2003, 12:11 AM

Wow!!!!! I never thought of that! I thought I was better off buying the stuff containing "fake sugar". I thought anything had to be better than adding 2 cups of sugar to the pitcher!

I'm in the process of finding a better doc...........STILL!!! The military benefits are not as good as they make it seem in the advertisements!

prunepie · 06-04-2003, 01:04 AM

yups maybe try just water for a couple days.... I KNOW IT SUCKS HAHA ... yeah finding a good doctor is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo hard xoxo jenn

SheriKCMO · 06-04-2003, 02:31 PM

Along with getting rid of the diet Kool-aid, please treat yourself to a bit more food, in case your intake hasn't been enough. Focus on protien and veggies, very little starch and sugar. If you are able to spread your eating out to five or six times per day, you would also help your sugar level stay stable. I sure hope this doesn't happen to you anymore! Ouch!
Sheri