low blood sugar, dizziness, always hungry

gwen · 08-24-2003, 06:31 PM

ok i need help. within the last month or so i have started having the wierdest thing happen....i get hungry a LOT and i've been eating everything in sight..not really gaining any weight though. (I'm quite slender..right around 135 all the time and between 5'7" and 5'8"). everytime i get hungry i get extremely dizzy and hot and start sweating like crazy. it feels like i just have extremely low blood sugar...the thing is, this used to happen only when i had to go like a whole day w/o eating b/c i was so busy. never when i'd eaten within the past couple of hours. now it's happening everytime i get hungry. for instance: this morning i got up and had a good sized bagel for breakfast. went to church and an hour later felt like i hadn't eaten in days and nearly passed out 4 times as we were singing during the service! i eat well, lots of veges and meats...very balanced diet. I try not to eat a whole lot of junk food, i snack occasionally but usually it's on fruit. i eat tons of fruit! i drink lots of water, never soda. so i don't know what's happening. i don't think it's diabetes but then i have no clue b/c i've never looked into that possibility and don't know much about it. some of the symptoms are the same i guess but not all. my family does have a history of diabetes and i've read that people with pcos can sometimes be susceptible too...so i don't know. or i may just have really low blood sugar. can anyone relate? give me some advice/ info/ anything? i'm going to talk to my doctor sometime before college starts back up b/c once it does there's no time!

Scotty · 08-24-2003, 07:35 PM

What are your energy levels like? Do you think you could possibly have an overactive thyroid problem?

With diabetes you may feel really thirsty all of time as well? and do you feel the need to pee frequently (a lot more than normal?)

Obviously to be on the safe side get to your Dr. and see what's going on.

Best of luck and let me know how you get on.

LOL

kimmikat · 08-25-2003, 12:28 AM

One thought.... you mentioned eating a good sized bagel for breakfast and then you had an episode. Did you have any protein that morning? What made you feel better? Did eating protein balance these feelings out? I'm asking because I have been diagnosed with hyperinsulinemia (body makes too much insulin and can't use it properly to begin with) and I went through what you are describing. Once I started making a consious effort to balance protein with carbs, those feelings went away (for the most part). That mental 'fog' everyone keeps talking about went away as well. After a few months, that need to 'feed' seemed to fade as well.
I would talk to your doctor. You may want to ask about a two hour fasting glucose test to check your glucose levels (that's how my hyperinsulinemia was diagnosed). This way you will know for certain and won't need to worry about the diabetes connection. If untreated or with no lifestyle changes, the hyperinsulinemia can develop into diabetes (it is an impairment of the glucose/insulin endocrine system).
Best wishes,
Kim

Shazzer · 08-25-2003, 12:55 AM

Sounds like you have text book insulin resistance problems. By eating high carb food in morning, you are setting yourself up for blood sugar problems all day long. Your blood sugar probably spiked after the bagel and then fell drastically low as your body secreted way too much insulin. If you eat fruit, the same thing can happen.

The easiest solution is to add in protein and fat and cut out excessive carbs. If you are going to eat a bagel, have it with peanut butter or cheese. If you are going to have fruit, have meat with it as well. But the most important advice I can give is to go to a doctor and have some blood work done. A glucose tolerance test will tell you how your body's insulin production/usage/asorption are.

daughty · 08-25-2003, 11:05 AM

Hi Gwen!

It really sounds like hypoglycaemia and /or insulin resistance. I agree with the others that you should try a low-carb diet (doesn't necessarily have to be Atkins) and have your blood sugar tested.

I used to have similar problems, after not having eaten for some hours. Sometimes I started sweating and I felt as if I was going to pass out. I follow a mix of Sugar Busters diet and Montignac (OK, I pigged out at the weekend

) and it's getting better.

Hope you get better soon
Steph

vokal75 · 08-25-2003, 02:10 PM

ok I'll chime in with everyone else. I was dx in 2001 and was IR. I just had my blood retested as a check up and now am IR and hypoglycemic. They go together sometimes. My doctor said to make sure I eat every two hour (but be careful not to increase your calorie intake, as to not gain weight). So I eat smaller meals but I'm eating all the time. Also, like others have said make sure it is protein and not carbs or at least protein with your carbs. If I let it go too long I get dizzy and nausea and very iritable. Hope this helps.
Kirsten