Please help. Severe hypoglycemia (reactive) advice,it's ruining my life

bernadettes · 02-15-2009, 04:09 PM

hi I'm 25,have pcos and endometreosis. I am underweight and have severe reactive hypoglycemia,I eat everything as u should. My glucose tollerance test showed sever hypo going down to 2.4mmol at 2hrs 45mins. I can't take metformin because I need to gain weight not loose it,does anyone have any advice,my hypo are wearing me out,I also have a toddler and just need to find something to control this apart from diet.thanku so much x

grace06 · 02-15-2009, 09:20 PM

Sorry to hear about your severe hypoglycemia. Have you spoken to your doctor about this?

I have also had pretty bad hypoglycemia, but sounds not as bad as yours. The biggest thing that has helped me to control it is cutting down on carbohydrate heavy meals and increasing protein with each meal. I can't have cereal alone for breakfast, for example. I need to have yogurt, eggs, toast with peanut butter, etc. Have you tried this yet? Also cutting out caffeine entirely is important and having sugar candy in your pocket just in case.

As for Metformin, my doctor was hesitant to put me on it as well, but I have been on it for a month and had no problems. I'm 5'4 and 102 pounds (so underweight). I haven't lost any weight since I've been on Metformin and if anything, I think I have less hypoglycemia. My doctor is pleased and a little surprised. As he said, side effects on drugs are so different from person to person. You can't know how you'll react to it unless you're on it. I have not had the side effects that you fear.

Hope that helps.

bernadettes · 02-16-2009, 04:02 PM

thankyou for your reply it's really kind of you. I do all the same as you with diet but I'm just so sensitive to any carbs, but I need some because I have no energy at all,I think the insulin resistance is preventing me getting my energy from carbs but then I can't understand if I have insulin resistance why I get hypoglycemia because that shows to me that my cells are using the glucose? My glucose tollerance test showed high insulin following the glucose drink which stayed high even when my blood glucose level was low, does this mean im producing to much insulin maybe to push the glucose into my cells harder due to the resistance or could it be a completly different cause? Wow thats a bit long winded just trying to get an understanding. I did try metformin once and had quite low moods on it but not long enough to see how it effected my weight the doctor has suggested actos but im just worried of side effects. Thanks x

DD56 · 02-16-2009, 04:23 PM

Bernadettes,
Sorry to hear about how bad your hypoglycemia is. That has to be hard to live with. It's not uncommon for people with insulin resistance to get hypoglycemia, especially in heavier people that lose weight. the pancreas is so used to having to pump out so much insulin to get the cells take in glucose, that when your insulin resistance decreases a bit after losing weight, you still have too much insulin. But yours sounds worse than usual. Has your doctor considered an insulinoma? (benign pancreas tumor that makes insulin) You should consider seeing an endocrinologist if you're not already.

keohanel · 02-17-2009, 11:21 AM

DD56 had an interesting suggestion, but i just wanted to let you know that i didn't lose weight on metformin until being on it for 6 months and that it was only for about a month and then went right back up.

good luck!