Just don't give me sugar! (My Experience of Hypoglycaemia)

Member Name: Tracy_1127

Product:	My Experience of Hypoglycaemia
Date:	30/09/08 (57 review reads)
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I can't believe this topic is here on dooyoo! I myself am hypoglycaemic and know personally only one other person who also is.

I first had problems at 18 when I left home. Living alone with not much money coming in and being a reluctant and atrocious cook soon found me eating alot less than I was used to and not as healthily. Within weeks I found I was having "funny turns" where I would shake, sweat, slur my words, have a banging headache and feel out of breath and sick. I had no idea why, I was a perfectly healthy 18 year old. So off to the docs.

My GP immediately recognised the symptoms and informed me about hypoglycaemia and instructed me to eat plenty of complex carbohydrates, very little sugar, small meals regularly throughout the day and keep a snack handy just in case. I went away and put the plan into action.

What he didn't tell me however is how difficult it is to be completely symptomless. Often I find the above symptoms sneaking in when I've eaten sensibly and have to add a slice of bread or something similar to head them off before they get out of hand. I estimate I have a "funny turn" approximately twice a week even now, 17 years later and a healthy eater.

My partner witnessed one of these episodes early on in our relationship and it freaked him out completely, he rushed off and found me some food while I panted and tried not to pass out in the car! Another friend had to make me a slice of toast in a hurry after finding me slumped on the sofa having left it too late to deal with it.

That's another point, as soon as I feel the symptoms starting I have to hurry to get food, they rapidly get out of control and if you leave it too long you simply get to the brink of a coma and cannot move to get anything. It can, in severe cases, cause death.

The cause of it? Lots of speculation with nothing definite, too much insulin in the blood, tumours, taking insulin when not needed or too much if diabetic, Addison's disease, a weak pituitary gland, liver problems, cancer, not eating enough or drinking too much alcohol. People who are hypoglycaemic are not necessarily diabetic however and nor does it mean they ever will be. It really is the opposite of diabetes.

Other symptoms I've personally experienced are a complete lack of co-ordination, lack of memory and concentration, extreme tiredness and becoming so pale I probably glow in the dark!

All sweet items must be kept to a minimum for me, if I have a bar of chocolate I must follow it with something carbohydrate based. If I go out for a meal I have to choose carefully on the main course if I plan to have a dessert, a salad followed by lots of sugar simply doesn't work out for me!

I could never follow a low carb high protein diet like the Atkins diet or I would become extrememly ill extremely quickly. I have to check the sugar content on labels before I eat items, hidden sugar can throw me off balance when I don't expect it. Diet drinks are essential rather than full sugar versions, a can of coke would send me into a brief sugar high followed by a rapid sugar slump and hypoglycaemic episodes really do leave you feeling very ill.

However, as long as I always pay attention to my body and get to food rapidly if I need to the majority of the symptoms pass about 20 minutes after eating, usually only the headache remains for longer.

Others have little or no understanding of hypoglycaemia, you do look a bit like you're drunk or on drugs when having an episode and get treated as such if you're unlucky enough to have one in public. Carrying a small snack in my handbag is my solution to this dilemma!

So, I'll give it one star as I must rate it but really it doesn't deserve any. An odd condition that can strike when you least expect it. Thanks for reading.

Summary: unpleasant