Hypoglycemia

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So I had a scary episode yesterday. I take two medications normally for what I have (The official diagnosis is ADHD, though both it and Aspergers run in my family, and the similarity was close enough that even with an ADHD diagnosis, the psychologist still recommended that my parents take me to a social worker who specializes in Aspergers) - Strattera and Effexor XR. I forgot to take them the day before (By the time I remembered, I was at a point in the day where taking them would have caused me to have an impossible time getting a decent night's sleep). The next day, although I had two perfectly good meals and have had no treatment for diabetes (My blood sugar's too high, though, so I try to watch what I eat), I had two separate episodes of low blood sugar, I think. One of them really scared my parents because they were worried I was going to black out in the restaurant we were in (It was right before dinner). After I had dinner, though, I was generally fine. Is it likely that forgetting to take the medications and then jumping back on them the next day caused the episodes? I'd like to try to hone in on the cause so I can avoid it in the future.

Check what you're eating.

I have reactive hypoglycemia, which means that foods I eat will raise my blood sugar up too high, and then it comes crashing too fast. I have to avoid foods that raise my blood sugar, but I have to eat so it doesn't go low.

I don't know about the medications, but I know that if you're not diabetic and your blood sugar sometimes gets high, watch out because it can drop really quick too. That's your body's way of over-compensating, causing a crash.

What helped me with hypoglycemia was to rule out what might be causing it. So, keep your medication religiously. And, avoid the following:
- white bread, rice, and potatoes, corn
- refined sugar, syrups, sauces with sugar, fruit juice

Eat a lot of protein and take fiber with every meal. If you do that your blood sugar won't rise too fast or drop too fast, no matter what you do with medication.
If you have a crash, don't just give yourself sugar. Have protein and carbs with it, otherwise, you'll just crash again later.

Hope that helps.

I dont know if the meds had anything to do with it, but I do this thing where I eat, then my blood sugar shoots up high, then does a free fall all in 10 min after I eat. It is hard to catch unless you take your blood before you eat, right after you eat, and then 5 min intervals for 20- 30 min. Most of the time, by the time you start feeling really weak and tired, your blood sugar already shot up and dropped, so when you check it at that point, you miss the sharp spike in blood sugar that caused the crash.

My doctor says to eat 5-6 small meals during the day, and avoid simple carbs and refined sugars. Much like the diabetic diet. It will help you lose weight too cuz the frequent meals keep the metabolism higher.

Jojo

i checked out both drugs in medscape's references. neither is associated with hypoglycemia.

folks with low blood sugar usually feel shaky, nervous, sweaty and may be confused.

both previous amsweres have good advice for dealing with hypoglycemia, if that turns out to be what happened to you. couldn't hurt to see a doc.

For me, the symptoms were headache, followed by feeling overheated and nauseous (and retching a few times, but never actually throwing up), with some tingling in one of my hands.

Have you tried avoiding gluten and implementing a high protein, moderate fat, low carb diet?

Which type of diabetes do you have?

I've recently been diagnosed with full-blown type 2 diabetes and take medication for it. My blood sugar oscillates between too high to too low. I alternate between hyperglycaemia (high) and hypoglycaemia (low). When it is low before a meal I sometimes feel shaky and a little faint, sometimes sweaty too. When it is too high which is typically around half an hour to an hour after a meal I get a mild headache and feel very drowsy, often needing to lay down and sleep for a while.

I'm still learning which foods to eat and in which combinations. There are various websites that give glycaemic index tables listing foods with good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates. Do a google search, there is plenty of information out there. Some foods should really be avoided, cornflakes for example, they send me extremely hyperglycaemic giving me a headache and making me need to sleep.

If you are at risk of developing diabetes (it often runs in families, I inherited it from my mother) it is as well to take care of what you eat. Uncontrolled blood sugar levels can damage your body. I already have some nerve damage in my feet and hands and some kidney problems. It can also cause heart and circulation problems. The damage caused by diabetes can kill. It killed my mother in her 50's. I'm 52 now and the clock seems to be ticking.

I wish I'd known about my natural family's medical history a long time ago; I could have taken precautions and had regular medical & diabetes check ups. I'm adopted and only discovered the details about my natural mother a few months ago. Too late now, some permanent damage to my body is already done.