Normal people and hypos

[sbuff28@charter]

My sister, who is 23 and pretty active has had hypos before in her life. For some reason she tends to get them a lot. Shes nearly passes out during her track practices sometimes and has to go to the trainer to check the sugars. Shes a elementry school teacher and shes even got a hypo doin that which is not stenuous. She Isn't diabetic, but i would like to know if i should let her know to be more careful regarding the hypo and the possibility of diabetes in the near future becasue of the lows. I tested her one day after we ate dinner and she was 85... kinda low for a normal person right after eating right?

My question is do you guys think this is a sign of daibetes or anything related to diabetes. Does she have to be careful about since I am diabetic and it increases her risk? the doctors havn't been able to give her a "real" or confident ansewer.


I posted this and i just realized this may not be the best forum for this. mabye someone could move it if need be for me.

[psilocybin]

i do not believe it is a sign of diabetes...but its just me...i test my friend to andhe usually sits at 4.1 mmol

[Tatermom]

I have been wondering the same thing. I have had blood sugars as low as 45 before and it really scares me. I always have to keep something sweet with me for Taylor, but I end up eating it b/c my I get dizzy and nauseous if I don't eat on time.

[Rhino]

I'm no expert on hypoglycemia as a condition, but I THINK it's quite the opposite of diabetes, right? As far as I can tell if someone is "hypoglycemic" they have an overactive pancreas or an increased insulin sensitivity. Same end results as us, but completely different means.

Have you been tested for hypoglycemia? (Are there even tests for that sort of thing?)

[psilocybin]

I'm no expert on hypoglycemia as a condition, but I THINK it's quite the opposite of diabetes, right? As far as I can tell if someone is "hypoglycemic" they have an overactive pancreas or an increased insulin sensitivity. Same end results as us, but completely different means.

Have you been tested for hypoglycemia? (Are there even tests for that sort of thing?)

i agree with you....having to much insulin is not a sign of diabetes nor is having insulin sensitivity.

[duck]

Your sister should be tested for hypoglycemia. Obviously, at times it is a dangerous situation.

BTW, everyone has a few hypos in their lives, "normal" people or not.

[Erin]

Shes a elementry school teacher and shes even got a hypo doin that which is not stenuous.

Not strenuous?!!? You've never taught an elementary school class I assume? It's plummeted my sugars plenty of times.

It sounds like she has hypoglycemia, which I believe, can stress out your pancreas and later lead to diabetes. (in hypoglycemia what usually happens is your pancreas gets overly stimulated by your consumption of carbs and releases too much insulin, so you go low after eating lots of carbs)

Friend of mine had it, (well I'm sure she still has it, but she moved away and we lost touch). She had to be sure to eat on time or she'd go low, and she kept to "slow burning" diet, that was high in protein and low in carbs.

[seacomp]

I tested her one day after we ate dinner and she was 85... kinda low for a normal person right after eating right?
No, that's normal for a healthy non-diabetic. That's not to say your sister may not have problems. If she goes low, there's a problem in glucose metabolism which could. at some point in the future, turn into diabetes.
Some people here in the forum have mentioned originally being hypoglycemic before beveloping diabetes years later.

[Funnygrl]

If your sister goes low often, that's not "normal." It's not diabetes either, but it's definitely not normal.

There are a thousand different causes of hypoglycemia. Literally. And a healthy person should experience none of them.

Reactive hypo is probably the most common cause outside of diabetes. It happens when your blood sugar shoots up and the pancreas overcompensates and causes a low. It can be a sign of insulin resistance, which of course can lead to type 2, so it's important to limit carbs to prevent these spikes and drops.

Hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia can be very serious, as the body is almost constantly low, can go to very low blood sugars, and can be like "carry-a-glucagon-kit-all-the-time serious." But it's not common. It can be a sign of an insulin secreting tumor or pre-type 1.

A normal pancreas should be able to compensate for not eating with glucagon. Non-diabetics experiencing hypoglycemia really should see a doctor and try and determine the cause, what they should be doing monitoring wise, and how to prevent the lows.

[sbuff28@charter]

Thanks guys for the lots of advice! She won't like to hear what you guys have to say but she needs to know about it so she can make better decisions later on.

So should i tell her to go to the doc and figure out what type of hypos she having?

Sorry erin, Ya i realize its very strenous at times, I was one of those kids in school that made the subsitutes quit their job... haha. I guess what i meant to say was its not running the same as a long distance race...which she does often.

[lgvincent]

It does sound a lot like it could be hypoglycemia.

[am1977]

I was hypoglycemic before being dx'ed with T1 Diabetes. I would get shaky and jittery about 2 to 2.5 hours after eating...most likely reactive hypoglycemia. At the time I wasn't really sure if it was really hypoglycemia or due to my diet at the time...i was a bit too restrictive.

I would suggest her being evaluated by a doctor :nurse:...at least just to be safe and for peace of mind. I'm sure it scares her when it happens and if she find ways to treat it or prevent it, then I think it worth it :top:

Good luck! :)

[Cyborg]

A co-worker just discovered he gets hypoglycemia when he eats sugary foods for breakfast. I got him testing and he discovered why he was feeling so poorly. He also found it happens when he eats a Big Mac, but not a Whopper. :hmmmm2:

My grand-mother-in-law, as others here also have gone thru, started out being diagnosed as hypoglycemic, but then ended up being diabetic.

[duck]

A co-worker just discovered he gets hypoglycemia when he eats sugary foods for breakfast. I got him testing and he discovered why he was feeling so poorly. He also found it happens when he eats a Big Mac, but not a Whopper. :hmmmm2:

My grand-mother-in-law, as others here also have gone thru, started out being diagnosed as hypoglycemic, but then ended up being diabetic.

I TOLD YOU Whoppers are more fattening!

LOL

My best friend from college was diag'ed with hypoglycemia. Before his diagnosis, he was acting REAL weird. We literally thought he was going psycho, he would just up and disappear, and hours later we would find him just sitting somewhere, staring off into space. He avoids sugary foods more than I do nowadays, they really put a number on him.

[gettingby]

This has happened to my sister. She was getting really dizzy one day and asked me to come to her house and check her bg. She had just finished a 12oz can of Sundrop about 30 minutes before. Her bg was 65 !!! But, her doc (family GP) said that she's not hypoglycemic. Huh?? I actually went out and bought her a Wal Mart meter and strips and showed her how to use it. She doesn't check very often but she always makes sure she has strips for it, just in case.

[sbuff28@charter]

i was thinking about some of your responses and it got me thinking about another thing....

My sister when she drinks Always gets way overboard and beligerent. She says its the hard alcohol that really gets to her. She sometime gets so beligerent she doesn't even know where she is, and rambling incoherently. With beer she does ok until about 4-6 then she off in her own world again. I've been around a lot of drunk people before and i'd say my sister gets prolly the worse out of anyone i know. Sometimes when she comes home really late drunk my mom thinks she is on the brink of death and on some hullicinagetic drug. While im plastered myself trying to reason with my mom that she doesnt do anything like that and she just really really drunk.

Do you guys think shes acting this way because she is drunk and hypo at the same time? If so that could be potentially really dangerous. I know your liver stops producing sugar when drinking and since my sis gets hypos a lot neways....could this be true?

[Cyborg]

i was thinking about some of your responses and it got me thinking about another thing....

My sister when she drinks Always gets way overboard and beligerent. She says its the hard alcohol that really gets to her. She sometime gets so beligerent she doesn't even know where she is, and rambling incoherently. With beer she does ok until about 4-6 then she off in her own world again. I've been around a lot of drunk people before and i'd say my sister gets prolly the worse out of anyone i know. Sometimes when she comes home really late drunk my mom thinks she is on the brink of death and on some hullicinagetic drug. While im plastered myself trying to reason with my mom that she doesnt do anything like that and she just really really drunk.

Do you guys think shes acting this way because she is drunk and hypo at the same time? If so that could be potentially really dangerous. I know your liver stops producing sugar when drinking and since my sis gets hypos a lot neways....could this be true?

I've had severe hypos from drinking. You must be very careful if diabetic while partying it up. It is possible that is what's happening.

[sbuff28@charter]

shes not diabetic, I'm the only diabetic in my immediate and extended family. she just has frequent low blood sugars and never any high blood sugars above 100 whatsoever

[Cyborg]

shes not diabetic, she just has frequent low blood sugars and never any high blood sugars above 100 whatsoever

Sorry, I asssumed she was diabetic. I'm not sure about the details of people that only suffer from hypoglycemia.

[Moniko]

I had reactive hypoglycemia before I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes...so it is possible that she may become diabetic later in life, lets hope she doesnt though :)

[Erin]

Is your sister a very small person? I only ask because most people I know who were hypoglycemic (ok it was two people, and I'm pretty sure one of them wasn't really hypoglycemic at all)... were very small women.

Very small women (generally) get drunk very quickly, particularly if they are very small because they don't eat very much. She could just be on the brink of alcohol poisoning. 6 beers is a lot for a small chick.

[seacomp]

I only ask because most people I know who were hypoglycemic [...] were very small women.
I don't know about small, but every person that I've heard of with hypoglycemia were women. Is this an illusion?

[dws]

Don't think I know any Normal people:vroam:

don

[Shotokan]

The "treatment" for one form of hypoglycemia is to eat 5 or 6 small meals a day instead of eating 3 large meals. The reason is that the pancreas produces too much insulin in reaction of a spike in BS. The small meals produce lower amounts of BS that don't trigger the overproduction of insulin. It is exactly the opposite of diabetes: the pancreas is producing too much insulin instead of not enough insulin.

[RUFC_MD]

I used to get bad hypo's for around 5 years leading up to my diagnosis of diabetes. I mainly used to get these mid-late morning before lunch and just before my evening meal.

I went to the doctor about it as it was happening almost daily, but he wasn't interested.

Now I'm diabetic I suffer fewer hypo's!!

[seacomp]

Now I'm diabetic I suffer fewer hypo's!!
Now that's only the second thing:hahaha: good that I've heard said about diabetes.

[sbuff28@charter]

Erin- Shes like 5'9... I'd say a average athletic build for a woman. Shes definatly not one of those 90lb chicks.

I tested her Bs cause i am home for the weekend. it was 71 this morn.


She said that when she wsaw our PCP that it was reactive hypoglycimic.