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Gradually increasing episodes of hypoglycemia over the past 10 years
I cam remember back as far as about 10 years ago that I would have low blood sugar maybe once a month. The last couple of years these episodes had increased to a couple times a week and lately have increased to 3+ times a day. I know the feeling well ao no need to test when I know it would be around 60. I just eat as fast as I can when feeling it come on. My A1C reads normal. But I have aslo noticed a harder beating heart and an easier shortness of breath. My ekg looks good though and all blood test come back normal. Other than that I am in a constant sense of unwellness with fatigue, malaise, light headeache, sense of blurred vision. I am a 43 year old male, 5' 11" and 220 lbs. Im in construction so do plenty of walking, ladders, stairs, and lifting heavy objects so not a sedintary lifestyle. Any insight appreciated.
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What type diabetes do you have and what medications are you on? Are you on a pump?
Hi,
I would be off to my Dr at first chance. Hypo and Hyper share the same symptoms, so testing your blood glucoes wouldn't be a silly thing to do. The reality is it could be anything causing your symptoms, who best placed to discuss it with than your Doctor. Question neuropathy with the Dr as some don't think of such things initially.
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Hi @jabothegreat81. Sorry to hear the trouble that you are having. I am not sure of the particulars of the blood testing that was done, but I would ask your Doctors to run a screening panel that includes blood glucose and insulin levels to see if it adds additional information.
I have not been diagnosed with diabetes. I just bought a glucose tester to determine if what I was feeling was indeed low blood sugar. I recently had blood work done after a 12 hr fast and the A1C was normal. So Im confused.
@jabothegreat81 - that's very odd indeed. I wonder if A1C is really telling the whole story as it is average glucose over the past three months (e.g. the average of 150 and 50 is 100 and that is quite a bit of difference in the glucose world!). The reason I ask is that I am a brittle diabetic as a result of pancreatectomy and my A1Cs average in the mid 6's. That said, I do experience lows as a result of insulin/carb interactions and those are quite real. Having been in the 50s and 60s myself, I completely understand! Perhaps a CGM might help keep track of your glucose over time? Mine is paired to my pump and helps me control the highs and lows but it also records the trends and timing which is super helpful for me and my Endo.
Also, the reason I ask about insulin is that since some conditions can cause excess insulin production, it may explain why you are experiencing lows that seem to be increasing in frequency,
@jabothegreat81 I also have low blood sugars from time to time. As someone else wrote, thte A1C is an average so your lows may not show up in that.
I generally get low if I eat only high glycemic foods. Have you tried mixing carbs with protein and/or fat. Peanut butter is good, for instance, or cheese. We put cheese in rice or white potatoes to slow the sugar rise down. Ice cream is good, believe it or not, but sorbet is fast. Ripe bananas and bagels are very fast.
I know that with high glycemic foods my body is responding by raising my blood sugar and then it crashes 2-3 hours later. But the highs and lows average in the A1C.
If the lows happen overnight, try a snack of peanut butter crackers!
Among my kids, one has type 1 diabetes, and two had ketotic hypoglycemia and now I have sporadic hypoglycemia so I get it!