Low Blood Sugar without Insulin

[Wheezie]

I have the problem too and have not been diagnosed with CFRD. I've been told I'm borderline for years; I do an annual Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT), which always comes back normal. Lately, I've been waking up with low blood sugars and it's usually when I've eaten a carb rich meal or snack right before going to sleep. My understanding is similar to Ender's: the pancreas sort of forgets to release the insulin you need to break down sugars right when you eat them and then it suddenly remembers, shoots out some insulin, and causes you to have a low.

To treat low blood sugar, I take 15 grams of fast acting carb. Glucose tablets are ideal and can be found in any drug store, but other things that work are candy (but not chocolate), soda, juice, etc. The urge is to keep eating these things until you feel better, but that could cause your sugars to spike. So you want to start with 15 grams, wait 5 minutes, do 15 more grams if you're still not balanced, and so on. At least, this is how I was instructed by my dietitian <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif" border="0">

 

[Wheezie]

I have the problem too and have not been diagnosed with CFRD. I've been told I'm borderline for years; I do an annual Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT), which always comes back normal. Lately, I've been waking up with low blood sugars and it's usually when I've eaten a carb rich meal or snack right before going to sleep. My understanding is similar to Ender's: the pancreas sort of forgets to release the insulin you need to break down sugars right when you eat them and then it suddenly remembers, shoots out some insulin, and causes you to have a low.

To treat low blood sugar, I take 15 grams of fast acting carb. Glucose tablets are ideal and can be found in any drug store, but other things that work are candy (but not chocolate), soda, juice, etc. The urge is to keep eating these things until you feel better, but that could cause your sugars to spike. So you want to start with 15 grams, wait 5 minutes, do 15 more grams if you're still not balanced, and so on. At least, this is how I was instructed by my dietitian <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif" border="0">

 

[Wheezie]

I have the problem too and have not been diagnosed with CFRD. I've been told I'm borderline for years; I do an annual Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT), which always comes back normal. Lately, I've been waking up with low blood sugars and it's usually when I've eaten a carb rich meal or snack right before going to sleep. My understanding is similar to Ender's: the pancreas sort of forgets to release the insulin you need to break down sugars right when you eat them and then it suddenly remembers, shoots out some insulin, and causes you to have a low.

To treat low blood sugar, I take 15 grams of fast acting carb. Glucose tablets are ideal and can be found in any drug store, but other things that work are candy (but not chocolate), soda, juice, etc. The urge is to keep eating these things until you feel better, but that could cause your sugars to spike. So you want to start with 15 grams, wait 5 minutes, do 15 more grams if you're still not balanced, and so on. At least, this is how I was instructed by my dietitian <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif" border="0">

 

[Wheezie]

I have the problem too and have not been diagnosed with CFRD. I've been told I'm borderline for years; I do an annual Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT), which always comes back normal. Lately, I've been waking up with low blood sugars and it's usually when I've eaten a carb rich meal or snack right before going to sleep. My understanding is similar to Ender's: the pancreas sort of forgets to release the insulin you need to break down sugars right when you eat them and then it suddenly remembers, shoots out some insulin, and causes you to have a low.

To treat low blood sugar, I take 15 grams of fast acting carb. Glucose tablets are ideal and can be found in any drug store, but other things that work are candy (but not chocolate), soda, juice, etc. The urge is to keep eating these things until you feel better, but that could cause your sugars to spike. So you want to start with 15 grams, wait 5 minutes, do 15 more grams if you're still not balanced, and so on. At least, this is how I was instructed by my dietitian <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif" border="0">

 

[Wheezie]

I have the problem too and have not been diagnosed with CFRD. I've been told I'm borderline for years; I do an annual Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT), which always comes back normal. Lately, I've been waking up with low blood sugars and it's usually when I've eaten a carb rich meal or snack right before going to sleep. My understanding is similar to Ender's: the pancreas sort of forgets to release the insulin you need to break down sugars right when you eat them and then it suddenly remembers, shoots out some insulin, and causes you to have a low.

To treat low blood sugar, I take 15 grams of fast acting carb. Glucose tablets are ideal and can be found in any drug store, but other things that work are candy (but not chocolate), soda, juice, etc. The urge is to keep eating these things until you feel better, but that could cause your sugars to spike. So you want to start with 15 grams, wait 5 minutes, do 15 more grams if you're still not balanced, and so on. At least, this is how I was instructed by my dietitian <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif" border="0">

 

[mom2lillian]

I am PS and this happened to me alot until I changed my eating habits. I used to be a more 'low fat' eater never paying attention to a carb load but more to the fat and or calories of something. Now I center everything I eat around balancing carbs with protein/fat and I eat longer acting carbs such as whole grains and less processed the better.

For example during an oral glucose test my numbers will slowly climb 1st hour, rocket up 2nd hour, then plummet the third hour to below 50. In 'real life' this seems to happen more quickly. I cannot follow a plan like wheezie was given of treating iwth only quick acting carbs, I have ot have that plus a solid protein source or I will just rebound back to where I was or worse very quickly.

I would recommend evaluating your diet and seeing where you can improve, look for more balance. Perhaps keep a food diary for a week and meet with a dietician.

The funny thing about an A1C is theoretically you can have a great reading but your blood sugars cans till be all over the place which is hard on your body. Think of it like a rollercoaster i fyou have tons highs and lows it will still make a decent average, you can think of the A1C as reading your 'average' height obtained throughout the ride but never aware of all the peaks and valleys you took. I have no idea if that made sense, pretty tired here tonight, ok off to bed and if you have any ?'s I'd be happy to chat.

 

[mom2lillian]

I am PS and this happened to me alot until I changed my eating habits. I used to be a more 'low fat' eater never paying attention to a carb load but more to the fat and or calories of something. Now I center everything I eat around balancing carbs with protein/fat and I eat longer acting carbs such as whole grains and less processed the better.

For example during an oral glucose test my numbers will slowly climb 1st hour, rocket up 2nd hour, then plummet the third hour to below 50. In 'real life' this seems to happen more quickly. I cannot follow a plan like wheezie was given of treating iwth only quick acting carbs, I have ot have that plus a solid protein source or I will just rebound back to where I was or worse very quickly.

I would recommend evaluating your diet and seeing where you can improve, look for more balance. Perhaps keep a food diary for a week and meet with a dietician.

The funny thing about an A1C is theoretically you can have a great reading but your blood sugars cans till be all over the place which is hard on your body. Think of it like a rollercoaster i fyou have tons highs and lows it will still make a decent average, you can think of the A1C as reading your 'average' height obtained throughout the ride but never aware of all the peaks and valleys you took. I have no idea if that made sense, pretty tired here tonight, ok off to bed and if you have any ?'s I'd be happy to chat.

 

[mom2lillian]

I am PS and this happened to me alot until I changed my eating habits. I used to be a more 'low fat' eater never paying attention to a carb load but more to the fat and or calories of something. Now I center everything I eat around balancing carbs with protein/fat and I eat longer acting carbs such as whole grains and less processed the better.

For example during an oral glucose test my numbers will slowly climb 1st hour, rocket up 2nd hour, then plummet the third hour to below 50. In 'real life' this seems to happen more quickly. I cannot follow a plan like wheezie was given of treating iwth only quick acting carbs, I have ot have that plus a solid protein source or I will just rebound back to where I was or worse very quickly.

I would recommend evaluating your diet and seeing where you can improve, look for more balance. Perhaps keep a food diary for a week and meet with a dietician.

The funny thing about an A1C is theoretically you can have a great reading but your blood sugars cans till be all over the place which is hard on your body. Think of it like a rollercoaster i fyou have tons highs and lows it will still make a decent average, you can think of the A1C as reading your 'average' height obtained throughout the ride but never aware of all the peaks and valleys you took. I have no idea if that made sense, pretty tired here tonight, ok off to bed and if you have any ?'s I'd be happy to chat.

 

[mom2lillian]

I am PS and this happened to me alot until I changed my eating habits. I used to be a more 'low fat' eater never paying attention to a carb load but more to the fat and or calories of something. Now I center everything I eat around balancing carbs with protein/fat and I eat longer acting carbs such as whole grains and less processed the better.

For example during an oral glucose test my numbers will slowly climb 1st hour, rocket up 2nd hour, then plummet the third hour to below 50. In 'real life' this seems to happen more quickly. I cannot follow a plan like wheezie was given of treating iwth only quick acting carbs, I have ot have that plus a solid protein source or I will just rebound back to where I was or worse very quickly.

I would recommend evaluating your diet and seeing where you can improve, look for more balance. Perhaps keep a food diary for a week and meet with a dietician.

The funny thing about an A1C is theoretically you can have a great reading but your blood sugars cans till be all over the place which is hard on your body. Think of it like a rollercoaster i fyou have tons highs and lows it will still make a decent average, you can think of the A1C as reading your 'average' height obtained throughout the ride but never aware of all the peaks and valleys you took. I have no idea if that made sense, pretty tired here tonight, ok off to bed and if you have any ?'s I'd be happy to chat.

 

[mom2lillian]

I am PS and this happened to me alot until I changed my eating habits. I used to be a more 'low fat' eater never paying attention to a carb load but more to the fat and or calories of something. Now I center everything I eat around balancing carbs with protein/fat and I eat longer acting carbs such as whole grains and less processed the better.

For example during an oral glucose test my numbers will slowly climb 1st hour, rocket up 2nd hour, then plummet the third hour to below 50. In 'real life' this seems to happen more quickly. I cannot follow a plan like wheezie was given of treating iwth only quick acting carbs, I have ot have that plus a solid protein source or I will just rebound back to where I was or worse very quickly.

I would recommend evaluating your diet and seeing where you can improve, look for more balance. Perhaps keep a food diary for a week and meet with a dietician.

The funny thing about an A1C is theoretically you can have a great reading but your blood sugars cans till be all over the place which is hard on your body. Think of it like a rollercoaster i fyou have tons highs and lows it will still make a decent average, you can think of the A1C as reading your 'average' height obtained throughout the ride but never aware of all the peaks and valleys you took. I have no idea if that made sense, pretty tired here tonight, ok off to bed and if you have any ?'s I'd be happy to chat.

 

[CFinCalifornia]

Thanks everyone! I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one.

Nicole, I had to laugh because your little roller coaster analogy was EXACTLY what I had been thinking about and wanted to talk to my doctor about! I've been checking my blood sugar semi-compulsively for the last week, and my average is something completely acceptable -- 111 -- even with a 57 and a 248.

At this point, my endocrinologist wants to me to pay particular attention to diet and exercise and see me again in 3 months to see if we need to discuss new options, but we'll see what the CF doc says when the actual numbers from the OGTT come in. At this point I just know they were "slightly elevated" and hopefully on Monday I'll know exactly what that means.

Note to self: no more medical tests over a holiday when labs are closed!

Anyway, thanks for all your help! I'm looking forward to getting to know you on this forum.

-Megan

 

[CFinCalifornia]

Thanks everyone! I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one.

Nicole, I had to laugh because your little roller coaster analogy was EXACTLY what I had been thinking about and wanted to talk to my doctor about! I've been checking my blood sugar semi-compulsively for the last week, and my average is something completely acceptable -- 111 -- even with a 57 and a 248.

At this point, my endocrinologist wants to me to pay particular attention to diet and exercise and see me again in 3 months to see if we need to discuss new options, but we'll see what the CF doc says when the actual numbers from the OGTT come in. At this point I just know they were "slightly elevated" and hopefully on Monday I'll know exactly what that means.

Note to self: no more medical tests over a holiday when labs are closed!

Anyway, thanks for all your help! I'm looking forward to getting to know you on this forum.

-Megan

 

[CFinCalifornia]

Thanks everyone! I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one.

Nicole, I had to laugh because your little roller coaster analogy was EXACTLY what I had been thinking about and wanted to talk to my doctor about! I've been checking my blood sugar semi-compulsively for the last week, and my average is something completely acceptable -- 111 -- even with a 57 and a 248.

At this point, my endocrinologist wants to me to pay particular attention to diet and exercise and see me again in 3 months to see if we need to discuss new options, but we'll see what the CF doc says when the actual numbers from the OGTT come in. At this point I just know they were "slightly elevated" and hopefully on Monday I'll know exactly what that means.

Note to self: no more medical tests over a holiday when labs are closed!

Anyway, thanks for all your help! I'm looking forward to getting to know you on this forum.

-Megan

 

[CFinCalifornia]

Thanks everyone! I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one.

Nicole, I had to laugh because your little roller coaster analogy was EXACTLY what I had been thinking about and wanted to talk to my doctor about! I've been checking my blood sugar semi-compulsively for the last week, and my average is something completely acceptable -- 111 -- even with a 57 and a 248.

At this point, my endocrinologist wants to me to pay particular attention to diet and exercise and see me again in 3 months to see if we need to discuss new options, but we'll see what the CF doc says when the actual numbers from the OGTT come in. At this point I just know they were "slightly elevated" and hopefully on Monday I'll know exactly what that means.

Note to self: no more medical tests over a holiday when labs are closed!

Anyway, thanks for all your help! I'm looking forward to getting to know you on this forum.

-Megan

 

[CFinCalifornia]

Thanks everyone! I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one.

Nicole, I had to laugh because your little roller coaster analogy was EXACTLY what I had been thinking about and wanted to talk to my doctor about! I've been checking my blood sugar semi-compulsively for the last week, and my average is something completely acceptable -- 111 -- even with a 57 and a 248.

At this point, my endocrinologist wants to me to pay particular attention to diet and exercise and see me again in 3 months to see if we need to discuss new options, but we'll see what the CF doc says when the actual numbers from the OGTT come in. At this point I just know they were "slightly elevated" and hopefully on Monday I'll know exactly what that means.

Note to self: no more medical tests over a holiday when labs are closed!

Anyway, thanks for all your help! I'm looking forward to getting to know you on this forum.

-Megan

 

[coltsfan715]

Hi there,

I will be honest as I did NOT read all of the replies to this post. I read the first few and they all seemed to be pretty similar. I just wanted to give an idea as to why you are probably experiencing the lows.

I have CFRD - was diagnosed at 17. My sugars are on the high side though if I do not take insulin. Anyhow .. onto my point.

What you are experiencing is like what MOST people with HYPOglycemia experience regardless of whether or not they have CF. A large part of the problem lies in what you are eating. Foods that are high in carbs or sugars cause this problem - you will have an immediate spike in your sugars but after about 2 hours you drop drastically low. The reason .....


When you eat a meal your body starts to react quickly processing sugars and things. SOOOO if you eat a high carb or high sugar food your sugar starts to spike quickly - your body responds and sends out insulin. The goal of your body is to keep your blood sugar within a certain range it sees the quick increase in sugars and it wants to take care of the problem quickly so your body(pancreas) will release ALOT of insulin very early on into the meal that you have eaten because it correlates with the way your sugars increase (sugars go up fast insulin is released fast). The problem is yes your sugars start to decrease but they would decrease anyway without the insane amounts of insulin your body can produce. SOOOOO your body produces (for example) the equivalent of 10 units of insulin when you really only needed maybe 6-7 units. The insulin REALLY hits your system and is fully effective anywhere from 1-3 hours ... on average 2 hours. Due to that it is often around 2 hours after a meal that a person experiences low blood sugar if they are hypOglycemic.

I would try to cut back on the carbs and sugars and maybe add some protein to your meals. Cutting out some of the sugars will help prevent the immediate spike in sugar AND adding the protein will help make your sugars remain at a more constant level. I can not recall why, but proteins help your sugars to be more regulated because they are processed through the body at a more even rate.

Just my personal opinion on that. It may or may not help as I don't know what your exact issue is, but I would be willing to bet that it would be more likely to help the situation than cause it to get worse. I know adjusting sugar intake and increasing protein intake has helped several of my friends withOUT CF that are hypoglycemic.

Take Care and Good Luck,
Lindsey

 

[coltsfan715]

Hi there,

I will be honest as I did NOT read all of the replies to this post. I read the first few and they all seemed to be pretty similar. I just wanted to give an idea as to why you are probably experiencing the lows.

I have CFRD - was diagnosed at 17. My sugars are on the high side though if I do not take insulin. Anyhow .. onto my point.

What you are experiencing is like what MOST people with HYPOglycemia experience regardless of whether or not they have CF. A large part of the problem lies in what you are eating. Foods that are high in carbs or sugars cause this problem - you will have an immediate spike in your sugars but after about 2 hours you drop drastically low. The reason .....


When you eat a meal your body starts to react quickly processing sugars and things. SOOOO if you eat a high carb or high sugar food your sugar starts to spike quickly - your body responds and sends out insulin. The goal of your body is to keep your blood sugar within a certain range it sees the quick increase in sugars and it wants to take care of the problem quickly so your body(pancreas) will release ALOT of insulin very early on into the meal that you have eaten because it correlates with the way your sugars increase (sugars go up fast insulin is released fast). The problem is yes your sugars start to decrease but they would decrease anyway without the insane amounts of insulin your body can produce. SOOOOO your body produces (for example) the equivalent of 10 units of insulin when you really only needed maybe 6-7 units. The insulin REALLY hits your system and is fully effective anywhere from 1-3 hours ... on average 2 hours. Due to that it is often around 2 hours after a meal that a person experiences low blood sugar if they are hypOglycemic.

I would try to cut back on the carbs and sugars and maybe add some protein to your meals. Cutting out some of the sugars will help prevent the immediate spike in sugar AND adding the protein will help make your sugars remain at a more constant level. I can not recall why, but proteins help your sugars to be more regulated because they are processed through the body at a more even rate.

Just my personal opinion on that. It may or may not help as I don't know what your exact issue is, but I would be willing to bet that it would be more likely to help the situation than cause it to get worse. I know adjusting sugar intake and increasing protein intake has helped several of my friends withOUT CF that are hypoglycemic.

Take Care and Good Luck,
Lindsey

 

[coltsfan715]

Hi there,

I will be honest as I did NOT read all of the replies to this post. I read the first few and they all seemed to be pretty similar. I just wanted to give an idea as to why you are probably experiencing the lows.

I have CFRD - was diagnosed at 17. My sugars are on the high side though if I do not take insulin. Anyhow .. onto my point.

What you are experiencing is like what MOST people with HYPOglycemia experience regardless of whether or not they have CF. A large part of the problem lies in what you are eating. Foods that are high in carbs or sugars cause this problem - you will have an immediate spike in your sugars but after about 2 hours you drop drastically low. The reason .....


When you eat a meal your body starts to react quickly processing sugars and things. SOOOO if you eat a high carb or high sugar food your sugar starts to spike quickly - your body responds and sends out insulin. The goal of your body is to keep your blood sugar within a certain range it sees the quick increase in sugars and it wants to take care of the problem quickly so your body(pancreas) will release ALOT of insulin very early on into the meal that you have eaten because it correlates with the way your sugars increase (sugars go up fast insulin is released fast). The problem is yes your sugars start to decrease but they would decrease anyway without the insane amounts of insulin your body can produce. SOOOOO your body produces (for example) the equivalent of 10 units of insulin when you really only needed maybe 6-7 units. The insulin REALLY hits your system and is fully effective anywhere from 1-3 hours ... on average 2 hours. Due to that it is often around 2 hours after a meal that a person experiences low blood sugar if they are hypOglycemic.

I would try to cut back on the carbs and sugars and maybe add some protein to your meals. Cutting out some of the sugars will help prevent the immediate spike in sugar AND adding the protein will help make your sugars remain at a more constant level. I can not recall why, but proteins help your sugars to be more regulated because they are processed through the body at a more even rate.

Just my personal opinion on that. It may or may not help as I don't know what your exact issue is, but I would be willing to bet that it would be more likely to help the situation than cause it to get worse. I know adjusting sugar intake and increasing protein intake has helped several of my friends withOUT CF that are hypoglycemic.

Take Care and Good Luck,
Lindsey

 

[coltsfan715]

Hi there,

I will be honest as I did NOT read all of the replies to this post. I read the first few and they all seemed to be pretty similar. I just wanted to give an idea as to why you are probably experiencing the lows.

I have CFRD - was diagnosed at 17. My sugars are on the high side though if I do not take insulin. Anyhow .. onto my point.

What you are experiencing is like what MOST people with HYPOglycemia experience regardless of whether or not they have CF. A large part of the problem lies in what you are eating. Foods that are high in carbs or sugars cause this problem - you will have an immediate spike in your sugars but after about 2 hours you drop drastically low. The reason .....


When you eat a meal your body starts to react quickly processing sugars and things. SOOOO if you eat a high carb or high sugar food your sugar starts to spike quickly - your body responds and sends out insulin. The goal of your body is to keep your blood sugar within a certain range it sees the quick increase in sugars and it wants to take care of the problem quickly so your body(pancreas) will release ALOT of insulin very early on into the meal that you have eaten because it correlates with the way your sugars increase (sugars go up fast insulin is released fast). The problem is yes your sugars start to decrease but they would decrease anyway without the insane amounts of insulin your body can produce. SOOOOO your body produces (for example) the equivalent of 10 units of insulin when you really only needed maybe 6-7 units. The insulin REALLY hits your system and is fully effective anywhere from 1-3 hours ... on average 2 hours. Due to that it is often around 2 hours after a meal that a person experiences low blood sugar if they are hypOglycemic.

I would try to cut back on the carbs and sugars and maybe add some protein to your meals. Cutting out some of the sugars will help prevent the immediate spike in sugar AND adding the protein will help make your sugars remain at a more constant level. I can not recall why, but proteins help your sugars to be more regulated because they are processed through the body at a more even rate.

Just my personal opinion on that. It may or may not help as I don't know what your exact issue is, but I would be willing to bet that it would be more likely to help the situation than cause it to get worse. I know adjusting sugar intake and increasing protein intake has helped several of my friends withOUT CF that are hypoglycemic.

Take Care and Good Luck,
Lindsey

 

[coltsfan715]

Hi there,

I will be honest as I did NOT read all of the replies to this post. I read the first few and they all seemed to be pretty similar. I just wanted to give an idea as to why you are probably experiencing the lows.

I have CFRD - was diagnosed at 17. My sugars are on the high side though if I do not take insulin. Anyhow .. onto my point.

What you are experiencing is like what MOST people with HYPOglycemia experience regardless of whether or not they have CF. A large part of the problem lies in what you are eating. Foods that are high in carbs or sugars cause this problem - you will have an immediate spike in your sugars but after about 2 hours you drop drastically low. The reason .....


When you eat a meal your body starts to react quickly processing sugars and things. SOOOO if you eat a high carb or high sugar food your sugar starts to spike quickly - your body responds and sends out insulin. The goal of your body is to keep your blood sugar within a certain range it sees the quick increase in sugars and it wants to take care of the problem quickly so your body(pancreas) will release ALOT of insulin very early on into the meal that you have eaten because it correlates with the way your sugars increase (sugars go up fast insulin is released fast). The problem is yes your sugars start to decrease but they would decrease anyway without the insane amounts of insulin your body can produce. SOOOOO your body produces (for example) the equivalent of 10 units of insulin when you really only needed maybe 6-7 units. The insulin REALLY hits your system and is fully effective anywhere from 1-3 hours ... on average 2 hours. Due to that it is often around 2 hours after a meal that a person experiences low blood sugar if they are hypOglycemic.

I would try to cut back on the carbs and sugars and maybe add some protein to your meals. Cutting out some of the sugars will help prevent the immediate spike in sugar AND adding the protein will help make your sugars remain at a more constant level. I can not recall why, but proteins help your sugars to be more regulated because they are processed through the body at a more even rate.

Just my personal opinion on that. It may or may not help as I don't know what your exact issue is, but I would be willing to bet that it would be more likely to help the situation than cause it to get worse. I know adjusting sugar intake and increasing protein intake has helped several of my friends withOUT CF that are hypoglycemic.

Take Care and Good Luck,
Lindsey