[KarolH]

Once again it is me,..........Karol from New Jersey back yet again to ask another question. Something that is really bothering me and now it is actually scaring me too.

My blood sugars for the last month have been dropping dangerously low about 2 hours after I eat something.

This morning it was 46 and I just about passed out from it.

Is this something with Lupus or better yet something that has been triggered by Lupus? Does anyone else have this problem? It really is concerning me now.

As always Thanks so much for any insight you may be able to share with this brand new Lupie who has so much to learn.:wink2:

 

[sjink]

Hi Karol

Do your medics know about this? I've never read about lupus being a direct cause of this but it could be related I suppose.

Are you diabetic? Or been tested for diabetes?

I would check this with a doctor and ask advice as this seems to be happening regularly.

Love
Sara

 

[KarolH]

I am not diabetic and have been tested plenty of times in the past. Sugars are always perfect which is good considering diabetes runs rampant in my family.

That being said I have not mentioned it to my doctor as this just started about one month ago but my sugars are dropping so quickly to dangerous levels where I almost pass out.

Yesterday was the worst yet and really scared me. I am calling the Rheumy tomorrow just to make her aware of it but also my pcp to ask him for the 3 month sugar test. I think it is called A1CG or something like that.

 

[Mrs M]

Hi Karol

I would definitely give the Rheumy a ring. It's best to get these things checked out.
Please let us know how it goes and I hope you're feeling better real soon.

Mrs M x

 

[cath]

Hi Karol ,

May I ask a couple of questions?

How are you testing your blood sugar?
What units does the machine or test strip measure in?

46 is for me a strange number, but I'm used to working in mmol, so chances are you have a different unit of measuring. Does your test kit give a "normal reference range" ?

What are you eating?
Are you on pred at the moment?

The general advice to maintain a stable blood sugar is to eat regular amounts of complex carbohydrates and to avoid simple sugars, ie brown bread, wholegrain pasta, rice cereals etc are good, avoid white bread, sugar, honey, sweet cakes and biscuits etc.

If you are really hyopglyceamic a simple sugar is a quick fix, but it needs to be followed up immediately by a carb that is more long lasting (eg brown bread), otherwise you'll soon swing back down into a hypo.

Still I agree with the othrs that the reason why this is happening needs to be found and hopefully treated.

All the best,

X C X

 

[KarolH]

Cath,

I am not sure how my machine measures but what I can tell you is that 80 to 100 is normal and I was at 46. This gives you a better idea of how low I was.

I am not on Prednisone and just getting ready to start Plaquenil tomorrow morning. Other meds I take will not effect sugars so I am not sure what is happening.

When this happened yesterday it was almost 2 hours after I ate a bowl of cereal, Frosted Mini Wheats which is high in fiber and carbs.

I really do not eat a lot of sugar or sweet biscuits as I do not have a stomach so what I eat is usually healthy and I also eat small but frequent meals through out the day.

I am calling the doctor in the morning and I will get to the bottom of this. It scares me too much not to.

 

[Clare.T]

Hello Karol

I am very glad you are going to see the doctor. Even if this was a common symptom of lupus it would need investigating to find out how the lupus was causing it, what organ was being affected or why. Even if it was caused by lupus somehow it has to be investigated when it's so serious and treated as needed.

This talks about reactive hypoglycemia not related to diabetes in the second hal and mentions gastric surgery as one possible cause

http://www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/hypoglycemia/index.htm


Good luck - please let us know how you get on

Clare

 

[Gerri54]

Hi Karol,

I agree with Cath.

Orange juice, or a glucose bar will bring your sugar up quickly, but you should have a carbohydrate, like brown bread to help steady your sugar.

Also if your doing more exercise, it will also bring down your sugar much quicker. After exercising have some Orange juice, and a Carb.

My sugar has lately been swinging both ways very quickly. Very high, and then after exercise to very low.

Not able to control mine by diet, any more. Gastro doctor wants me on insulin.

Hugs

Let me know what your doctor says.

Gerri

 

[cemc]

Frosted mini wheats may sound like a good slow release carb food, but I suspect if you read the small print on the packaging you will find that the "frosted" part of them really contains rather a lot of sugar which will give you that quick hit, then sudden drop in blood sugar. As other people have said, brown bread (without any sort of sugary spread on it), will give you a much better "slow release" sort of energy that shouldn't drop your blood sugar too much. Non sweetened cereals also would be better - plain mini wheats for example.

In terms of testing, years ago I had what was called a glucose tolerance test. They gave you a heavy glucose load (a big glass of very sickly sweet drink) then checked your blood sugar by taking blood samples hourly for several hours afterwards. They could tell from that whether you were going hypoglycaemic (if you blood sugar dropped too suddenly). I don't know if they still do this test, or if they have something that measures it better now.

 

[Gerri54]

Hi Cemc,

Twice I had that glucose solution test, both times I passed out on them. It shot my sugar up very high. Now they won't give me that test.

I agree with you that any sugar will cause your sugar to jump high and quickly fall if you don't have Carbs. My son was diagnose quite young with Hypoglycemia. He controls it now with Carbs, and a controlled amount of sugar.

He is much older now and isn't off the walls as he was when he was much younger.

Karol, let us know what your doctor says about your sugars.

Hugs

Gerri

 

[KarolH]

Thanks again for your replies to this thread.

I got a appointment with a Endocrinologist this Wednesday, so quickly as typically a new patient waits much longer.

When I told them what my sugars were doing the girl almost dropped the phone.

So, in 2 days I will hopefully start the process of finding out why my sugars are doing this.

Even though people who have had their stomachs removed have this issue my common sense tells me that this is not the case for me. I had surgery 13+ months ago and this just started happening.

I will keep you all posted.:wink2::wink2::wink2:

 

[Gerri54]

Karol,

How do you do it? I have been waiting six month to get into an Entercrinologist. I have already been told I will be going on insulin. My Gastro asked my family doctor to refer me to GASTRO and my family doctor just keeps putting it off.

Glad your getting in so quickly, you need answers now, not a year down the road, like me.

Hugs

Gerri

 

[KarolH]

Gerri,

Maybe the difference is the US system vs. Canadian system, but I don't know for sure.

Sorry you wait so long.