posted
If I don't eat anything for a few hours there is usually trouble. I get dizzy, shaky and disoriented. If I eat enything with sugar or caffeine, especially on an empty stomach, I get the same sort of symptoms.
I was told by one doctor that I have reactive hypoglycemia but another doctor I saw said that reactive hypoglycemia doesn't exist.
Regardless of what the diagnosis is, I know that many with Lyme have this problem. I want to know what kind of diet works best for you. More protein or more carbs?
-------------------- I was diagnosed with and treated for late stage Lyme in 1991 with 6 weeks of doxycycline. Initially felt better, but then developed health problems that last until today. Posts: 83 | From New Jersey | Registered: May 2008
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Tracy9
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7521
posted
I have hypoglycemia, confirmed by a three hour Glucose Tolerance Test.
DEFINTIELY protein. Carbs are the WORST, they convert to sugar and lead to a certain crash. If I eat a bagel, I am shaking an hour later.
I have to rely on chicken, eggs, peanut butter, nuts, yogurt, anything high in protein and fiber to keep me from crashing.
I can eat other stuff as long as I have eaten protein with it. Otherwise, a crash is inevitable.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
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tdtid
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 10276
posted
As like Tracy, I too was diagnosed after the 3 hour Glucose Tolerance Test....which by the way has you feeling horrid by the end if you are hypoglycemic.
I'm not sure mine is related to lyme since I was always gestational diabetic with my pregnancies (meaning only diabetic while pregnant) but as soon as I would give birth, they would check my diabetes and say I had gone hypoglycemic.
I have noticed that during the treatment of lyme, it does kick in harder than usual and sometimes harder to keep in line, but Tracy is right about the food.
Also, I found that if you eat more often but perhaps smaller portions, you can usually keep it under control a little better.
Sadly, it's a juggling game until I find out what works for you, but it is manageable once you get the hang of it. Surely not fun when we have everything else related to lyme pounding on us.
Good luck!
Cathy
-------------------- "To Dream The Impossible Dream" Man of La Mancha Posts: 2638 | From New Hampshire | Registered: Oct 2006
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posted
I haven't been diagnoses with it, but have similar symptoms as you. If I don't eat every two hours, I am shaky,cranky and tired. Then if I don't drink water or something constantly, i get thirsty way too often. Doc. said my insulin levels were low and wants to check me for diabetes. Mind you, i am 110 lbs, no fat on me what so ever. They think I might have type 2. It doesn't run in my fam, nor have i had the gest. diabetes with any of my 3 pregnancies. Weird. I think it is from the Lyme. Just like my heart palps, my arthritic pains, etc. I am falling apart. Keep us updated! I won't be able to do the glucose test until July b/c we are moving 1400 mi. away. doh!
Posts: 22 | From N.East CT | Registered: Jun 2008
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posted
I have problems with hypoglycemia, too. Been treating for Lyme since October and have seen some changes in the hypoglycemia issues.
Didn't really make the connection until recently. I do think they could be related.
One thing I noticed was last summer when I was sick with Lyme and didn't know it, I would have bouts of hypoglycemia, like if I played tennis, I would have to eat a granola bar throughout the game. But this would happen for 3 or 4 weeks, then I wouldn't get the hypoglycemia problem for a while.
Then it would come back and I would get it a lot for a few weeks, etc.
Since I've been treating for Lyme, overall I'm noticing I'm just not getting low blood sugar as frequently anymore.
I do get hungry, but not so shaky. Coincidence? I don't know. Keeping an eye on it.
~webmeg
Posts: 257 | From Connecticut | Registered: Oct 2007
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posted
That sounds like good advice - more frequent meals and more protein.
By the way I did have a glucose tolerance test and the reading on my blood sugar went down to 49. However, my doc said there is no way it could have been that low and threw out the data point and said I didn't have glucose intolernace.
He said it was a mistake by the lab and that they let the sample sit around for too long.
However, I should mention that I collapsed on the way home from the test. I definitely have it.
-------------------- I was diagnosed with and treated for late stage Lyme in 1991 with 6 weeks of doxycycline. Initially felt better, but then developed health problems that last until today. Posts: 83 | From New Jersey | Registered: May 2008
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If your doctor doesn't believe a glucose test then you probably need a new doctor. Your symptoms sound exactly like hypoglycemia.
My hypoglycemia started when I got sick with Lyme about four years ago. I had a 3 hour glucose test and had low blood sugar by the end.
I also almost passed out on the way home and had to have my mom pull over at a fast food place to get me food right away. My heart was racing, dizzy, weak, and had nausea.
Anyway, when my doctor got the results saying I had low blood sugar she diagnosed me with hypoglycemia and then proceeded to tell me that ALL my symptoms were from hypoglycemia. Including ALL my LYME symptoms (this was before I got diagnosed with Lyme by a different doctor). How frustrating!
I still struggle with hypoglycemia. It runs my life (along with Lyme). Like others were saying what helps is smaller meals always with protein.
Some say to eat carbs, some say not to. In my case I have to eat some carbs or else I get worse. I think you just have to listen to your body and find out what works best for you.
lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
protein and as many COMPLEX CARBS as you need.
brown rice, multigrain (yeast free?) bread, veggies
i can handle some fruits: apple, berries (cuz they have lots fo skin), and i can even do 1/2 banana-but many can't
fruit juice is real bad
sugar, sweets, simple carbs...bad...except in an emergency to stop yourself from passing out. my doc said when that happens to have a candy bar and glass of milk...the candy saves you but them the milk keeps your sugar from dropping lower
my llmd did a test on me that told him i needed carbs (comples of course)
i just pass out with out them-but 1/2 cup brown rice, or one slice multigrain bread , does the trick.
nuts and eggs are staples for me...
i was hypoglycemic for over 40 yrs...i just got cured. after knee replacement surgery 3 months ago, i was put on a fentanyl patch. i got dependent on it and had trouble getting off. alot of nausea and vomiting. now...i have lost my appetite and have to force myself to eat 3-4 times a day. but i never get my hypo symptoms anymore...even when i forget to eat for hours. wierd. but it's easier this way. and i'm losing weight.
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
It's been so long since I was getting tested for hypo that I had to look up the difference between hypoglycemia and reactive hypoglycemia, which I was diagnosed with several years ago. Anyway, your doctor's an idiot if he thinks the non-fasting form of hypo doesn't exist, and it certainly doesn't say much for him if he's also the one who so carelessly dismissed your test results, which absolutely aren't so low that they must be some lab mistake.
I dipped to 50 on my OGTT, and I'm pretty sure my mom and dad actually both went lower than me. The main issue with me from the test was how high my blood sugar spiked initially and still was at the 2 hr mark and how low it consequently dipped afterwards. I was at 242 at the 1 hr mark and still at 159 at the 2 hr mark (140-200 is pre-diabetic) and then was down at 50 at the 3 hr mark.
Anyway, I've been dealing with hypoglycemia since my early teens though it faded a bit during my early college years. It is still one of my primary health issues to this day and has gotten worse over the past few years even as I've seen improvement in other areas. My hypoglycemic symptoms pre-date when I believe I contracted lyme, and I don't know how much of a role lyme/TBI are playing in exacerbating my hypo symptoms and how they would be otherwise.
What I would recommend and was working decently enough, considering things, for me a few years ago in countering the hypoglycemia is eating frequently with protein in each meal and some carbs as well, though certainly lower than standard carb intake. Carbs that break down slower are better than other carbs as they help to avoid the spikes and consequent crashes that high sugary carbs may cause, for instance.
You can find plenty of references on the net for glycemic loads of foods for relevant information on carbs. Some foods like cashews, for example, are a great food source for blood sugar regulation as they naturally have a very balanced ratio of protein-fats-carbs (some recommendations put an ideal ratio at 3:3:4 for blood sugar maintenance).
Posts: 43 | From NJ | Registered: May 2007
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