# reactive hypoglycemia does anyone have this? just been diagnosed type 2 but had this problem for many years.



## whats4t (Jun 14, 2022)

I have just been diagnosed type 2 after many years borderline.  I`ve had reacive hypoglycemia for many years too.  Losing weight is nearly impossible with feeling faint with hunger most part of the day. I`m hoping if my blood sugar can be controlled, this problem will cease. Anyone had any experience of this, I`d be glad to hear.


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## rebrascora (Jun 14, 2022)

Hi and welcome. 

Sorry to hear you are struggling with RH and now diabetes confirmed. What if any medication have you been given?
Have you tried a keto diet?
The mechanism with RH from what I understand is that the carbs you eat cause a spike in your BG levels and then your pancreas throws out too much insulin to deal with that glucose too late and your levels then plummet and you have a hypo which means you need to eat carbs which spike your levels and the process self perpetuates. If you ate only very tiny portions of carbs with more fat and protein which releases glucose very slowly, those other macro nutrients would slow down the digestive system, so the smaller amount of carbs wouldn't spike your BG so much in the first place and therefore hopefully not trigger the over exuberant insulin response and the fat and protein would help to stop the hunger. This approach helps with diabetes as it stabilizes BG levels, so should also work with RH

What are you currently eating on an average day for breakfast, lunch and evening meal? Perhaps we can suggest some alternatives....

The general advice I believe is to eat lots of very small meals each day rather than 3 larger meals but I think if you can make them small low carb meals/snacks with more protein, fat and fibre it should help. Certainly worth a try if you haven't already.  

I wonder if applying for a free 2 week trial of the Freestyle Libre might help you to identify some of the foods which are causing you the most BG grief and the ones that you can get away with better and help you to tailor your diet better.


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## whats4t (Jun 14, 2022)

Thanks for reply.  I have tried several types of eating.  i have a good diet freshly prepared whole foods etc.  I aim for low GI foods, I understand about sugar highs and lows, eating little and often etc. Nothing seems to work I`m hoping I`ll be prescribed meds, I see the nurse for the first time next week. I`d give a lot to never have another hypo, it`s just horrible.


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## rebrascora (Jun 14, 2022)

Unfortunately some people's digestive systems do not subscribe the the Low GI index principle. 
For me the glucose from porridge made with the best, minimally processed jumbo oats and water can still get from my mouth to my finger tip in 20 mins (sigh) and lentils are sadly a curse, even though I love them, because my body is able to extract more carbs from them than they are supposed to contain. I had sweet potato in their skins last night and my levels went through the roof despite injecting what should have easily been enough insulin to cover them. Nice healthy Low GI foods which just don't work for me and quite a few other people, so if by "whole foods" you mean wholegrains, brown rice, wholemeal pasta, beans and lentils etc it is probably still far too many carbs for your particular system.


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## Inka (Jun 14, 2022)

whats4t said:


> Thanks for reply.  I have tried several types of eating.  i have a good diet freshly prepared whole foods etc.  I aim for low GI foods, I understand about sugar highs and lows, eating little and often etc. Nothing seems to work I`m hoping I`ll be prescribed meds, I see the nurse for the first time next week. I`d give a lot to never have another hypo, it`s just horrible.



Do you have a blood glucose meter? I’m wondering if you go high then drop too low. Have you seen a dietician about the RH? And - sorry for all the questions - do you know how low your blood sugar goes?


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## HBomb (Jul 22, 2022)

Hi All,
I thought this may be the best thread to ask this. I have recently been diagnosed at T2. HBA1c mol of 56. I haven't been given any medication yet and I wanted the opportunity to see what I could do without it initially. I've been on something similar to the fast 800. I eat low carb. I also have fatty liver which may have progressed to fibrosis which complicates food in the way of grains. I have been loosing weight and feeling much better until yesterday when I had extremely low blood sugar. Its happened again today. The GP told me it would be highly unusual for me to have low blood sugar so I used my glucose monitor to prove it. What is the advice of anyone with what I should do? It's a vicious cycle of having to eat things I don't want to eat to bring my sugars up then its too high.


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## Inka (Jul 22, 2022)

How low was your low blood sugar @HBomb ? Sometimes people can spike high, then go low as their body overcompensates with insulin.


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## HBomb (Jul 22, 2022)

Inka said:


> How low was your low blood sugar @HBomb ? Sometimes people can spike high, then go low as their body overcompensates with insulin.


My glucose meter just reads Lo when it's lower than 20mg/1.1mmol so must have been that low. It took a lot of carbs/sugar until I felt normal again. Once I felt better I did another test and I was at 9.0mmol.


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## Inka (Jul 22, 2022)

HBomb said:


> My glucose meter just reads Lo when it's lower than 20mg/1.1mmol so must have been that low. It took a lot of carbs/sugar until I felt normal again. Once I felt better I did another test and I was at 9.0mmol.



I would suspect a meter error. You’d be unlikely to be conscious that low. What meter are you using?


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## HBomb (Jul 22, 2022)

Inka said:


> I would suspect a meter error. You’d be unlikely to be conscious that low. What meter are you using?


It's a sinocare safe-accu 2


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## HBomb (Jul 22, 2022)

However low it actually was I don't know but I felt awful. It's annoying that I didn't get an accurate reading. Could this be related to hormones do you think? Has happened during the monthly visit. I have had bouts of low blood sugar all my life since being a child but blood tests were always "normal". It's been about 3 years since my last low episode though.


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## rebrascora (Jul 22, 2022)

HBomb said:


> Hi All,
> I thought this may be the best thread to ask this. I have recently been diagnosed at T2. HBA1c mol of 56. I haven't been given any medication yet and I wanted the opportunity to see what I could do without it initially. I've been on something similar to the fast 800. I eat low carb. I also have fatty liver which may have progressed to fibrosis which complicates food in the way of grains. I have been loosing weight and feeling much better until yesterday when I had extremely low blood sugar. Its happened again today. The GP told me it would be highly unusual for me to have low blood sugar so I used my glucose monitor to prove it. What is the advice of anyone with what I should do? It's a vicious cycle of having to eat things I don't want to eat to bring my sugars up then its too high.


With RH, a low is usually triggered by eating something high carb or a large quantity of carbs at one meal.
Are these episodes happening after food or drink and if so, is there anything you can identify which may be causing them. If you don't already keep a food diary along with your readings and how you are feeling, it would be a good idea to do so to try to find a common trigger or at least some sort of pattern.

From the occasional post we have had on the forum, it would suggest that the Sinocare may not be the most reliable meter on the market. 

Other hormones can certainly impact how sensitive or resistant to insulin you are which is why pregnant women who are diabetic need such huge increases in insulin during pregnancy, so it is possible/likely that your cycle may be playing a part.


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## Inka (Jul 22, 2022)

HBomb said:


> It's a sinocare safe-accu 2



I’ve never used that meter but some people here have had issues with it and/or the strips. You might want to check the manual as sometimes a LO can simply mean not enough blood. Or you could try a different meter.


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## HBomb (Jul 22, 2022)

rebrascora said:


> With RH, a low is usually triggered by eating something high carb or a large quantity of carbs at one meal.
> Are these episodes happening after food or drink and if so, is there anything you can identify which may be causing them. If you don't already keep a food diary along with your readings and how you are feeling, it would be a good idea to do so to try to find a common trigger or at least some sort of pattern.
> 
> From the occasional post we have had on the forum, it would suggest that the Sinocare may not be the most reliable meter on the market.
> ...


Thanks for your advice. I was fasting when my blood sugar crashed and well into it so I'm thinking it was likely that I needed food, however thats the first time it's happened and I've been doing this for about 2 months without any bad side effects. It's happened today just a couple of hours after being awake. Not in a fasted state and not triggered by a certain food type so I am at a loss. I still don't feel clever. I don't like mysteries like this!


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## HBomb (Jul 22, 2022)

Inka said:


> I’ve never used that meter but some people here have had issues with it and/or the strips. You might want to check the manual as sometimes a LO can simply mean not enough blood. Or you could try a different meter.


I don't know how reliable the meter is but I know it was low because of how I felt physically and mentally. The manual says it will read Lo if BG is lower than a certain amount. I will upgrade to another meter at some point though. Which are the best brands?


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## Inka (Jul 22, 2022)

HBomb said:


> I don't know how reliable the meter is but I know it was low because of how I felt physically and mentally. The manual says it will read Lo if BG is lower than a certain amount. I will upgrade to another meter at some point though. Which are the best brands?



If money is no object, you can choose something like an AccuChek meter but the real cost is the test strips not the meters themselves. The most affordable meters members here have found are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £8 for 50.


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