What’s causing me to have low blood sugar ?

[Rewy]

I keep getting low blood sugars , shaking , sweaty, feel like knees going to collapse. Sometimes on exertion sometimes not. When I’ve exercised I’ve vomited and nearly passed out. I eat a healthy diet 3 good meals a day so it’s not diet related. I am Hypothyroid but could it be this ?

Think I had general bloods done and was ok !

Could be hypoglycaemia. Are you definitely eating enough and not over exercising? If not then your thyroid could be the issue and you should maybe eat a small high energy snack just before you exercise to stop any crashes happening. Maybe go to the GP at some point too for blood tests incase it’s diabetes and your blood sugar is swinging from high to low

Thanks for replying .

Typical days meals would be ; Breakfast porridge raspberries and blueberries. Lunch falafel , salad and hummus in wrap with fruit or rice cakes. Dinner something like Quorn chilli and rice .
It’s actually preventing me from exercise .
I’ve just walked dog and it started while I was out.
Just eaten a banana and some cashews and raising. Still shaking.

I think some people get low blood sugar if they don't eat for a length of time. But are you sure your symptoms are caused by low blood sugar? Can you get a blood sugar testing machine from your pharmacy? It would be unlikely for undiagnosed type 1 diabetes to cause low sugar, its symptoms are high sugar and raging thirst.

Your diet sounds healthy, I don't really know what to advise, beyond getting a sugar tester and ideally seeing your doctor, though I guess that might be very difficult if you are in the UK..

I try to eat at regular times.
Yes I might invest in a blood sugar machine.

Do you have a few hours between meals where you’re not eating anything and doing exercise during those times? Maybe have a small snack every 2 hours (doesn’t have to be much, even just a spoonful of peanut butter or something).

I’ve not been exercising other than walking the dog because I was quite unwell when I went on exercise bike the last few times, despite only doing 10 mins. But I will try that thank you. .

When I was really ill once I hardly ate for a week and then my blood sugars went a bit mad for a few weeks once I went back to eating normally. It took about 3-4 weeks to settle down

Are you sure you have low blood sugar when you have these symptoms? Are you testing your blood?

I have to snack between meals or my blood pressure drops, especially around 4pm.

If recent could be anxiety causing symptoms.

Even if the direct cause is low blood sugar. Anxiety can send metabolic rate up dropping blood sugars.

I’m not testing my blood at present no.
I’m aware of the sensations and symptoms that you can get with low blood sugars though and it feels like it.
It’s being happening for about 6 months on / off.
My Hypothyroid was diagnosed about a year ago. Although mild. I initially went to GP because of occasional vomiting when I sit down at night and begin eating. Occasionally I am immediately sick but only usually when my dose needs adjusting. I’ve had endoscopy and all ok.

I don't know - sounds more like low blood pressure to me. OH is T1 diabetes and has regular hypos. They don't sound as dramatic as what you describe, Rewy. He just goes quiet, then very confused, then begins to lose consciousness.

But I appreciate everyone is different.

When I say they don't sound 'dramatic' - of course losing consciousness is dramatic.... but he does it quite calmly and quietly...

It might not be your sugar levels if you dont test them. Are you drinking enough and eating any sugars at all. Do you test your pulse and blood pressure.

you can't know if it is truly low sugars unless you are testing. Sometimes if your body is used to them running higher and your diet switches to low sugar/low carb then it can also react in this way EVEN IF technically the sugars are not low but are low for your body.

Before I was medicated as a diabetic I would get this every time I tried to lose weight using low sugar low carb diet - Your body needs to get used to lower blood sugars and if you throw a load of exercise in there plus a hyperthyroid all sorts could be going on - back to GP although thats not easy at the moment

It's definitely worth getting hold of a blood sugar meter to check if that's what's causing the episodes. They usually come with a few strips and you might be able to get one for free if you contact the manufacturer

Your diet sounds healthy but quite high in carbs and with reactive hypoglycaemia carb-heavy meals can cause an excess of insulin to be secreted, which can be reduced by upping the proportion of healthy fats in the diet and eating smaller meals more often. You should check with a doctor before diagnosing yourself and making any changes though

It could be something else. Low pulse and blood pressure maybe. You should try and speak to your doctor.

Sounds to me like your diet is too high in carbohydrate - so you're getting low blood sugar because there's so much insulin being released to deal with the carbs

Breakfast porridge raspberries and blueberries

All carbs

Lunch falafel , salad and hummus in wrap with fruit or rice cakes

Again, all carbs

Dinner something like Quorn chilli and rice

Also very high carb.

Just eaten a banana and some cashews

Incredibly high in carbs.

Your best bet would be to try and eat more protein and reduce the amount of carbohydrate. So:

Breakfast - eggs, in some form
Lunch - salad with some kind of protein and a high fat dressing
Dinner - not sure if you're a veggie (sounds like it) but more protein (whatever source) with veg and salad

I’ve had something very similar and had lots of investigations. I think a very good starting point would be to buy a blood sugar testing kit to see whether you do have low blood sugar when you’re feeling like this.

If your level isn’t low then you know you need to look for another cause. If your blood sugar is low then you should first ask whether your general blood test checked for diabetes. It’s likely it did but worth checking.

If your diabetes check is clear then it’s likely you’re just not very good at dealing with blood sugar swings and you need to follow @BIWIs advice in terms of avoiding too many sugars/carbs and adding more protein to your diet.

There’s a teeny teeny teeny tiny chance of having a tumour in your pancreas (insulinoma) which causes low blood sugar but the likelihood is you’re like me and just need to be more careful with your diet because your body isn’t great at keeping blood sugar stable.

If you can get a blood sugar testing kit I’d be happy to advise more on the results based on my experience.

If your blood sugar is low then you should first ask whether your general blood test checked for diabetes

Diabetes causes high blood sugar not low blood sugar. There are lots of possible causes of low blood sugar, but the first thing to do is find out if you actually have it. Given the situation at the moment in GP surgeries your best bet is to buy a blood glucose testing machine. My DH did actually have an insulinoma, but they are very rare.

Yes I am veggie.
I eat lots of salad and fresh veg too but I guess on reflection that is a lot of carbs.
I v often eat eggs .
Something to consider for sure but I thought my diet was healthy enough.
I am going to start sugar testing as well.
Thank you

“Diabetes causes high blood sugar not low blood sugar.”

I was advised that it can be a bit like a pendulum and if you’re having lows you could also be having highs, as it’s a sign your body’s insulin/blood sugar management system is out of whack somehow. Even though I had low blood sugar I was told I needed to be careful not to develop diabetes.

I’m not a doctor though so may have it wrong.

As I said before and many other posters have said, the key thing is to establish whether your symptoms are caused by low blood sugar and the fastest way of doing that is buying a blood sugar testing machine. As for diabetes, certainly the symptoms of undiagnosed type 1 are raging thirst and very high blood sugar often combined with weight loss. 90 per cent of type 2s are overweight or obese when diagnosed. Do you feel very thirsty? Once you have a testing kit, check your glucose levels first thing in the morning before eating. Your symptoms do not sound like type 1 diabetes, but ideally you should see a doctor to get further testing done.