Have you ever heard of postprandial hypoglycemia? Another couple of words that creep into my life, and I am literal when I say creep! It's sneaky, elusive and devious; that is how postprandial hypoglycemia feels to me. Postprandial, meaning after you eat a meal. The majority of people who get hypoglycemia, low blood sugar, get it from fasting for a period of time. When I tell people I have severe hypoglycemia, most reactions from people are "you better eat something!" Oh how I wish it were that easy.
I am not by any means trying to make normal hypoglycemia insignificant. It can be a very dangerous health issue, in fact low blood sugar is dangerous in any form because our brains need sugar to function. I am plagued with this form of hypoglycemia, and I say plagued, because that's how it feels sometimes. Sneaky because at any time, anywhere, my blood sugar can go from normal values (70-100) to a whopping 36. Low enough to make you pass out. There is no logic to why some days it happens and why I can go weeks without it happening: it's downright sneaky! In a healthy person, our pancreas goes through a routine of stages to keep our blood sugar normal. At the first thought and smell of food, our pancreas kicks in a little insulin anticipating food entering our body. Then as we chew our food a little, more insulin, and as we keep eating our pancreas sends enough insulin into our bloodstream to maintain a healthy level of blood sugar for our body to function normally. Due to my mitochondrial disease my pancreas goes on little vacations! Nobody, not even my docs, know the physiology behind why this happens. I can eat a normal meal, typically it's lunch or dinner, and 3 hours later I get shaky, as if I've had a lot of coffee, I get agitated and sometimes very hungry. Then, if I don't notice the changes are occurring, I start to get sleepy and confused. The good thing is my body is telling me, "Hey! You need to do something quick!". I am blessed with a tiny window of the "ah ha!" moment when my body is telling me to get some glucose now. My kids and my husband know the look in my face when it starts occuring, and I am so very grateful they know exactly what to do. When I am alone it can get scary, but so far I have managed to take care of myself. I have had the unpleasant experience of ambulances showing up at my house, to give me a mega dose of glucose to get me responsive, as I have lost consciousness a couple of times. Thankfully not many.
The key to dealing with this is to try and eat a little all day long and avoid carbohydrates. For the days it decides to just show up I have a protocol for myself and so far it has worked, I am still here! I get frustrated when it happens, as it did yesterday at 3pm, but I am so thankful for the knowledge I have and my husband for being my teammate in keeping me safe! Today is a new day!
Tip of the day: Today is a new day, yesterday does not equal to today! See what it has in store for you, it just might me awesome :)
I am not by any means trying to make normal hypoglycemia insignificant. It can be a very dangerous health issue, in fact low blood sugar is dangerous in any form because our brains need sugar to function. I am plagued with this form of hypoglycemia, and I say plagued, because that's how it feels sometimes. Sneaky because at any time, anywhere, my blood sugar can go from normal values (70-100) to a whopping 36. Low enough to make you pass out. There is no logic to why some days it happens and why I can go weeks without it happening: it's downright sneaky! In a healthy person, our pancreas goes through a routine of stages to keep our blood sugar normal. At the first thought and smell of food, our pancreas kicks in a little insulin anticipating food entering our body. Then as we chew our food a little, more insulin, and as we keep eating our pancreas sends enough insulin into our bloodstream to maintain a healthy level of blood sugar for our body to function normally. Due to my mitochondrial disease my pancreas goes on little vacations! Nobody, not even my docs, know the physiology behind why this happens. I can eat a normal meal, typically it's lunch or dinner, and 3 hours later I get shaky, as if I've had a lot of coffee, I get agitated and sometimes very hungry. Then, if I don't notice the changes are occurring, I start to get sleepy and confused. The good thing is my body is telling me, "Hey! You need to do something quick!". I am blessed with a tiny window of the "ah ha!" moment when my body is telling me to get some glucose now. My kids and my husband know the look in my face when it starts occuring, and I am so very grateful they know exactly what to do. When I am alone it can get scary, but so far I have managed to take care of myself. I have had the unpleasant experience of ambulances showing up at my house, to give me a mega dose of glucose to get me responsive, as I have lost consciousness a couple of times. Thankfully not many.
The key to dealing with this is to try and eat a little all day long and avoid carbohydrates. For the days it decides to just show up I have a protocol for myself and so far it has worked, I am still here! I get frustrated when it happens, as it did yesterday at 3pm, but I am so thankful for the knowledge I have and my husband for being my teammate in keeping me safe! Today is a new day!
Tip of the day: Today is a new day, yesterday does not equal to today! See what it has in store for you, it just might me awesome :)
Very informative!
ReplyDeleteYes, it was very informative! Glad you're handling it and taking good care of yourself. You're a heck of a strong woman!
ReplyDelete