Hypoglycemia

Nemo

I am a non-diabetic and have normal fasting glucose. Occasionally, especially in the afternoon, I get tired and slightly shaky. This is relieved by eating something. I eat a balanced breakfast and this usually occurs about 5 hours after a meal. Assuming everything else is normal, could this be from hypoglycemia?

mfriend

without knowing what you ate for breakfast, I would agree that it might be hypoglycemia. When I was younger I would get similar symptoms. I checked my bG a couple of times with a friends bG meter and my bG was low (not real low, but below normal). If that is correct, then you may have very early stages of your body coping with carbs. I didn't recognize this at the time and eventually developed diabetes before I studied and learned more about insulin, bG levels, etc. You might try eating a breakfast high in fats/proteins and avoid carbs in the morning to see if that makes a difference.

Susan_RD_101

@Nemo

It sounds like your body is in need of an increase in blood sugar at this time. Most meals are digested and absorbed within 2-4 hours of eating; I actually think it's pretty normal for you to feel this way given how long it's been since you've had breakfast.

To counteract this effect:
1. Ensure your breakfast contains high-fibre carbs, along with a moderate amount of protein and some healthy fats.
2. Have a snack containing fibre and protein 3-4 hours after breakfast.

Fibre and protein will help to delay gastric emptying and the glycemic response in your blood stream.

Best of luck!

Teagan

Hi Susan, I have been considered hypoglycemic by my doctor and assured that I do not have diabetes. I started on a chronic kidney disease protocol for stage 2. I do not have high potassium or sodium and not sure about phosphorus yet. However, I did start a plant based protocol just to be on the safe side. I am also following Mastering Diabetes because it is a plant based, low fat program. I do seem to fair better eating many small meals a day. But when I eat some meals, I can literally feel myself crashing and I have to lie down and I invariably fall asleep. It happened twice today; once after eating a dish with broccoli, fennel, shitake mushrooms and white rice (I eat white to avoid the potassium and phosphorus.); the other meal was a cauliflower leek kugel recipe that had some olive oil and tofu, both of which I have been avoiding. My other "meals were gluten free sprouted bread which I had 3 pieces throughout the day, one early this morning with almond butter and about a tsp. of raspberry preserve, and 1.5 serving this afternoon, one with cashew cream cheese and cucumber and the other with tsp of almond butter and 1/2 banana. I also had a small raw veggies salad with 2 tsp of orange juice and 1/4 of an small orange. At breakfast I had a large bowl of fruit with ground flax seed (mango, blueberry and apple with nutmeg and cardamom). I had 2 8 oz servings of coffee which is less than I normally drink but more than I've had in the last few days. Can you give me your take on why some meals are making me crash and others do not? (I overshot my fat target considerably during this day, made my protein target, and got pretty close with carbs; I am trying 70% carb, 15 fat, and 15 protein.) Any help much appreciated. Happy 2021!!

Teagan

Also, I ate about every 2 hours.

Susan_RD_101

@Teagan

I'd suggest asking for a referral to a dietitian to discuss in more detail. If you are only in the early stages of CKD, you don't need to be overly concerned with potassium and phosphorus (provided your blood values are within normal limits).

The reasons you are crashing are likely:

• Lacking fibre (i.e. white rice)
• Added sugar (i.e. orange juice)
• Lacking sufficient protein - a serving should be at least 1/2 cup plant protein for adequate amounts of protein.

I'd consider making your carb choices as low glycemic as possible:
https://guidelines.diabetes.ca/docs/patient-resources/glycemic-index-food-guide.pdf and ensuring you have at least 20 g of protein with each meal (5-10 g with each snack).

Kind regards,

natasor

Please list the food/amount of your typical breakfast, lunch and dinner