Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: sue1234 on 10/02/2011 20:32:33

Title: Glucose (dys)regulation?
Post by: sue1234 on 10/02/2011 20:32:33

Hi.  I have been trying to figure out what is going on with my body regarding glucose regulation.  I have a 20 year history of hypoglycemia.  It was pretty controlled by eating every 3 hours.  A couple of years ago I was having more hypo episodes, so started eating every 2 waking hours.

My normal reaction when I go hypo is: I get shaky hands, then anxious, then a big hot flash.  My numbers are usually in the 60s or 50s at that point.  For years, I would wake up with heat surges, but no other symptoms, so I ignored it.

In the last few months, I have these "hot flash" episodes where I get heat in the chest through head, then down the arms into the hands.  The hands turn beet red and are so hot, and will stay this way for 10-15 minutes.  It is all very uncomfortable.  I check my glucose at the time, but is not low.  I can feel the vasodilation happening peripherally, and it makes me lightheaded.

My thinking is my glucose is yo-yoing.  I can't be sure, as I can't test it every 10 minutes throughout the day.  One day I purposely didn't eat at my two-hour mark, and tested to find it was 64.  I didn't eat, because I was at the doctor's office and I wanted her to see how low my glucose goes.  Well, as I waited, I started feeling warm, but not shaky.  Within 15 minutes, my glucose had gone up to 103 without eating!

By the way, I was in the hospital for a 3-day fast to investigate the low blood sugar, and I was very hot the whole time and needed a fan to blow on me(and you know hospitals are always cold!).

So, I would like to know this:  I seem to get hot when I don't eat, and cool down when I eat.  For the sake of me surviving the heat this summer, I am trying to narrow down my heat intolerance causes.  I think it is a hormone that is involved in glucose control.  Any ideas?

Title: Glucose (dys)regulation?
Post by: RD on 14/02/2011 11:32:14

Possibly reactive hypoglycemia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_hypoglycemia)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_hypoglycemia#Causes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_hypoglycemia#Treatment