Hypoglycemia
 

Anyone have it or have children with it? Megan has been feeling bad for a few months with frequent urination, excessive thirst, excessive hunger and a feeling like she is going to pass out many times throughout each day. At first I just shrugged it off a bit thinking she was just tired or not truly understanding what it really means to be excessively thirsty. But, as the months have gone on, she has not let up about the way she is feeling and has even started crying telling me that she just doesn't feel "normal". She is 13 btw.

Today I had just had enough and thought this was really something that wasn't going away and needed attention.

I took her into the Emergency Med Clinic and they determined that she is Hypoglycemic. He told me that she is eating a poor diet that is high in carbs (after listening to what she ate yesterday only). That she needs more fruits and veggies and proteins. We are supposed to try better eating for about a week and if she doesn't improve then we will have to take her to the Diabetes clinic for more extensive testing to see what is causing the Hypoglycemia.

The thing is.....he gave me no nutrition information. I have gotten online and done some research and from what I am reading, her current diet is NOT bad. I agree that she could use some more veggies in her diet but, other than that she is a well rounded eater.

So, I am just so confused at this point! He said to cut out the sugars and junk food but from what I read online, when she is having these "spells" where she feels faint and excessively hungry that she should have something sweet to get her blood sugar back up.

Anyway, I am just extremely overwhelmed by all of this because I wish I would have just taken her to see someone other than a Emerg. Clinic as they don't seem to take as much time with a patient. I would have liked to have had some kind of nutrition counseling. I really want this to work and for my baby to be better but, I don't even know what is right at this point.

So, can anyone that knows more about this give me some nutrition tips and suggestions? Share your story?

Thanks lovies!

I have hypoglycemia, she should be having something "sweet" but by sweet they don't mean sugary foods...have her eat some fruit and a piece of cheese when she feels icky. Also, she needs to be eating every 2-3 hours with a complex carb + protien for every meal (6x a day, 3 small meals and 3 snacks). It's really manageable, as long as she doesn't have "true" hypoglycemia which means her blood sugar drops after eating, rather than when she takes too long in between meals.

When I had serious issues with my hypoglycemia (it's mostly controlled now), the doctor recommended I eat grapes or apples, which have sugar, but have a "better" sugar than a sugary snack.
He also said after eating grapes as a "quick fix" for the sugars, I could eat a potato, which would help me more, longer...

I was also told to eat 5 small meals per day instead of 3 regular meals. They also wanted me to focus on getting as much color into my diet as possible- for example, purple potatoes, green grapes, red apples in one meal perhaps, and for another, red strawberries, purple grapes, yellow bananas. They said to aim for 3 fruit and vegetable colors each meal to make sure I was getting the right amount of vitamins. Having a boost of vitamins would help keep my sugars managed and maintained.

For "emergencies," I would keep a stash of mints on hand (make sure they're not sugar free, of course!), a few packets of sugar (yes, straight sugar, like you get at restaurants), a sleeve of crackers, and some fruit snacks or other gummy snacks. This is for times where she feels about to faint, or her vision starts to grey/black out and she feels really dizzy. Downing a sugar packet, sucking on a mint, or eating something will help absorb it faster. I would typically down a sugar packet then eat a few crackers, or down a sugar packet and have something else from my "kit." I'd keep this kit in my car, and then have 1 thing of each (minus the crackers) on hand.

Carbs of any kind, even starch, will absorb as sugars and help her out a bit, so consider that when choosing what foods to eat, too.

You'll want to push the fruit angle, definitely, and just because something is high in sugars doesn't mean it's high in the RIGHT sugars, so just sating it with pastries or something probably won't help the root or core issue. That's not to say she can't have them- she totally can- I dig a good pastry now and again. But, getting her sugar levels balanced out by adding in several colors of fruits and vegetables will keep her more on track, longer, than just tackling the immediate "I feel faint" issue with sugars. You'll want to attack that main faintness issue AND the underlying low blood sugar issue.

I have been on that fruit and vegetable plan since I was 12 (22 now), and I no longer even have the need for 5 small meals (I'm back to 3 regular meals). I could, and it's probably healthier for me, but in order to eat with my family, I'm back on a "normal" eating schedule. Because I consume more fruits and veggies, in more colors, I am able to eat more "normally" the rest of the time, and I feel faint less.

If you have any questions, I'll try to keep an eye on this thread, or feel free to PM me. Like I said, I've been dealing with it for 10 years now, and if I can't help you, I can always ask MY doctor or my nutritionist friend so you can have a second opinion.

Traci is right- she needs complex carbs a lot. For protein, as she mentioned, cheese sticks, hard boiled egg, any of that will work very well, and are pretty portable foods. Grapes are a good "sugar" to take, too, because they're also portable. Same goes for bananas.

Like Traci said, the idea is to have "good" sugars, not just "sweet" sugars.

My blood sugar would drop when I was pregnant with my youngest son. If I drank some orange juice and ate something it almost always helped. I would honestly schedule an appointment with her pediatrician/family doctor though as they will likely want to do some testing to make sure it is hypoglycemia. Not that the urgent care places are not good just that they kinda rush through and dont have a full history of the patient. I also know that eating more often with smaller meals helps. Good luck though. I hope your daughter gets to feeling back to normal!!

I don't know anything about it, but it sounds like you got rushed care. I would make an appointment with a doctor that specializes in this and get a more thorough check up. Good luck, dear!

I'm a vegetarian and have to consciously eat protein with my meals or I end up in a carbo load stupor. If I have a fruit snack I always have some protein with it like cheese. I've done better following a typical ZONE type balance with protein, carbs & fat: http://www.webmd.com/diet/zone-what-it-is

Have you tried giving her a balanced protein bar to snack on? That might be worth experiementing with. When I travel I always have a protein bar in my purse incase I can't find food right away!

And I agree with the others...I would see another doctor who can do some blood work too to make sure there aren't other things out of balance!

My daughter has Type 1 Diabetes, she's 9 but was diagnosed when she was 6. Her symptoms were much like what you described your daughter having. Did they test her for ketones? Did they do a HbA1C test (it is a blood sugar test that tells them what her average blood sugar has been over the last 3 months by how much glucose is "stuck" to the hemoglobin)? Did they test her for the T1D antibodies? If you are not comfortable with his "diagnosis" then I beg you to get a second opinion ASAP! If it is T1D and it is overlooked (it often is misdiagnosed at first) it can turn fatal quickly!! My daughter didn't feel right for months before she was diagnosed but once her pancreas became exhausted from working harder to overcompensate for the insulin producing cells that were being destroyed it progressed very rapidly.

I have it...was diagnosed years ago with it. I have a glucose checker but I am not so good about checking it anymore. My blood sugar is extremely low most of the time...never over 80 and that after eating a candy bar.

I keep these things on hand all the time....Cheese crackers, cheese, peanut butter, trail mix, sometimes even beef jerkey...When I was really bad I always had glucose tablets with me as well...just incase I got too low, too fast.

My blood sugar has gotten as low as 42 and I DID pass out....that has happened more times than I would have liked. The most memorable times were at the top of the St Louis arch and in an assembly when I taught first grade. My hubby knows the "signs" of my blood sugar bottoming out which is good b/c he makes sure I eat.

I eat at our normal meal times (just a bit smaller portion) and then have a nice snack in between so my blood sugar doesn't have a chance to get too low.

Being pregnant caused a lot of issues with my blood sugar. I always had to make sure someone was there to drive me b/c I did pass out and threw up afterwards when I had to have the 3 hour ( b/c my blood sugar was so out of control on the low side). I also had the 6 hour which was HORRIBLE!

I wish your daughter the best! Once she learns what to eat, how her body handles certain foods and what her signs are for a lowering blood sugar level it will be much easier to control!!!