[OCDP]

I have a quick question, and once again apologize for coming here all anxious. If you don't want to answer me you don't have to, but this is the only place I can ask without making an appointment with my doctor.

I've noticed in the past (and can only think of a handful of times) that if I skipped a meal and didn't eat until say 3-4pm (after waking at 7am) that I will get symptoms of hypoglycemia. Most noticeably is strong hunger and feeling somewhat weak, minor fatigue and very minor sweating. It's nothing intense (other than the need for food)

So today I have been so busy at work that I didn't get out to lunch until 2pm. All's I had today was a cup of tea, and by 2:20 I was starting to feel pretty off, like the above mentioned symptoms. I feel better after I eat.. maybe a little tired, nothing crazy. It's probably me over-analyzing more than anything.

Is it normal for a non-diabetic (and MOST of you know my numbers are pretty well normal and stay that way) to get hypoglycemia from skipping meals like this? Am I just the type of person that needs a meal, breakfast lunch and dinner to maintain normal BG's?

I'm only asking because the reading I have done suggested that if you're having hypoglycemia without diabetes is chances are you are developing it, which stems back to my original fear. It's a vicious cycle.

The bad part to all of this is I didn't have my meter with me today of course. I am not wanting to test anymore period and of course this happens to me today. A simple finger prick would have answered my question right then and there.

I'm sorry to keep asking questions, but is this normal? I want to believe it is, that I just need to eat my meals. But it seems like it might be getting more frequent, or that because I am getting these minor hypo's it means I am developing pre-diabetes or diabetes. I am trying SO hard to forget this but it's hard when this happens and then I worry.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

If i go too long without eating (especially if im active during that time),
i notice that my hands and feet start to get cold. then i test and see that i am down in the 60's/70's and that means that its time to eat something.

Do you have diabetes in your family tree?

 

[OCDP]

No I don't have any family history.

This is actually a health worry of mine. I have an anxiety disorder and obsessive compulsive thoughts. I've been worried about diabetes every day for three months now. Long story short, I've had symptoms of high and low so most if not all are more than likely the result of anxiety.

My doctor has checked me. My A1C is 5.6% and my random glucose at that point was 4.7

I've done a LOT of my own testing, well nearly 100 and within all of those tests I have never had a result over 6.8 and never a result below 4.1 in any of those tests.

Maybe I am not even experiencing FULL BLOWN hypoglycemia but maybe just the effects of having no food for over 15-16 hours. I *mainly* get extremely hungry, and know that my BG's are dropping. Perhaps with all of my self-awareness they aren't dropping to a dangerous level, but probably to a point where my body and brain say "time for food now"

I just get very confused and scared by all of this for a few reasons, one being people I know can go without food all day without getting a "hypo" But for me on a day like today it seems as if I go too long I get extremely hungry and have bits of hypo symptoms, but it's random as this isn't an every day thing.. it's confusing!

I am trying HARD to put this obsession and worry behind me but these things keep popping up.

I also realize that in this post you can tell how I am able to rationalize some of my thoughts and make some sense but really I am still super confused and super scared. It all goes back to the question "is it normal for a non-diabetic to get hypoglycemia from skipping meals?" And maybe not full blown hypo , but a drop in BG's. My train of thought is saying "if you're getting minor hypo symptoms then you must be getting pre-diabetes/diabetes"

Sorry to rant.. in panic mode!

 

[onaughmae]

No I don't have any family history.

This is actually a health worry of mine. I have an anxiety disorder and obsessive compulsive thoughts. I've been worried about diabetes every day for three months now. Long story short, I've had symptoms of high and low so most if not all are more than likely the result of anxiety.

My doctor has checked me. My A1C is 5.6% and my random glucose at that point was 4.7

I've done a LOT of my own testing, well nearly 100 and within all of those tests I have never had a result over 6.8 and never a result below 4.1 in any of those tests.

Maybe I am not even experiencing FULL BLOWN hypoglycemia but maybe just the effects of having no food for over 15-16 hours. I *mainly* get extremely hungry, and know that my BG's are dropping. Perhaps with all of my self-awareness they aren't dropping to a dangerous level, but probably to a point where my body and brain say "time for food now"

I just get very confused and scared by all of this for a few reasons, one being people I know can go without food all day without getting a "hypo" But for me on a day like today it seems as if I go too long I get extremely hungry and have bits of hypo symptoms, but it's random as this isn't an every day thing.. it's confusing!

I am trying HARD to put this obsession and worry behind me but these things keep popping up.

I also realize that in this post you can tell how I am able to rationalize some of my thoughts and make some sense but really I am still super confused and super scared. It all goes back to the question "is it normal for a non-diabetic to get hypoglycemia from skipping meals?" And maybe not full blown hypo , but a drop in BG's. My train of thought is saying "if you're getting minor hypo symptoms then you must be getting pre-diabetes/diabetes"

Sorry to rant.. in panic mode!

No need to panic. People that do not have diabetes will feel like their blood sugar is getting a little low when they havent eaten. That feeling of "wow I am shaky and need to eat something" is just a mild hypo and your body's way of telling you "hey...feed me!" I would not consider it a full-blown hypo that you need to be concerned about. I think if you really had some sort of metabolic issue with blood sugar it would have shown up by now

 

[ThoseBackPages]

can you share more with us?

Male/Female? Height? Weight? Age?

Before i was diagnosed, i had no clue about hypos, hypers, hypeANYTHING! lol

and frankly, i didnt care back then either.

tell us more about you if you care to share that is

 

[Shanny]

If you can ever erase that Oprah show from your memory, you'll be better, OCDP . . . this was not an issue until you saw Oprah that day. Whatever techniques you use for quelling your anxieties, you need to double up on this one. All your panic & studying & testing these recent months has turned up NO inkling of diabetes. You're driving yourself to distraction, all because of a tv show. I know that you know, and you feel powerless to rein it in. If you go around comparing yourself to other people, you're asking for trouble. You just have to accept that you need to eat regularly, and if others don't - that's their problem - not yours.

 

[wallycorker]

The symptoms that you talk about OCDP sound quite simply like what other people call hunger! Hunger is a fairly normal, usual and frequently-experienced reaction to skipping meals!

 

[Adjitater]

Oh how I miss those feelings. I can go without eating for days and not feel a thing. But then again I don't feel any lows I just pass out and go into convulsions. Enjoy the perfectly normal body that you have.

 

[breezeonby]

No I don't have any family history.

This is actually a health worry of mine. I have an anxiety disorder and obsessive compulsive thoughts. I've been worried about diabetes every day for three months now. Long story short, I've had symptoms of high and low so most if not all are more than likely the result of anxiety.

My doctor has checked me. My A1C is 5.6% and my random glucose at that point was 4.7

I've done a LOT of my own testing, well nearly 100 and within all of those tests I have never had a result over 6.8 and never a result below 4.1 in any of those tests.

Maybe I am not even experiencing FULL BLOWN hypoglycemia but maybe just the effects of having no food for over 15-16 hours. I *mainly* get extremely hungry, and know that my BG's are dropping. Perhaps with all of my self-awareness they aren't dropping to a dangerous level, but probably to a point where my body and brain say "time for food now"

I just get very confused and scared by all of this for a few reasons, one being people I know can go without food all day without getting a "hypo" But for me on a day like today it seems as if I go too long I get extremely hungry and have bits of hypo symptoms, but it's random as this isn't an every day thing.. it's confusing!

I am trying HARD to put this obsession and worry behind me but these things keep popping up.

I also realize that in this post you can tell how I am able to rationalize some of my thoughts and make some sense but really I am still super confused and super scared. It all goes back to the question "is it normal for a non-diabetic to get hypoglycemia from skipping meals?" And maybe not full blown hypo , but a drop in BG's. My train of thought is saying "if you're getting minor hypo symptoms then you must be getting pre-diabetes/diabetes"

Sorry to rant.. in panic mode!

You are just hungry and need to eat on a regular basis. A full blown hypo would be a drop below 40.

 

[OCDP]

Argh! Back again with this same worry.. it keeps happening to me. It just seems out of the ordinary for me and I can't figure out what's what. Is it anxiety making normal hunger worse? Or is it a hypo, mild or not.

I had a granola bar at 11am and by 3pm I was friggin super hungry again, which isn't totally like me. Usually in the past it seemed as if I could go longer without food, without feeling like complete garbage.

What scares me most is how good I feel after I eat something. I had two pieces of toast with peanut butter and after eating I just feel so much better, although maybe a bit tired but who knows. This all makes me think it's something BG and not normal hunger. It's hard for me to explain, it's just that the difference before and after is super noticeable, not just like "well, i'm full now" I actually feel 10x better.

I don't know why I am back here, I guess I am panicking. I have been doing so well in not relating all of my symptoms to my diabetes fear but today has been hard. I am not sure if I'll be able to tell myself what I feel is just hunger and I cannot miss meals. It was never as bad as this in the past though, so I get scared.

Bah! Sorry to come back crying. But I swear the last few weeks HAVE been good. I have been getting over this. Simple solution without worrying I guess is just to freakin eat some food and avoid this anxiety/hypo/whatever the heck this is.

Thanks for reading

Sincerely,
Anxious

 

[Adjitater]

I have known a couple of people with hypoglycimia and they always ate like 6 times a day much like many type 2 diabetics may. You know 3 meals and a snack in between all of them fairly low in carbs and highr in protein and fats. Then after years of struggeling with it they were both diagnosed as type 2 diabetics. And I hate to disagree with Shanny but serios hypos start at 55 and below. anything lower will starve your brain of the food it needs to stay alive.

 

[OCDP]

See, this is why I am scared. It's my understanding that if what I feel are hypo's, then I'm afraid I'll be one of those people who ends up with it down the road.

I don't want to buy any strips because I've gone through 100 in a short time span. At this time I was mainly testing for highs (which I never found.. never one reading over 7) and my lowest was 4.1. But now I am curious what's going on, maybe I should get strips. One simple test while I feel lousy will tell me everything.

And I guess to set the record straight, I did do tests when I felt low to find out they were fine. But man, it really feels like a hypo and it scares me. I eat a meal and then I feel so much better, I can't tell if this is just normal hunger or not.

The thing is if I buy more strips, I'll test when I feel low and see what happens, but I'll end up testing too much like I did previously, I tested way too much (when I was looking for highs)

I guess if I recall all of my previous tests with no abnormal readings I should calm down.. things couldn't have changed that much I don't think. My A1C as of July 30th was 5.6%.

I just hate feeling like this all the time, like there's always something wrong with me, like I can't go a single day without obsessing and worrying about my health!

 

[Adjitater]

try eating something smallish inbetween meals and fairly low cabs and see if it helps. I think you just need to cut it off at the pass and you will be ok. It is easier to stay ahead of it than it is to catch up to it.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

See, this is why I am scared. It's my understanding that if what I feel are hypo's, then I'm afraid I'll be one of those people who ends up with it down the road.

I don't want to buy any strips because I've gone through 100 in a short time span. At this time I was mainly testing for highs (which I never found.. never one reading over 7) and my lowest was 4.1. But now I am curious what's going on, maybe I should get strips. One simple test while I feel lousy will tell me everything.

And I guess to set the record straight, I did do tests when I felt low to find out they were fine. But man, it really feels like a hypo and it scares me. I eat a meal and then I feel so much better, I can't tell if this is just normal hunger or not.

The thing is if I buy more strips, I'll test when I feel low and see what happens, but I'll end up testing too much like I did previously, I tested way too much (when I was looking for highs)

I guess if I recall all of my previous tests with no abnormal readings I should calm down.. things couldn't have changed that much I don't think. My A1C as of July 30th was 5.6%.

I just hate feeling like this all the time, like there's always something wrong with me, like I can't go a single day without obsessing and worrying about my health!

youre due for another A1C at the end of this month.

if using strips makes you less crazy, then by all means, use more strips

 

[OCDP]

I don't have diabetes or pre-diabetes so my doctor doesn't check my A1C every three months. I think yearly with each physical or just through routine blood work.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

I don't have diabetes or pre-diabetes so my doctor doesn't check my A1C every three months. I think yearly with each physical or just through routine blood work.

then what are you so paranoid about? lol

 

[OCDP]

I paranoid about these "hypos" or what I think are hypos from not eating. Like I said I had a Big granola bar at 11am and by 3 I was pretty damned hungry and was feeling off , what I thought was a hypo. It seems to be re-occurring but I can't tell if its normal nhunger and my anxiety making it worse or mild hypos.

And if it is hypos im scared that I'm developing diabetes as I've heard when people start getting hypos they end up developing diabetes.

It's a mess of anxiety for me

 

[ThoseBackPages]

I paranoid about these "hypos" or what I think are hypos from not eating. Like I said I had a Big granola bar at 11am and by 3 I was pretty damned hungry and was feeling off , what I thought was a hypo. It seems to be re-occurring but I can't tell if its normal nhunger and my anxiety making it worse or mild hypos.

And if it is hypos im scared that I'm developing diabetes as I've heard when people start getting hypos they end up developing diabetes.

It's a mess of anxiety for me

was it a box of granola bars? one isnt all that "big" imo. so being hungry four hours later doesnt seem that unusual

 

[onaughmae]

I paranoid about these "hypos" or what I think are hypos from not eating. Like I said I had a Big granola bar at 11am and by 3 I was pretty damned hungry and was feeling off , what I thought was a hypo. It seems to be re-occurring but I can't tell if its normal nhunger and my anxiety making it worse or mild hypos.

And if it is hypos im scared that I'm developing diabetes as I've heard when people start getting hypos they end up developing diabetes.

It's a mess of anxiety for me

Honestly I think its probably just normal hunger and your anxiety is getting the best of you. I know you were checked pretty thoroughly for diabetes just recently, and everything was absolutely normal. Just try eating several small meals a day and I bet you feel better.

 

[OCDP]

Honestly that's what I pray it is.

As far as tests from the doc, he just did a random glucose and A1C. I bought a meter (True2Go it was called) and did over 100 tests because of my OCD/anxiety. I tested my fasting, pre-post meal etc... all normal.

I'm just scared.. my doctor won't bat an eye to any of this, he'll just put it to my anxiety (and perhaps rightfully so) Hopefully this goes away soon. I was doing so good, sure it was still in the back of my mind, even this hypo concern but today it's just really eating at me. I need to get my diet in order though as I haven't changed anything which just makes me worry more obviously... I don't change my eating habits and continue to worry about it... well, it's not going to get me anywhere is it?

I really don't want to buy more strips like I said but hmm, it's such an easy way to know for sure. It'll just end up being me using up 50 strips in a couple days and have pin coushin's for fingers.

Thanks for the input so far... I am just having a really bad day with all this. Had a headache all day too, blah..