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Could it be hypoglycemia?

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Posted 8/27/2012 6:18 PM (GMT 0)
I wasn't sure of where to post this. I a hoping this is the correct spot.
Hello... I am new to this site and I am hoping someone could maybe give me some insight into some questions I have. I am going to try and shorten my story a bit for you. about a year ago I had my first panic attack. It was terrible. I had just started Nortriptyline for what my doc thought was migraine headaches. I continued to have these panic attacks daily for a while. When I saw my doc about the panic attacks he gave me Klonopin and told me to continue the Nortriptyline and take the Klonopin 1mg 4 times a day (I could only handle .25mg once a day) After a while I wondered if it was the Nortriptyline giving me the panic attacks because I had just started it. So I decided to stop it. It took me 2 months to stop this medication I had been taking for 2 months. Anyway I kept getting the panic attacks and then later started to get heart palpitations. I seen a cardiologist who said it was just PCV which is okay and will not hurt me it is just irritating. So I continued to try and figure out why I kept having panic attacks. Then I started to get really tired during the day and having symptom like I was pregnant . I was not. Things like naps during the day (I never do that), excessive sweating randomly, headaches, extreme thirst and hunger. I saw the doc again and there was question of an adrenal issue. They did one urine test and said it wasn't my adrenal gland. After they couldn't seem to find anything I started checking my blood sugar at home and noticed that it was really low at night before bed but would be high in the morning. During all this I quit smoking, had to quit drinking coffee and soda because it made the anxiety terrible. Now months later I am noticing that even if I eat chocolate or anything sweet like syrup with pancakes, my anxiety skyrockets. So if you have made it through my story I am wondering if these are signs of Hypoglycemia and if I should demand my doctor to check for me or if it could just be me being crazy. I have tried talking to my doctors but once they say you have anxiety they automatically assume nothing is causing it because I am just anxious about something being wrong. They never do tests or anything to rule stuff out because they say its just my anxiety. I try and explain I never had anxiety until last year so it cannot just be that. Please tell me I am not just crazy????
Posted 8/27/2012 7:38 PM (GMT 0)
Hi jo3mo3, I'm sorry you're having all this confusion about your health, and you're not crazy!  First I don't know if the symptoms you're having are really due to some of the medication you're taking, or anxiety, or some symptoms of another condition.

I think the best way to determine this is to start with basic blood and lab tests.  I think your doctor should order them to check your glucose to see if you are having blood sugar problems, and to see if your other organs are functioning correctly (heart, kidneys, liver, etc.).  These lab tests are standard for an annual physical.

Blood sugar is easy to test and since you have a meter, you can test yourself at home.  You can start by checking when you wake up, then about 2 hours after breakfast, maybe at random during the day and then before bed.  I suggest that you keep a daily log for awhile: what you eat and when, what your blood sugar is, etc.  This information will help you and your doctor see if your blood sugar is a problem or not.

In the meantime, you should make sure you do not skip meals.  Don't overeat at meals either.  Don't overload on any one kind of food at a meal.  For example, don't eat a ton of carbs at one meal as that can throw your blood sugar off a lot and it can make you feel tired/sleep afterwards with low blood sugar.

Anxiety for any reason can affect blood sugar, too, just like physical illness.  Many people will experience hyperglycemia but this varies.

The bottom line is you're having these strange feelings and you need to find out what's causing them.  If your lab tests check out ok, then maybe it's anxiety and that needs to be treated. 

Keep us updated about what's going on, ok?

Posted 8/27/2012 11:01 PM (GMT 0)
If your diet is erratic, like days when you are eating nearly NO sugar or carbs at all. It doesnt take long for you to go into diet induced ketosis. If thats the case you can feel very weak and even dizzy. Its easily fixed by eating a quick acting sweet. Orange juice or regular soda. You can check for low blood sugar in your urine with a Ketox stick, get at pharmacy. Just hold the end of the little stick in your urin flow, if it turns any shade of pink and on down to dark purple, you are experiencing LOW blood sugar. Remember Dr. Adkins? I used that diet when I was younger and lost weight very easily. Im decades older and have kidney problems and diabetes and I am planning on doing a modified Adkins diet. Really low sugar can make you feel terrible. There is a good balance if we can find it. My sugar readings are much better than they were 2 weeks ago. I have to get my sugar under control before I have carpul tunnel surgery on both wrists.
Posted 8/28/2012 1:02 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you both for your replies. I see the doctor tomorrow. Hope she can also set me doen the right path. I may be mistaken though because I get bad anxiety and shaky when I have sugar like chocolate or soda or like I said even syrup so maybe it is the opposite of hypoglycemia ( not sure if that is possible). I have just never had this all before so for it to be anxiety just starting and not going away just out of the blue is awkward to me. I live a semi stressful life but it has never bothered me. No depression, no anxiety in crowds or around people ever until last year and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I now get anxious BECAUSE i worry about having and anxiety attack. Its weird. I go from being so tired I start to fall asleep while doing my school work ( even if my kids are loud )then later if I have some type of sugar about 30-45 min after I have it I get anxious. It just seems weird that I would go from being sooo active one minute to drained the next then to anxious and then tired again. Well again thank you both for your help and Ill let you know how things turn out tomorrow. Either way I think I will start a food journal with my sugar levels just for future reference and I suppose I will need to start a diet as well. Thanks again!
Posted 8/28/2012 1:17 AM (GMT 0)
A food/blood sugar journal will give you a lot of information.  It will tell you how your metabolism is working and how the food you're eating affects it.  I don't know why you are having the anxious and shaky feeling after you have some type of sugar.  The opposite of hypoglycemia (low sugar) is hyperglycemia when blood sugar is too high.  Some people may feel shaky and out of sorts at that time, too, but until you start keeping a record of your blood sugar, then it's just a guessing game.  Maybe the shaky feelings is unsettling and causing anxiety and then it's like a vicious circle.

If diabetes runs in your family, if you are overweight and if you're diet is laden with too many carbs, it's possible you're having problems with the blood sugar. 

In any case, I'm glad you're going to see your doctor.  Keep us updated!  Good luck!

 

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