Constant Hypoglycemia?

Hi and welcome to the Diabetes Forum, BDL. I looked up the side effects of doxycycline and according to WebMD.com, hypoglycemia is extremely rare and not a common effect.

In any case, you are suffering from weakness and this seems to lead to other things, so I would suggest that you inform your doctor and have some lab work done, blood tests to see if your blood sugar is really going low. If it is, then it could very well be causing the weakness. The blood tests that can be done by the lab would be what your fasting blood sugar reading is and also what your average blood sugar has been over about 90 days.

Things to consider would be if anyone in your family has (had) diabetes. Problems with hypoglycemia mean unstable blood sugar and this is normally treated with a change in diet (food and frequency of eating). Many times a young person with hypoglycemia may be dealing with diabetes later in life.

Should you get a blood sugar meter? I don't know. You can buy an inexpensive one at Walmart. Their own brand is ReliOn; you will need to buy the test strips separately. If you do that, we can help you sort out what your blood sugar readings mean.

Still, I think your doctor needs to be aware of all this and I also think you need to have some lab work done to see what's going on: if not blood sugar, anemia? Or, anxiety? There may be other reasons but until you get some tests done to narrow it down, you may continue having these uncomfortable feelings.

I do find it odd that your blood sugar tested out to 106 after you had eaten bread, drank orange juice and had a few glucose tabs. Seems to me your reading should have been higher.

Also, you should be aware that some medications can cause these feelings and even low blood sugar, so if you're on any medication, check out their side effects.

So, I don't know what part anxiety is playing in this. I do know that anxiety can cause feelings of weakness, dizziness, etc. This is why I think some lab tests should be done.

I wish I had better answers!

How's your blood pressure? If you've been checked for anemia, then I guess the blood test also checked your blood sugar.

What does your doctor say?

If blood pressure is low, then you could feel weak or dizzy while standing. I don't know about elevated blood pressure. A lot of times my blood pressure is elevated when I'm in the doctor's office even though I take medication for blood pressure. And because of that, I bought a blood pressure cuff at a local pharmacy and I test at home. It's always normal and sometimes on the low-normal side here.

The next time (and every time) you have any lab tests, ask them to give you hard copies of the results. They may have to mail them to you. This is your right as a patient. This is for your records so you are not in the dark about what your test results are. You will also feel more "in control" or things by knowing lab results.

Instant oatmeal normally makes blood sugar spike and then drop. When it drops, you would feel tired.

Anxiety does have several physical effects on us, so when we do have certain physical symptoms or odd feelings that we can't exactly put our finger on, doctors normally order lab tests to see if we have issues with blood sugar or other things going on. I went through lots of tests many years ago, even a Holter monitor for the heart, etc. When all the tests were ok, it came down to anxiety. So, if they can't find any physical reasons, I think doctors will address anxiety and then the road to healing begins.

Hi brendaboo. You make a good point about anxiety disorder affecting blood sugar. It's like a vicious cycle. Getting the anxiety under control would probably help your blood sugar for sure. As I mentioned before about people who experience bouts of hypoglycemia when they're younger, it often happens later in life that they end up as type 2 diabetics, so the best way to help themselves now is to have a conservative but balanced eating plan and not overload on carbohydrates. Protein, vegetables, salads - all kinds of meat, fish, poultry, colorful and leafy vegetables - food with calcium like yogurt and cheese and a good multi-vitamin and mineral pill.

Staying away from heavy carbs may also help control cholesterol.

I hope you're doing well.

It's all related. Here is an article I found online that explains the connection very clearly: chriskresser.com/thyroid-blood-sugar-metabolic-syndrome

I had no idea thyroid activity was related to blood sugar and vice versa. Also, the pancreas may start malfunctioning over time while trying to manufacture insulin at a high rate which it does in reaction to the amount of carbs ingested. This is why cutting down on heavy carbs makes sense.

Having regular lab work done is important so we can get control of our health before too much damage is done - but it's not too late if we don't catch it in the beginning. Changing diet and lifestyle will help at any stage.

Yes, physical sickness spikes blood sugar. I don't know if it does it to the same extent in someone who doesn't have blood sugar problems though. A couple of years ago I had such a bad headache that it made me throw up. I don't get migraines or headaches like that one normally, but on that day, that splitting headache made me uncontrollably nauseated. After the episode in the bathroom, I took my blood sugar and it was very high. I can't remember what it was now but I was shocked.

I would suggest seeing an endocrinologist because of the fluctuations you're having.

Brenda, you can get this under control to the extent that it's possible. I've read of these wide swings of blood sugar and it bouncing around in others and some have posted here although not lately. I wish they would keep us updated, too!

As I see it, it could be the unknown that keeps you in a state of anxiety or depression wondering if you'll feel dizzy or or not. That would keep anyone on edge. But do know that it's probably the pancreas that's misfiring. I think the best you can do for yourself is continue eating a regular, nutritious diet, maybe smaller meals, not overload on carbs, some protein and a variety of vegetables, nuts, dairy like yogurt and cheese, eggs. And some kind of regular activity like walking, etc.

Thyroid may have something to do with this and it's common for women of a certain age to be on thyroid medication. I just started on this in December myself and I'm 66.

So, when you get those results back, you'll see what the next step is. Keep posting! Sometimes just knowing that you're "not the only one" helps. Of course, now we have to deal with crummy weather (depending on where you are, of course) and these cold days don't help anyone's mood!

Exactly. It's bouncing up and down. The oatmeal is causing the spike. Pairing protein with a carb is supposed to temper the spiking effect of the carb. Oatmeal has fiber and that's another element that is 'supposed' to stop spikes or rather it just draws out the rise. Of all the carbs, oatmeal is the best choice because of the fiber but I can't eat it because I spike really high so I gave it up years ago. I don't eat any grains now.

The problem with spikes is that when the blood sugar get really high, our insulin brings is down and sometimes it happens too quickly and it's then that we get tired or draggy.

I'm not an expert on this condition; I've just read about the syndrome. So, there's not much you can do at this point while waiting for the thyroid results except just be prepared to eat smaller meals and suck on candy if you think you're dropping low.

I have been using flax seed meal and wheat bran in the past year or so. Together they make some decent pancakes and muffins. I haven't made bread yet. Maybe it's time for some recipes again! Stay tuned!

Almond flour is great! It's recommended as a substitute for flour in some recipes and because it's a nut, it's a good source of protein. I also have coconut flour in the freezer. (I keep all these in the freezer, by the way.)

Coconut flour has more grams of fiber than the almond meal and more iron, but almond meal has other nutrients than the coconut flour. The reason fiber is important to a diabetic (or anyone with blood sugar issues) is that the fiber helps keep the blood sugar more level.

The wheat bran has calcium, thiamin, niacin, iron and riboflavin as well as protein. It's the outer layer of the wheat berry and is what is stripped away when flour is processed. So, where white flour spikes like sugar will, the wheat bran hardly will do that. Whole wheat, I believe, has this bran and hasn't been over processed. However, whole wheat is still the complete flour and will cause high blood sugar.

I use wheat bran mixed with flax seed meal and/or almond flour as breading when I make fish patties. Also, this mixture with an egg, a little salt, baking powder and baking soda and some half and half makes a nice batter for pancakes or muffins!