blood sugar question

iamhealingmyself

I realize this isn't a medical board but I'm wondering if anyone can offer me some insight and I know enough to take everything with a grain of salt and often a dose of reality to chase it. I posted in this section since this is where such things as specific diet/illness etc. support groups post and figured it was out of mainstream forums such as food and nutrition (since I'm not asking a direct food question). I do have an appointment with my physician this Thursday but I just wanted some input from those who live with this disease or know people who do or who are knowledgeable about the subject.

That being said, I'm having a little problem and I need a little clarification. I have not been diagnosed with diabetes but it does run in my family. I always thought that I was hypoglycemic as I tend to get shaky, confused, lightheaded, etc. when I don't eat for long time but never really tested for it. Symptoms usually went away if I ate protein and a little carb and got back on track with my eating every 2-4 hours.

I had some blood drawn (non-fasting and about 3 hours after I ate breakfast) on June 1st. The glucose level came back at 87 which is within normal limits for this lab. My daughter also was recently tested (by another lab) for hypoglycemia since she had been suffering frequent bouts of similar symptoms but her fasting glucose was 85.

Prior to MFP (and even times during) my carb load leaves a lot to be desired. I'm working on that but it's not as easy as it might sound. I've cut out most potatoes and try to opt for whole grains whenever possible, but pasta and bread and sometimes sweets get the better of me. I've read recently that you shouldn't treat hypoglycemia unless it's truly a low sugar level (45mg/l or less) I bought a cheap meter at walmart and started to see where I was. First test was fasting after sleep (about 10 hrs) and rang in at 95. I thought that was high for fasting level. I tested throughout that first day about an hour and two hours and one time even 3 hours after eating to see where I was. All readings fell under "normal" American Diabetes standard levels but I've also read that those levels are really high and diabetics would do good to shoot for lower numbers. Same info said that average person usually fasts at about 75mg/l and averages around 80-85 throughout the day. All of my readings were higher. My one hour tests often came back close to 120 and my 2 hour tests came back under 100 but close to it (high 80's or high 90's)

So today I'm fasting as part of my preparation for Ramadan and about 2.5 hours into my work shift, I start to feel what I always thought was hypoglycemic - shaky, anxious, sweaty, etc. so I pulled out the meter and took a reading. It was 101 and I've only had 0 calorie liquids w/truvia sweetener (0calories and 3 carbs per serving) and not more than 2T of milk in my first cup of coffee at 6:15am more than 3 hours before I did the reading. I was quite surprised to see the reading that high. The symptoms didn't go away so I tested again around 1:30pm and the level was 100.

Is this normal to be so high when fasting? I know the liver dumps glucose into the system when it's not present in food and I also have Gilberts Syndrome which I was told was a benign disorder that affects some enzymes that make it harder for my liver to clean some things (like alcohol, fat, stress etc.) My total biliruben count was 1.2 (high end of normal) but for me, that's quite low as I normally run into 2s and high 3's on average and higher when ill.

Is it possible that this liver disorder could be affecting my ability to metabolize glucose although not enough to be deemed diabetes? Is it possible I'm heading in that direction? Is this just totally normal and I'm worried about nothing? I know everyone is different and I'm wondering if our symptoms are not really that of hypoglycemia but that over people slowly weaning off carbs and coming into a normal level which equates to a significant drop in sugar that while normal by testing feels like it's a deficiency? Does that make sense? it's like someone who's so used to drinking a 12 pack of beer a day that when they finally cut back to half, it feels like going cold turkey to someone who only drinks a 6 pack a day.

Any information anyone can provide would be appreciated. I know I've done my body wrong on many occasions and I've come a long way this year in fixing that, but if I can head off arthritis and diabetes with changing my diet then I'm all for it. I know it can be done as my grandmother did it AND cured her multiple myeloma (bone cancer) when the doctors gave her less than 6 months without chemo etc.

Thanks!

iamhealingmyself

ok I guess I'll just give up posting on these boards. Seems like everyone has help for everyone else but me. After 5 hours, 31 reads there's not one single comment. That says a lot about the people out here. In the 6 months I've been here I've supported all kinds of people through all kinds of things and can probably count the number of replies I've received to my questions on one hand.

Time to start practicing what you all preach.
sorry to have bothered you with such an intellectual request.

moderators, feel free to remove this thread.