Hypoglycemia?

98777

Hey everyone,

I've been having a problem when I exercise. Whenever I go for my nightly brisk walk, I get extremely weak, tired, and hungry by the end of it. My legs feel very weak and clumsy and sometimes my hands shake. I think this is hypoglycemia. How do I stop this from happening or treat it once it happens? Would a piece of hard candy of glucose tablets help me?

An additional problem is that once this feeling sets in, it sometimes makes me overeat because it is like I can never get my energy back and I am ravenous.

toutmonpossible

Hey everyone,

I've been having a problem when I exercise. Whenever I go for my nightly brisk walk, I get extremely weak, tired, and hungry by the end of it. My legs feel very weak and clumsy and sometimes my hands shake. I think this is hypoglycemia. How do I stop this from happening or treat it once it happens? Would a piece of hard candy of glucose tablets help me?

An additional problem is that once this feeling sets in, it sometimes makes me overeat because it is like I can never get my energy back and I am ravenous.

You should have a glucose tolerance test.

Lupercalia

Go to the doctor and have your blood sugar tested if you think there's something not right. Don't try to treat yourself for this.

carolemorden9

I would definitely go see your doctor, and in the meantime, carry around some glucose tablets or hard candy to eat when you feel like that. I have Type 2 Diabetes, and when my blood glucose gets low, I feel the same way you described.

mrswine

This exact thing has been happening to me for years and I have hypoglycemia. The best way to treat this is to eliminate sugar and simple carbs from your diet. For me, even a teaspoon of sugar in my coffee in the morning makes me crash - shaking, sweating, irritable, and eating everything in sight. It's basically your body going into a panic attack because its sugar is dropping so quickly. I limit my sugar and eat more protein. Try to limit carbs and any foods that will spike blood sugar. Eat 6 small meals a day. Eat protein 30-45 minutes before your workout. Here is a pretty good article about what to eat and what to avoid http://www.diethealthclub.com/health-issues-and-diet/hypoglycemia.html.

aliciagetshealthy

Have you been diagnosed as hypoglycemic? Yes, those symptoms can be an effect of hypoglycemia, but don't necessarily mean that's what it is. I have to eat/snack at least every 3-4 hours to maintain regular levels. Try eating something light <nuts, yogurt, cheese stick> before you start out, unless you've had a meal within 2 hours of starting out, and see if that helps. To combat symptoms after the fact, peanut butter or orange juice work best for me. Also, remember to breathe properly <weird as it sounds, I found I was going through periods of holding my breathe when I started running...made my dizzy, weak...not fun>.

And if you haven't been tested, and it's a concern, go to a doctor and set up the blood work <especially if you have a family history of diabetes/hypoglycemia>

dirtbikegirl5

I get hypoglycemic, too, but it doesn't happen when I work out, My sugar just gets low at some points throughout the day and I need straight sugar. This may involve one cookie eaten slowly so I don't bring my sugar up too fast. I never eat a lot when this happens. You may be someone who needs to eat a light breakfast before working out. I also eat 5 to 6 times per day - smaller amounts versus 3 big meals and that seems to keep it in check.

I would definitely talk to the doctor and get some blood testing, as the other posters have suggested. The doctor will advise the best way to handle this.

pineygirl

It sound like it. I have reactive hypoglycemia so having something like hard candy or glucose tablets actually makes mine worse.

I try to eat a snack about 45 minutes before I exercise. And I make sure it's a snack with a lower glycemic index. I've been a fan of the low sugar Kind bars for this purpose. They contain mostly nuts with a little bit of honey or glucose syrup to bind them together.. Sometimes instead I'll have a small piece of fruit and some almonds or walnuts.

I find that I need to combine simple sugars with fats to slow the spike and subsequent crash in my blood sugar. Nuts also contain complex carbs so I find they keep my blood sugar more stable.

This also makes me less hungry after I exercise.

mrswine

In my experience with (diagnosed) hypoglycemia eating sugar when you crash is the worst thing to do. You start the cycle of high blood sugar and intense drop all over again. I am always baffled when people suggest eating sugar to deal with a crash. Yes, it makes you feel better immediately, but it causes you to crash again a short time later. Stop the cycle by eating a complex carb and protein.

aliciagetshealthy

In my experience with (diagnosed) hypoglycemia eating sugar when you crash is the worst thing to do. You start the cycle of high blood sugar and intense drop all over again. I am always baffled when people suggest eating sugar to deal with a crash. Yes, it makes you feel better immediately, but it causes you to crash again a short time later. Stop the cycle by eating a complex carb and protein.

Same for me. Straight up sugars only make it worse.

Rikki007s

In my experience with (diagnosed) hypoglycemia eating sugar when you crash is the worst thing to do. You start the cycle of high blood sugar and intense drop all over again. I am always baffled when people suggest eating sugar to deal with a crash. Yes, it makes you feel better immediately, but it causes you to crash again a short time later. Stop the cycle by eating a complex carb and protein.

The confusion may be stemming from the fact that diabetics like myself can suffer from hypoglycemia. As a diabetic when my blood sugar is low I absolutely have to eat something with sugar in it like juice or hard candy.

BarbaraCarr1981

It wouldn't hurt to eat an orange or apple before u go and see if that helps. I wouldn't do nothing and wait for the weakness to happen, then treat it. Fix the prob before it happens.