Preparing for Low Blood Sugar Episodes

[PrettyNYer]

Sept 5, 2018 18:46:41 GMT -5 ukbill said:

Aug 29, 2018 14:54:21 GMT -5 prettynewyoker said:

Thanks guys!
Any thoughts about Tapioca Dextrose Powder as hypoglycemia treatment?

No sugar "cure" is advisable due to posible (almost certain in all Glucose products) contamination with Fructose. Better to stick to Milk, Lactose (if a pure sugar is needed), or safe starches like crackers made from wheat starch or corn starch with butter or similar hi food value item included.

I think I read somewhere on here that Lactose has a different metabolic pathway and is less affected by the blocking of gluconeogenesis by Fructose phosphate, so that should be the goto. A carton of milk (cow,goats, etc.. whatever is available) or plain Yogurt or a milkshake (yogurt/milk 50/50) with a little corn starch to support the blood sugar levels for some time after the event.

I hope this helps?

What is your interest in this if you do not mind me asking?

This is super helpful, many thanks!

I am asking because I have a family member with HFI and I want him to be prepared for low blood sugar episodes when it happens....since it can get very dangerous if left untreated.

[tummyache]

4-8 nuts are quite a few less nuts to eat as a snack in an emergency situation, than the 1 cup as reported in the graph...therefore far less mg's. Nuts keep better than crackers in my purse too. It works for me! We certainly do have differences, as I find some foods mentioned as tolerable to some as being safe for HFI, are not always so to me. For instance, I don't like any sweet candy -- like glucose tabs -- I +much rather eat the nuts!

[ukbill]

Hypos are not that dangerous unless created by massive amounts of Fructose. .

I myself survived a medical cockup when they gave me 150g of pure fructose via IV as my "challenge test" They should have given me 15g!

We are best left to ourselves to get through the Hypo. Little is of much good to help because for one thing we are likely to be throwing up all the time.. for another the metabolic pathways in which glucose is metabolised are blocked up..

However we can avoid most Hypos.

Please read the posts I have made about cornflour milkshakes.. They really help reduce the incidents caused by exercise and times when sufficient safe food is unlikely to be available.

Children and growing teenagers frequently get Hypos because their level of exercise exceeds the amount of food being digested.. so after the initial Glycogen reserves in the Liver are used up the body starts converting body fat back into Glucose and Glycogen... This process also creates some Fructose as a byproduct of the reaction.. so we Poison ourselves and have a Hypo even though we have not eaten any fructose..

The cornflour milk shakes help stop this happening.

Frequent safe snacks also help.. boiled eggs, cheese, milk, safe white bread and butter, fish, Prawns, safe crackers and the like are all good quickly digested foods.

Lots of water also help flush the toxins out of our bodies. I can go Hypo simply by being dehydrated and doing some exercise.

Take a look a the the safe foods list for ideas that might help.

Thanks for taking an interest in someone with the condition. All and any help for us is great.

Keep smiling

[tummyache]

UKBill, you are always such a wealth of info, and I appreciate your advice. I am having problems with my diet now since I’m in my mid-70's, like when I was a little kid, with having to eat frequently to keep from having hypo symptoms [headaches + the shakiness -- never throwing up as you mentioned; but nausea, if I don't eat something every few of hours. I am very active...an avid lap swimmer, which complicates things too. Also, I have to be 100% dairy free (protein allergic + lactose intolerant), usually a nice food source for most all HFIer’s; and I don’t do well if I eat a lot of wheat/gluten (although I test negative for celiac). I actually was diagnosed with HFI [they didn't separate out FBPaseD initially, which I think they would do later on] in the early 1970’s, although not with DNA or a liver biopsy, but with cultured lymphocytes – the reason I have questioned the DX in more recent years. Doctors and researchers at University of Texas at the time said it was so obvious that was my problem there was no reason to put me through a liver biopsy. Since then, there have been a few medical incidences with sugars that certainly confirm something to do with that pathway is not working as it should. I got tested for Congenital Sucrase Isomaltase Deficiencies (CSID) by request a year ago – unfortunately, it was negative. (Rats! They have a medication they can take for that. Wish we did!!!! ) While experimenting, I tried the CSID diet…they can eat honey + some fruits…Oh boy, did I get sick! I never claimed to be the smartest monkey in the tree! HA! Anyway, I have to carry snacks with me at all times – that’s why I use the nuts, they don’t go bad like crackers do + don’t need refrigeration. Do you have any other suggestions?

[ukbill]

I will think on it and let you know. Sure I can come up with something.. I suspect a lot of your problems might be too much fructose somewhere.. I do understand that your diet is even more restrictive than mine! which is saying something. let me think on it a bit.

[beetlebot]

Dairy products or nuts are my go to when I go hypo. This rarely happens to me though because I stick to a fairly strict keto diet, I get almost all my energy from fat sources which works way better for me because it means I can go hours and hours without eating without risking a hypoglycemic episode. I can also do serious heavy workouts with no problems on this diet.
I also use exogenous ketones (plain esters without sweeteners), to help during the day if I get foggy and low on energy. Unfortunately there is only one brand that doesn't add sweeteners that I've been able to find and it's $100 (Australian) a bottle. I'm lucky enough to have my family support me with these costs.
I never go anywhere without some kind of food on me though, it's usually a bag of nuts and a couple of tins of tuna, easy to carry around.

[colormist]

Nuts have a significant amount of fructose in them. I'm surprised you don't have a reaction from them.

[beetlebot]

Honestly so am I, I can only have a small hand full and it's only certain nuts, but it does make me wonder whether I've been diagnosed correctly, I can eat avocado without a reaction too.

[colormist]

Are you eating a whole avocado or just a portion of one? I don't have much a reaction to a half an avocado (a bit more prone to hypoglycemia a day or two later), but if I eat more than half or have them repeatedly over a short period of time, then I'm SOL.

[beetlebot]

Just a portion of one, but I do eat them quite regularly. It's usually a quarter a day or most days. What's SOL sorry?

[colormist]

SOL - nuts Outta Luck

90's slang is dating me.

[beetlebot]

Oh 😂😂😂

[colormist]

Oh, the board edited my response because I posted a curse word.
I did not write "nuts", but rather a word that starts with s.

[beetlebot]

Okay makes much more sense now , I thought it was my Aussie brain r something