Doctor says I have to eat every two hours, but what?

My doctor did not do long daily testing, just after two fasted blood tests she said I would need to eat every two hours after both numbers had been low. One was 61, and the second was 52. I do have symptoms of low blood sugar, though considering on the list of things with low blood sugar she said my thyroid T3(whatever those are.) levels were very low, which share symptoms, so who knows which is causing which! Though I have medication prescribed for the latter now and will be picking it up tomorrow.

I agree, the idea of eating candy is a very icky feeling. At least with the words "Every two hours" behind it. I am wondering since she did not do daily testing with a machine if maybe it would be beneficial for me to pick up a meter from the pharmacy and just check it through the day for awhile.

Are you comfortable with calling back and asking what you should be eating every two hours? Maybe she was thinking breaking your normal meals into smaller meals and the candy/glu. tabs for when you feel the drop?

I plan to call her in the morning for more clarification on what is expected of me. Hopefully I can talk to her right away! I get so anxious with medical stuff, especially when I feel left in the dark.

It's the worst! And when you get surprise or shocking news, it's so hard to both listen to what's being said and think of all the right questions. I hope she's available in the morning and you can get the info you need to be more comfortable with your next steps. Hang in there!

That would be the route I would take. ( I stole my husband's since it was just sitting on his desk, lonely and unused. )

This is when it pays to be our own advocates and ask extra questions/for clarity if something sounds off about the advice we get from our medical personnel.

Eating very low carb diet can cause T3 to be low, below normal. TSH and T4 would be normal, but T3 droops.

I used to have very low T3. But it finally stabilized

61 - is low. Not dangerously low but low. 52 is where you should start feeling the side effects. if you don't (sweating, shaking, change in vision etc - very uncomfortable) then it means you probably deal with low BS and your body is no longer reaction to levels below 60.

I used to deal with hypoglycemia and RH. But it took me a while to get to see a good doc. By the time I saw her (1 year waiting list) my body only start reacting to levels below 45. now - I am back to - anything below 60 - and I know I need to get some carbs in me - followed by proteins and fat.

IMO- You need glucose tablets. One tablet has 4 gr of glucose. it is estimated that for every gram of glucose - our BS raises by app 5 points. So 4 grams = 20 points. When my BS is 60 - I just get 1/2 tablet. If it is 50 or below- 1, then follow with nut butter. I carry individual packets of almond butter with me.

I also have Kind bars (the low sugar) in my purse almost always.

I have had reactive Hypoglycemia diagnosed 36 years ago. I am speaking from my experience.My lowest documented blood sugar was 19 . I also had a seizure from a sudden drop one time and have passed out from low sugar at least 2 times.(both times i had already eaten/drank something but it had not worked yet.) I tolerate almost NO fruit, cooked fruit better than fresh..a slice of apple throws sugars for a tailspin. but can eat half of a cooked apple for a desert..

You will find your tolerances and lack of tolerance by doing a diet diary/combined with blood sugar checks.. I would do one first in am..a FBS, if you get symptoms, weak shakey, abnormally sweaty, cold sweat., sudden nausea,. check pronto and eat/drink something quickly. Low blood sugar can be a medical emergency.

You need to find your triggers. to do that you will need to monitor your sugars. pretty tightly for at least 5-10 days... Check Fasting sugar every morning ..ie. A fasting blood sugar is a check before you have anything in the morning including black coffee...( it will make sugar drop by stimulating insulin release. a 2 hour post pradial is taken 2 hours after you have eaten... it should be in the same range as a fasting. Note how your body responds to each meal you have..

If your 2 hour check is low add at least one serv of protein and half a serv of a carb...an example would be 1/2 oz of cheese and 3 crackers. Or a tablespoon of peanut butter w/ 3 crackers.

You need to keep your sugar balanced so you have good energy, proper healing. Candy will raise sugar and then drop it again.Using candy creates a cycle of blood sugar spikes and crashes. When blood sugars suddenly drop you must have sometihing immediately. You do not have time to stop at the store, to prepare a meal, to order take out. Because of this you should have a hard candy you use ONLY for medical emergency..in your purse or on your person at all times.

If you are out and sugar very low, use the candy one peice to get sugar up and follow with a protein snack.within 10 min...ie.. spoon of peanut butter, peanut butter with crackers, cheese w / crackers... quickest way to get up SAFELY in the morning is to have 3-4 oz of milk if you tolerate it. I put 2 oz in my first cup of coffee... To keep sugars from dropping in the night. you need more proteins at night, even late night. I keep crackers at my bedside for emergency use..If i do not eat enough protein- for what ever reason, I will awaken at 3 with sudden horrible pouch pain .I checked sugar last time and it was 46.

It is important to note your symptoms may not all occur at the same point in a drop.. you may awaken with no symptoms and a blood sugar of 40, because it has dropped slowly . If you do exercise ,within 5-10 min, your sugar may drop from 95 to 75 and you have sudden symptoms.Do not try to work thru the symptoms. Listen to your body and you ccan control this with diet.

Depending on your schedule.. what time you get up, and if it is a daily schedule, you should never go longer than 8 hours without protein and half a serv of carb...a boiled egg or two at night, with 3 crackers..would be good to help keep you stable. Peanut butter/natural kind, or almond butter My Mom fought to get her protein in and she would put a heaping tablespoon of peanut butter in her coffee in morning... it melted in there and she drank it and liked it, I wasn't impressed..with it, but is one option..

If you eat enough protein and fats your sugar will stabilize. 1/2 serving of carb= 1/2 serv ADA/bread/cracker or veggie with higher carb load like sweet peas or carrots, (amount on those veggies would be 2 oz/for 1/2 serv.. ) Carbs are triggers, but you must have enough for your level of activity. YOU have to find that balance. You Have to learn yourself.

When my low sugar was found I was about 23. That was when it was 19. My skin was warm and dry and I had No acute symptoms. I had eaten what always made me sick to do an induced 2 hour post pradial...It gave me the runs and i thought I had wasted my money... Drs office called before I could get home 5 miles away to make sure i was ok they had re checked it 2x. I got hungry and stopped and got a pack of nabs out of a machine...so was ok. The Physician told me... If you do not get your blood sugar under control you will be insulin dependent diabetic within 5 years. THAT scared me and I did what I have just advised you to do. My last fasting was 85, I check my own.I also take bitter melon .15 days a month for 2 months, skip 2 months and repeat. use 3 bottles a year most years.

Stability? yep I still have days I crave carbs, and they do throw sugars off. but I get right back on the train. If I have a bad cra**** takes me 3 days to stabilize sugars again... and makes me just "feel bad" low energy...etc. so expect that if you have a crash.

You can do it too. get a monitor and check your sugars morning after noon meal about 2 hours, and last thing at night for a few days... as you tweak your diet...will need less checks.

Yes, exactly. I have reactive hypoglycemia. My "yikes" level has sadly gotten lower as time goes by. I can fully function at 40. You would never know anything is wrong with me. Initially, 50 made me really symptomatic. The lowest I've gone is 29 which was bad. My muscles started to twitch in the middle of a spin class and I basically had to crawl to the locker room to get something in me.

I would clarify why she feels you're BS is running low. Is it from the A1C? Something else? Also, I'd ditch the candy suggestion. I find when my BS falls some milk (the lactose is sugar) or a mini kind bar fixes me right up. It also doesn't cause a rebound crash that regular candy would.

I also get the idea of eating every two hours, especially when I feel my sugar dropping, but I've learned to make smart choices that aren't calorie dense.

Good luck and if you have any questions about how I deal with it, I'll totally share my strategies.

Do you know your A1c? I'm guessing it was lowish. Some drs freak out over anything under 6%