low blood sugar or anxiety?

[RavenLight]

so, i've been experiencing what feels like low blood sugar for the last couple of weeks. it's on and off. i went to the doctor a few months ago and she did a glucose test. of course results came back normal. i have been researching reactive hypoglycemia and that seems like a possibilty. but i don't want to eat every two hours. i'm not hungry every two hours. so, i'm not sure if it's just in my head or if it's something real and i'm considering going back to the doctor but i don't know what to ask or say. my symptoms: i'll feel like i have no energy. like my "core" has been hollowed out. does that makes sense? sometimes i'll get palps and i'll start to shake. but when i lie down and have someone rub my back i'm usually good in about an hour. without food. water helps. and now i'm always scared that it's going to come on. wish i could explain it better. my eyesight will also get kind of funky. like things should be blurry but they're not. and for the last few days i've had a headache that is all over the head in random places but also seems to be concentrated at the temples. just always feel like i haven't eaten. help? suggestions?

[Thyme]

Not nice feelings but this is almost certainly anxiety. The test for hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) is accurate and definitive. That is if it has come back normal then it is normal. That said perhaps you should look at your diet, what are you eating and when? It is not necessary to eat every 2 hours, this is not how we are designed. If I were you I would make sure to eat breakfast...a proper breakfast not a snack. make sure you eat complex carbs...like porridge...this helps maintain the blood sugar over a longer period of time. You should ensure that your carbohydrate intake is adequate and that you are getting plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Avoid too many animal fats and also keep your intake of refined sugar down...avoid chocolate and sweets (candy) and stuff like that, also avoid carbonated sugary drinks. These things tend to give you a sugar rush followed by an insulin high with a subsequent sugar low...I think this is what you mean by "reactive hypoglycaemia". Be careful of your own research and don't get sucked in to faddy diets, they can make a situation worse. Three meals a day with lots of fluid and you should feel fine. By the way all the other symptoms you describe sound like classic anxiety symptoms. have you considered relaxation therapy?

[ronski]

Reactive hypoglycaemia is the bodies reaction to a heightened state of anxiety in susceptible individuals. It is not connected to diabetes in any shape or form but is the result of a autonomic nervous system imbalance.
Your body releases insulin inappropriately and the result is a faster drop in your blood sugar levels than is normally seen in a non anxious person. It's this rapid drop that is responsible for how you feel as the body releases adrenaline to help stabilise the bodies glucose levels. Adrenaline raises blood glucose levels.
The treatment is simplistic and yes you have to eat little and often, every two hours seems extreme but certainly a small snack every 3 to 4 hours. Simple carbohydrates are very effective such as cheese. Bananas can be effective on settling an attack if one is imminent but again cheese is very effective in balancing things effectively.

[RavenLight]

i've been trying to eat on a regular basis, about every couple of hours. just a light snack until mealtime. but it doesn't seem to be helping. last night, after a big dinner at about 7, i started feeling terrible again. this was about 9:30 or 10. i realize it was a few hours after eating but because of such a big meal i wasn't really that hungry. it started with me feeling a little dizzy which, of course, made me feel scared and "here we go again" i had to lie down for a couple of hours. my stomach was in knots becuase of the anxiety and i couldn't tell if i was hungry or not. i sipped on some water and had a piece of toast with cheese. eventually i felt better enough to get up and go to bed. woke up this morning feeling somewhat yucky, as if i were dehydrated and i hadn't eaten in days. i had some food and now i'm sitting here after lunch and feeling the palps and like i want to shake and cry even though i just ate. i don't get it. i'm out of the house at the moment and all i want to do is lay down and cry. i hate this. i feel like i'm under attack from my body. like it doesn't matter what i do, i keep feeling this.

[haz]

Reactive hypoglycaemia is the bodies reaction to a heightened state of anxiety in susceptible individuals. It is not connected to diabetes in any shape or form but is the result of a autonomic nervous system imbalance.
Your body releases insulin inappropriately and the result is a faster drop in your blood sugar levels than is normally seen in a non anxious person. It's this rapid drop that is responsible for how you feel as the body releases adrenaline to help stabilise the bodies glucose levels. Adrenaline raises blood glucose levels.
The treatment is simplistic and yes you have to eat little and often, every two hours seems extreme but certainly a small snack every 3 to 4 hours. Simple carbohydrates are very effective such as cheese. Bananas can be effective on settling an attack if one is imminent but again cheese is very effective in balancing things effectively.

Wow! That's interesting. Sounds like me but glucose tests normal. How do you know all this if you don't mind me asking? It's very informative and reassuring to me. Thanks for posting.

[potato11]

Hi RavenLight

I think sometimes the lines can blur between hypoglycaemia symptoms and anxiety. Certainly, they can cause each other if you haven't been eating properly and using a lot of energy through anxiety.

However, it sounds to me like what you're describing is typical anxiety symptoms, but you're associating them with food/blood sugar levels. Low energy - can occur for a variety of reasons, anxiety especially triggers this as it uses a lot of energy if your body is on 'high alert' often. Shaking - adrenaline is the culprit for this, when you panic you get a lot of energy delivered to your muscles - and if you aren't using it, they've gotta use it somehow!

In regards to your meal last night - digesting a big meal requires energy from the body. I also expect that you were "anticipating" some hypoglycaemia 'signs' a couple of hours after the meal, because you know that is when it can occur. So when something like dizziness appeared (could have been down to you hyperventilating) you misinterpreted and catastrophised that it was a hypoglycaemic attack, and panicked, leading to more symptoms. You woke up feeling yucky this morning because your body had used up a lot of energy the previous night from a)digesting big meal b) all that worrying :) big meals at night can often cause people to feel a bit sluggish the next day, always happens to me, I think it's a combination of mild dehydration and the energy it uses up/your stomach returning to normal. Combined with your stress - remember the digestive system is affected when we're stressed, our food takes longer to digest as energy is diverted away from the stomach.

And the palpitations - normal symptom, an offshoot of adrenaline can stimulate one of the nodes responsible for electrical impulses in the heart to fire. But, it's not harmful - it's as harmful as your eyelid twitching! Your heart's rhythm isn't affected, it just doesn't feel nice. And the more you focus on it, the more they happen, due to extra tension and adrenaline.

It really does sound like anxiety - especially with you saying
"now i'm always scared that it's going to come on"
"i feel like i'm under attack from my body"

I thoroughly recommend that you try this online Cognitive behavioural therapy course called cbt4panic - I found it here on NMP. It has a 30 day free trial

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=91696

It teached you how to lose your fear of panic/anxiety - which is ironically what causes it! I used to google for ages what might possibly be wrong with me. But once you understand the signs/symptoms of panic - i.e. catastrophising about situations etc - you learn to nip it in the bud. Ultimately - the key to overcoming panic is to lose your fear of it by understanding how and why it happens.

I promise you it's worth a try - I wouldn't have spent 20 minutes writing this reply for you if it wasn't :) I know just how awful you are feeling though so it is more than worth it to help set you free.

All the best and let us know how you get on!

[RavenLight]

thanks so much for the replies. i've been dealing with anxiety and panic for as long as i can remember. it's been the last two years that it's really come on strong. i'm usually very aware of when it's anxiety or panic. this low blood sugar feeling has thrown me for a loop, though. but, reading your replies has helped a lot. i saw my therapist today and felt better talking to her. and after walking around for a bit i felt better. so, it's got to be anxiety, right? but, i went ahead and made an appt with my doc for this friday. therapist suggested having my vitamin D levels checked again. so, i'm off to talk to them about that. i've also been getting these headaches that are really just extreme pressure in my temples. i'm assuming that's coming from very very tight neck and shoulders. does anyone else also get eye issues? like where it seems like things should be blurry but they're not? or like it seems like things are "jumping" but they're not. feels like jittery vision but if i concentrate i know i'm seeing fine. i don't know how to explain it.
anyway, thanks again for taking the time to write. i'll look into the link you suggested. i've done so much reading and i've really beat a lot of this. like i said, this low blood sugar thing just kind of kicked my feet out from under me.