anxiety or hypoglycaemia

[yappie94]

hi

does any else feel like they have to eat every 2 hours or they going to faint???? i cant tell if this is hypo or anxiety.... this all came about for me when i was working at tesco on the till's and for no apprent reason i fainted... every since then i feel like i have to eat all the time of carry food with me every were i go....

can somebody help me with this...

[Cjaneb]

Hopefully this doesn't sound patronising - I'm new to the forum and seeing that everyone is different. Anyway testing for hypo is a very easy test for a doctor to do. If you go and see you will know I'm not sure which you would want more for it to be hypo - yes an illness but it's easy treatable or it be an anxiety symptom so not an physical illness but something harder to overcome

[shakey1961]

I have suffered with Hypos from the age of 16, that's 36 years for me. While a doctor can do a finger prick test for a hypo, unless you're going to have a hypo when you visit the doctor, and that cannot be guaranteed, he would be very unlikely to catch you having a hypo.

Another way to check it, would be to get yourself to A&E when you feel you're having a hypo, but even then, unless you're seen immediately (which is unlikely) you're not going to catch it.

The only sure way you can check it is to buy yourself a blood glucose monitoring meter. I have one - I recommend an Accuchek Active. They're about £15 and come with a few test strips. If you want more test strips, you can buy them for around £25 for a box of 50 strips that's if your doctor can't/won't give you a prescription for them. You'd have to discuss it with him/her.

http://www.lloydspharmacy.com/en/accu-chek-aviva-12458%3Futm_source%3DGoogle%26utm_medium%3DProduct %26utm_campaign%3DProduct?gclid=CKrFgJb7_roCFfSWtA odNUoAuA

You'll need to put the battery in the meter (if it's not already in).It will go through some setting up questions, just follow the instructions to set it up. Also you'll need to put the barrel of 6 needles in the lancet device. You can adjust the lancet pen for depth, you only need a very small amount of blood. Start on 0 and twist it round till you draw some blood.

Testing is easy. Take out a strip from the tub, insert it into the bottom of the meter (at least you do for the Accuchek). It will beep a few times. Make sure the finger you're going to prick is clean, if you've been handling chocolate or sugary stuff you'll get a false reading. While it's making all these noises prick your finger with the lancet pen. The meter will eventually show it's ready for you to place the blood on the strip. In the case of the Accuchek you need to touch the blood at the bottom of the strip at the end of the little yellow area. Literally on the edge of the strip, NOT the top. The blood will then soak up the yellow area on the strip.

5 seconds later you will get your result. It will just show on the meter as a number eg. 5.6 or 4.7 or 3.2 or whatever your reading is.

The golden rule is "Four is the floor"! Anything under a reading of 4 on your meter and you are having a hypo and you need to eat. I also find I'm in trouble if it reads 4.1, 4.2. So the closer you are to 4.0 the more likely you are that you're hitting hypo territory. Firstly, get a sugary drink down you, NOT a diet or no added sugar drink as that won't help. Once you feel better you need to eat something to maintain your blood sugar level, otherwise it'll be up and down like a rollercoaster all day. Best thing you can do is to Google Hypo symptoms. Dizziness (feel like you're drunk), can't stand noise or light, heart racing, sweating, trembling/shaking, and all these symptoms coming on very very quickly.

Of course, if you work in a big Tesco's with a pharmacy you might be able to get staff discount on a meter and after all the above info, if you had a word with the Pharmacist there and explain what you think is happening, they would be able to test you there and then. But that would only be if it happened at work. They'd be able to set-up your meter so it's working for you.

Any more advice, don't hesitate to ask or send me a private message.

[Tish]

I do! It's horrible and DOES mimic anxiety, I feel faint, shaky and get really snappy. I've lived with it for years with no medical help - you just need to eat the right foods and often. Make sure you eat protein with every meal and don't be afraid of fats as they help to stabilise your blood sugar by making you feel full for longer. I realise you can't always eat whilst you're at work so keep snacks like nuts or snickers to hand.

[HoneyLove]

Great advice from Tish :)

I keep those Nakd but bars in my bag always, they're tasty and handy for a blood sugar boost. Bananas are handy too.

[yappie94]

thanks you for all the replys very useful information