low blood sugar or panic attack

[ML80]

Hi earlier today i felt really hungry and like going to pass out and weak. Had something to eat but stil feel weak and cant calm self down. i usually feel jittery and anxious throughout the day but this felt different. now worried i have diabetes. i also suffer from ibs and reflux and ulcer. does this sound like panic attack?

[Suziewuzie]

I sometimes convince myself that my panic attack is due to low blood sugar but I'm a district nurse so I carry a BM machine & my blood sugar has been fine every time! Having low blood sugar due to not eating is perfectly normal & doesn't mean you have diabetes but a simple blood test by your GP will be able to tell you. A lot of people compare panic attacks to the feeling of having low blood sugar - dizzy, weak, blurred vision etc . If you're still feeling panicky now then I imagine it's nothing to do with your blood sugar x

[Lissa101]

I get this routinely and I'm pretty sure it's not low blood sugar. I've also checked my blood pressure when these come on and it's always fine. Tbh I've given up trying to find cures for every symptom, reducing my general anxiety helps all my symptoms and is a much more manageable and achievable goal than micromanaging every weird feeling.

[DustingMyselfOff]

I'm with Member "Pain".... I loathe the things my blood glucose levels do - it can turn a perfect day into a nightmare in 0.1 second. I have had a blood glucose monitor for years because for decades I've suspected I have an issue with reactive hypo but regardless of when I test my blood, it all shows "normal". But I truly believe that it's the rapid rise or the rapid fall (haven't figured out which it is yet) that causes my symptoms, and I would love to find a way to cut back on these incidents. Yes, I know, watching what I eat goes a long way in controlling the attacks but sometimes it happens even when I'm eating a non-offensive food.

My first symptom when it happens is a jolt of dizziness, then instant panic, shaking, and crashing fatigue. And since I have colitis, I also often have to dash for the nearest bathroom and then I'm REALLY wiped out. I think it's a real thing, even if we can't capture it in a scientific test, and I wish I could find a way to snap back from these episodes more quickly when they do happen. I've actually had to cancel plans on occasion because they can wipe me out that badly.

Hope you all have found a way to successfully cope with this syndrome that we seem to have.
Sue

[pulisa]

I get this routinely and I'm pretty sure it's not low blood sugar. I've also checked my blood pressure when these come on and it's always fine. Tbh I've given up trying to find cures for every symptom, reducing my general anxiety helps all my symptoms and is a much more manageable and achievable goal than micromanaging every weird feeling.

I completely agree, Lissa.

I have had gestational diabetes but get the same symptoms with anxiety.

[DustingMyselfOff]

Sue, I know precisely what you mean by “… nightmare in 0.1 second.” The ‘dip’ or ‘crash’ happens so rapidly. This is the case even if I’m just sitting quietly reading, or playing my guitar – nothing anxiety-provoking at all. And on more occasions than I care to remember, they have been so bad I’ve had to just stop whatever I was doing or planned to do and go to bed.

Other than the preventative stuff I mentioned previously (which has only reduced their severity, not the frequency – nearly every mid-afternoon), I don’t know what else I can do to thwart these damned things!

Yup, right there with you. I can be on my favorite recliner, watching my favorite TV show, chatting with my husband, and BAM! Wave of dizziness, then sheer panic, then faintness, weakness, exhaustion. Happened again last night after I was happily and energetically preparing a good dinner. Took one bite and it hit.

I believe the reason mine is getting worse again is because I've started taking a low dose of my colitis steroid and it's written that this medication does affect blood sugar levels. Unfortunately I have to choose which is worse, the debilitating colitis or the blood sugar issues.

What helped me immensely with the blood sugar issues was eating a ketogenic diet. I was very stable, could go long periods of time without eating at all, and never felt hungry. I will try to get back to that but when colitis is flaring that's not the friendliest way of eating. :(
Sue