Worried I have an insulin producing tumour

[countrygirl]

I occasionally have problems with low blood sugar even though I am eating plenty and this can make me put on weight and I need to lose weight as I am 4 stones overweight. I haven't had any problems recently but today I ate breakfast and then had a sandwich and small bowl of chips for lunch - i ate more than I normally do. About 2 hrs later I felt a bit hungry so at two slices of toast and this really seemed to trigger a hypo attack. I then ate 3 digestive biscuits and did my blood sugar on my diabetic husbands meter and it was only 5.8 which given how much I had eaten was low.
The only change to my eating is that we ran out of wholemeal bread and yesterday and today I ate white bread which I never ever do and am wondering if this could be cause of my low blood sugar.
I have had this problem on and off for many years but no Dr takes it seriously just tells me to keep off sugar which for me seems to make me even worse???
One Dr told me that if I had a insulin producing tomour i would go unconscious as mr sugar level would be so low, but i still worry.

[ladybird64]

Hi Countrygirl

Your blood sugar results were not low, 5.8 is perfectly within normal limits. Yoy are not taking into account that it was 2 hours since you had eaten lunch so that would not count, your results would have been from the toast and bikkies.

You aren't diabetic so it is not a good idea to be measuring your blood sugar unless it is needed, if you are still concerned then perhaps your doc can do a blood test to put your mind at rest.

[Dahlia]

It may be dumping sydrome - which can occur when you eat a lot of unprocessed carbohydrates (like white bread, biscuits, chips). It can cause a rush in insulin, which makes you feel the symptoms of low blood sugar - dizziness, faint, sick etc.

I've had it a few times. My GP said to eat little and often, and not to eat lots of carbs on an empty stomach. You'll probably find a change in diet helps.

From Wikipedia:

Dumping syndrome is largely avoidable by avoiding certain foods that are likely to cause it, therefore having a balanced diet is important. Treatment includes changes in eating habits and medication. People who have gastric dumping syndrome need to eat several small meals a day that are low in carbohydrates, avoiding simple sugars, and should drink liquids between meals, not with them

Dahlia

[cattia]

I have always had problems with low blood sugar, all my life pretty much and when I am suffering acute anxiety or if it is just before my period, it gets much worse. Once I had a blood test and the emergency Dr was sent to my house to tell me I needed to eat chocolate as my blood sugar was only 2! It was tested again the next day and it was fine but it is rarely much above 4. I don't actually worry about this as I have always suffered with it, and I put it down to the fact that I am tall, thin, have a fast metabolism and suffer with anxiety and quite bad PMS.

I find that if I eat foods that burn fast, like the foods you have mentioned (white bread, chips), I am more likely to get this problem. It is best to eat something like porridge for breakfast, and eat brown bread. Bananas are good too. Also if it makes you feel a little woozy (this happens to me quite often) then I eat something high in sugar just to get me past the worst of it and then eat something slow burning to get my levels back up. Claire Weeks mentions this in her book 'Self Help for your Nerves' as it is so common with sufferers of anxiety,