AboutMichele Damiano Expertise I can answer questions regarding hypoglycemic symptoms and how to prevent/treat them through various food and lifestyle measures. I can't diagnose anyone or provide information about how to regulate hypoglycemic episodes in diabetics using insulin or other medications.
Experience Please note that I am not a doctor, and you should seek the advice of a physician if you are suffering severe and/or frequent hypoglycemic episodes. I am a health and nutrition editor with 8 years experience working for national consumer magazines. During that time, I have worked on stories about diabetes and hypoglycemia/coping with blood sugar "dips" while dieting. I frequently consult with doctors, nutritionists, and other medical experts. I also have some personal experience with this topic, as I suffer from mild hypoglycemia and had a grandmother who was an insulin-dependent type 1 diabetic for many years.
Publications Any advice that I provide as an expert for allexperts.com will be coming solely from me, and can not be endorsed by any current or former employers.
Expert: Michele Damiano Date: 3/21/2008 Subject: Hypoglycemia.....could I have experienced this?
Question Hello~
I really don't know what is going on w/ my body....just that it is something. The last several weeks I noticed I was really tired most days, but I chalked that up to having 4 kids & going to school part time, plus not getting enough sleep. I also had been drinking coffee in the mornings lately to try to get away from Pepsi....when I tried to knock out caffeine all together....I am so tired....I just want to sleep. So I continue w/ coffee.
I have been told I had low blood pressure a couple of times....My mom & sister have low blood pressure also. But today, I took a nap before I went to pick up my kids from school. I slept for 2 hours. I woke about 20 minutes before I needed to leave & saw lots of snow to shovel. I thought nothing of it, & went out to shovel. I only got the driveway 1/2 done & it was time to go, Plus I felt funny. I got into my van, sat in the seat but didn't start the van because I felt like I was going to pass out. I felt hot/flushed, nauseated, dizzy & funny, jittery, my heart was pounding hard & fast (I could feel it thru my whole body) & my stomach hurt a bit. Although I didn't pass out, I think I also felt like a heaviness making it heavy to breathe. I didn't have a hard time breathing, just a heaviness to my breathing (if that makes any sense). I sat there til symptoms subsided before starting my van, but I still feel a bit funny even now & it makes me really nervous.
Is there anything you can tell me? Could this be hypoglycemia? Or low blood pressure? Could it just be from getting up & shoveling right away?
Basic info: I am a white 35 yr old woman. I have 4 c-sections, & w/ my last 2 pregnancies they said I was border line for gestational diabetes. But I never took anything or changed my diet....dr said it wasn't necessary. I have no diabetes in my family except my grandmother, but that wasn't til she was elderly.
Anything you can tell me would be great. I have no insurance right now & I don't want to rush to the dr over one event if it is nothing.
The only other similar events would be in the past when I shoveled & it made me nauseated & felt like I could pass out...and once after laying out in the sun on an empty stomach. Don't remember the details there tho......
I don't eat very well, I eat usually one meal a day, as I seem to have pain in my lower bowels from the c-sections that is tender if I eat more regularly. So maybe that has something to do w/ it?
Thanks for your time!
~Cheri
Answer You may be experiencing some hypoglycemic symptoms. If you haven't eaten a while before exercising, your body won't have enough energy (sugar) once you start. Feeling hot, nauseous, dizzy, shaky, etc., are all symptoms of hypoglycemia. BUT they are also potentially symptoms of heart disease, especially since these seem to come on with exertion. I know that you're young so heart disease seems unlikely but it's still a possibility that's worth getting checked out. I realize you don't have health insurance but you really need to be examined by a doctor. Is there a low-cost or free clinic near you that you could consider? A quick online search might turn up some options.
As for your eating habits, one meal a day seems like very little. I don't know much about stomach problems after c-sections, but I would think that eating more frequently but smaller mini-meals might help. Good luck.
