To keep it brief, the last nine weeks have been a nightmare. I started feeling shaky and sweaty, which made me suspect blood sugar problems. After seeing an endocrinologist, I was put on a Libre 3 CGM. My levels are currently between 90 and 110, but that’s only because I’m on a very restrictive diet every single day. If I consume any carbohydrates, particularly on an empty stomach, I jump to 180-220 and then crash to the 70s within an hour. I’m trying to check my monitor less often, but I find myself looking at it every 10 minutes. The constant fluctuation is traumatizing, and I’m in physical distress from the stress. I’m terrified from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep that a low will kill me. Because of my many allergies, I mostly stick to meat and vegetables—no dairy, gluten, rice, or eggs. Does anyone have advice? How can I reclaim my life? I’m out of leave at work and I don’t trust my own body. Are there any books or resources? I’m truly desperate.
My spikes aren’t quite that high, but I experience a similar pattern of sharp rises followed by crashes. It’s exhausting and takes a full day to recover from the body aches and fatigue. Health anxiety is a serious issue. Since you have the CGM, you can adjust the alerts to your preferred thresholds. There’s an emergency alarm for very low levels that you can’t disable anyway. If you know you crash after eating, maybe just check once an hour after a meal to see the trend? Checking constantly just adds stress, and stress actually messes with your blood sugar. Don’t make it harder on yourself. If carbs are the problem, try cutting them back. Focus on safe foods. Can you handle carbs from vegetables like potatoes or beans? Are there any ‘safe’ foods you can rely on for a few days to lower your stress and get some energy back?
A lot of people get obsessed with monitoring their stats. Try not to do that. Just set your alarms and only look when they go off. Your glucose should stabilize more over time. Fluctuations of 80 are okay, but over 100 is a bit much. You might look into options like Metformin, berberine, or diazoxide. I’d also suggest looking up ‘mast cell activation’ since you mentioned having many allergies; it might be linked. It’s worth a look, though I personally see reactive hypoglycemia as a symptom of something else rather than the main condition.
Can you eat things like low-carb tortillas or protein bread? They might cause a small rise (maybe to 130) but shouldn’t trigger a full reactive crash, especially if you include fiber and protein. I eat them every day. I also found chickpea pasta (Banza) doesn’t spike me too much if I have it with protein. You could also try low-sugar protein bars or dark chocolate so you don’t feel like you’re missing out. Maybe set your low alarm to 75 or 80? That gives you a head start to have some juice before it bottoms out. I’ve also seen people suggest raw cornstarch to stop hypos—it’s a doctor-recommended trick you can look up. I was thinking of trying it for my afternoon and overnight lows caused by insulin resistance.
First of all, you aren’t going to die. You likely had these same fluctuations before you even had the CGM. Now that you’ve adjusted your diet and are aiming for better numbers, you’re on the right track. The foods causing those spikes are the root of RH for most of us due to insulin resistance. We have to accept that the traditional food pyramid is misleading; we don’t actually need the foods that cause these massive spikes, which are why so many adults are pre-diabetic. Good luck!
I was in your shoes last year when I found out I had severe reactive hypo. I restricted my carbs to under 6g per meal for eight months, and it made a huge difference. I can handle more now. My mental state is much better on low carb because my sugar isn’t swinging wildly. It’s hard to get used to and can be discouraging at first, but you’ll feel much better as time passes.
I felt the exact same way when I first got my CGM. It really does improve! Dietary changes helped me a lot; I used to be at 4.1mmol while fasting and very reactive, but now I stay around 5mmol and have fewer episodes. I dealt with this for a long time before being diagnosed, so I had to learn to calm myself down and remember I’d be okay. The Glucose Goddess videos have some great tips. Having a support system helped my anxiety too—my mom has the same thing, so she understands. My husband even has my CGM data on his phone so he can help if I don’t notice a drop or if I’m asleep. Talking to someone about your fears makes a huge difference. I hope things improve for you. Most of us have felt this way, and it does get better.
Be careful with those high spikes; a doctor might diagnose you with diabetes based on those. I had similar numbers and my doctor ignored my low of 53… it feels like they just want to fit everyone into the diabetes category.
I’ve been there. You should look into a keto or low-carb diet and start strength training to build muscle as soon as possible. It will make a massive difference for your health.
The whole point of having a continuous monitor is to take the worry out of it. It will beep if your sugar drops. It sounds like you’re dealing with a lot of anxiety right now; maybe a long, relaxing bath would help.