I'll just give you some info about hypoglycemia from my own
experiences. I came down with type 1 diabetes several years ago and
the age of 31 and shortly afterwards began using slow-acting insulin
(stays in the system > 12 hours) twice per day and fast-acting insulin
with meals. Before I used insulin, my blood sugar was never less than
70 mg/dL, to the best of my knowledge. As I had to increase the dose
of slow-acting insulin, I become somewhat more prone to hypoglycemia,
with frequent readings in the 40's and 50's during and after exercise.
The lowest I've ever seen is 27 - the worst symptom being impaired
vision, along with some of the other symptoms you've described. When
I trained for a marathon by running over 20 miles, I would often have
lows occuring up to 48 hours after completing the long run. By that,
I mean that I would eat my normal meals and use my normal doses of
insulin, but still end up getting low before the next meal. If I run
only 2 or 3 miles, the tendency to develop hypoglycemia is weak and is
gone within 6 hours.
The point I'm making here is that it takes many miles of running and a
signficant dose (25 - 30 units per day) of slow acting insulin to
cause hypoglycemia for me. It is rare, but certainly not unheard of,
for someone not on diabetes medications (insulin or pills) to develop
hypoglycemia. That said, I can also tell you that I've even had
occasional false symptoms of hypoglycemia, only to find out that my
blood sugar was actually a bit high (130's or 140's).
On 31 Mar 2005 18:41:21 -0800, [email hidden] wrote:
I'm in my mid-40s, and I've been trying to become a light-moderate
runner off and on for a several years now. Last August I started
again,
real slow, built up to about 2.5-3 miles per run at a very slow pace,
about 5 days/week. Then in Dec I quit for a while due to cold and snow
(played hockey at least 1-2x per week, and did some light skiing) ,
and
started up again a few weeks ago, started with 1-1.5 miles and now I'm
back at about 2.5 miles with 2 rest days between runs.
After (not during) my last 3 runs though, I have suffered from extreme
hunger and lightheadedness for up to 48-72 hours afterward. These
symptoms point toward hypoglycemia, which I have always believed I
have, but they are very unusual in lasting so long. Usually
hypoglycemic incidents last only till I eat something, and the
symptoms
are more severe, with sweating, and feeling like I am going to faint.
But then they go right away within minutes. The only thing that makes
me feel better for these run-induced problems is to drink lots and
lots
of Gatorade (> 1/2 gallon/day), which, unfortunately, is not really a
good thing for hypoglycemia because it can lead to a major blood sugar
crash. And it has a few times.
Just wondering if this happens to anyone else and what you do, or if
this might be something other than hypoglycemia.
2.5 miles seems like an awfully short run to cause symptoms that last
so long. I dont have this problem when I play hockey, which is much
higher intensity and longer duration, though I get rest breaks. I only
run first thing in the AM because I cant run with food in me (maybe a
bite or two of banana) or I get violent diarrhea all day, but I'm
wondering if I will have to start eating prior. Going all night
without
fuel and then running may be just too much for a hypoglycemic. I am
paying closer attention to what I eat, staying away from refined foods
and sugars, and now I'm trying to eliminate caffeine and alcohol (1
beer per night is all I drink) but there is conflicting info on what
hypoglycemics should eat. Much of the info on the web is contradictory
and/or highly suspect (lemon juice enemas anyone?). Doctors are pretty
much useless when it comes to this condition, in my experience. I have
talked to several and they shrug it off, more or less. I am going to
buy a blood sugar tester this week just to prove to myself (and my
doctor) that I really get low blood sugar.