Hi everyone. Happy new year 😊 hope you all had a happy and healthy festive period.
I just wondered if anyone else has hypoglycemic episodes?? I've been tested for diabetes and supposedly it was fine. It usually happens a few hours after breakfast or if I push myself too far and do too much. I get really shaky and trembly. Confused and can't think clearly. It keeps getting worse until I eat something. I'm going to mention it to my doctor but I'll probably just be brushed off as usual. I eat 3 meals a day so it's not like I don't eat enough. I read it can be due to adrenals, adrenal/fatigue I've suspected all along I have issues but it's not medically recognised as you know.
It's worrying me a little as it keeps happening and my mum has diabetes.
Thanks
Diane 💕
Written by
Diane17884
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Yes, I had hypoglycemic symptoms when my thyroid dose was too low. Perhaps your dose needs to be raised? This article connects hypothyroidism and low cortisol with hypoglycemia: tiredthyroid.com/blog/2014/...
Hi HIFL, yes it seems I may need a dose of T3 if my last bloods where anything to go by. Thank you for the link. I do believe it's down to my adrenals/Low cortisol. No doubt be brushed off by my doctor as usual tho *Sigh*
I used to get hypoglycemia, the same sort of thing as you, feeling unwell because of exertion, I found out recently it was caused by fructose malabsorption, I used to have IBS and poor digestion also, a few months after banning fructose I have not had an episode since, nor any more IBS
I’ve had similar episodes to yourself. I truly believe mine are adrenal/low cortisol related. I was on Levothyroxine for 11 years. Often late morning after Levothyroxine was taken say 2 hrs before. Last year I had several low cortisol blood results after either bring in a slump or due to severe weakness. Over the years I’ve had to reduce my Levothyroxine and each time I felt better! I’m on NDT now which has T4 and T3 in. I’m still not quite right but better than on Levothyroxine. Last year reluctantly in the midst of feeling so severely weak I stopped taking my daily Levothyroxine for one week. It was like a miracle. Within a day and a half it was like there was nothing wrong with me. My GP witnessed this and requested an alternate to Levothyroxine. I had to go private for the NDT which has helped. I’m convinced that Levothyroxine reduced my cortisol blood levels so bad I was borderline Addison’s according to a short synacthen test. My sister who had thyroid cancer now on Levothyroxine and has to keep her T4 very high and over the range to suppress her TSH to zero has just had her cortisol checked and it was 100 at 9am the range is 150-603 where we live. I’m convinced it’s Levothyroxine interfering with cortisol production somehow.
Next week I’m going to trial liquid thyroxine to omit any fillers having an effect. My new private Endocrinologist wants to try this out.
I’m not sure if you’re on Levothyroxine and what your bloods are but it’s worth checking T4, T3 TSH and cortisol at 9am before you take your thyroxine medication.
I’m convinced Levothyroxine and cortisol are linked. If I lower my Levo I was better.
For about 20yrs on and off (2-3 times per month) I had EXACTLY the same symptoms, always late afternoon. I also was tested for diabeties, etc and results negative. However in the last few weeks before my hypothyroid diagnosis it was happening almost every day & was one of the reasons my thyroid was eventually tested.
6 months after starting Levo I also went gluten free and now, fast forward 2.5 years it's not happened once. So maybe there is a thyroid / gluten connection.
My daughter has the same thing happening now, diabetes also ruled out. She's already been gluten free for a year, has very high thyroid antibodies but in range TSH, T4 & T3, so no treatment, but I wonder if there is a link.
I had these episodes in my late teens / early 20s and was admitted to an endocrine unit for a week for investigation, which was when I was diagnosed with Hashimotos. I was medicated (I only take Levo) and began following a low GI diet (based on an Australian book) and that resolved them. Last year my Levo dose was reduced suddenly by 50mcg and I began having the episodes again - my dose is back up and I’m fine. So for me there was definitely a link with my treatment.
I used to get them just as you describe before starting Thyroxine treatment. The doc said, oh yes that's part of it along with a pain in my neck when it got cold or a draught or wind blew on it. I thought I was sounding nutty when I told him about my neck and air conditioning 😀
I suffered with this badly for about 18 months, and was often chair-bound with low thyroid symptoms/ exhaustion etc. After cortisol test, short synacthen test, and prolonged glucose tests at the hospital, I was told I had reactive hypoglycemia and to have frequent meals/ snacks to avoid it. Later, when I finally started taking T3 all my symptoms practically disappeared. I now take T4, and self-medicate with T3. I know my dose needs tweaking if the hypoglycemia symptoms start appearing again. I add some protein to breakfast, and have a small protein snack every 2 hours through the day. Having longer gaps can make it start again. It brings really horrible symptoms, so I hope you can find your solution. Try frequent protein/ fat snacks, and cut out sugary snacks.
I get hypoglycaemic episodes and I’m not diabetic. As far as I can tell, no diabetes on my side of the family.
I’ve had this for as long as I can remember. If I have to go longer than normal till I eat, or do more exercise, or am nervous etc I feel very light headed, shaky and have a need to lay down until I’ve eaten. It was at it’s worst when I was pregnant with my daughter. I had to eat something every 1 - 2 hours. (She’s 27 now).
It was also bad when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. Before my levels were reasonable. But Levothyroxine was never quite right. I now take 2x 5mcg of T3. It suits me better, but I still struggle with fluctuating energy levels.
I try not to put on weight as I cannot do diets. Reducing carbs is a big no for me. I get the low blood sugar feeling and also migraines.
I’ve had the odd diabetes check and always been fine.
My husband has type 2 diabetes, so I decided to spot check my level.
When I was hungry and feeling a little shaky etc, it was 2.6
2 hours after lunch it was 5.3
I don’t think I’ll see a GP about it after your comments. One Gp is already fixated on my TSH being 0.007 (she thinks I’m going to get severe health issues being on 10mcg/day of t3 - I’ve had a post on here about that).
I can sleep a minimum of 8 hrs and still be tired and don’t ask me to get up early, won’t happen (maybe it’s the winter).
Years ago we went skiing. They would all laugh at me as I always had minstrels in my pocket due to needing to keep my blood sugar levels up.
It was just a “mum” thing.
The only thing is, my daughter definitely gets these hypoglycaemic episodes. (She’s not diabetic) I wish there was something I could advise her to do.
She’s not got a thyroid issue (yet), but we are keeping her vitamins and minerals optimal as she would like to start a family soon.
If anyone has any tips I’d love to know them.
@diane17884 thank you for putting this post up. I don’t feel quite as abnormal any more 🤪 ☺️
To the pregnancy optimal diet during these episodes: I ate a lot of oily fish in sweet potato, tons of nuts, olives, mushrooms, seaweed, eggs ... of course, that's what I like to eat anyway but maybe there's a reason for that!! O_O A good diet didn't prevent the poly with my second child or anything but I've been told by medical professionals directly to at least make sure I eat a lot of magnesium if I can't take anything else. I'll have to admit that recently my diet has really slipped, and my vision seems off a lot and I'm overtired all the time even if I'm not very active. It's tough to tell what is what.
Hi and happy New year. I am Claire from Greece. I have to hashimoto. And some years ago I had hypoglycaemia. My episodes were severe enough to cause me to feint or to vomet. Do not be afraid since your blood work are ok my advice to you is to eat protein in the morning and avoid grain and sugar. (Like a protein shake) this will keep your insulin from spiking up. Avoid in general the bad garbs .
I'll second a good protein shake. Eating first thing turns my stomach so unless I have a good shake (so on) in the house I'm not going to get the protein and then the day is shot by the time I remember I need to eat. I know there are a lot of quick and ready protein options on the market now and some of them sound fantastic, really, but there's something about the actual eating of food first thing for me, so having that shake to at least span the 8-10 oclock period is best as far as I'm concerned. Then do some actual chomping at 10 or so. haha
Wow, thanks for asking this, it's great to see so many people have had this same symptom and we're not alone. I used to get this, and particularly after exertion.
I also suspect adrenals, I used to have a related thing of waking up starving at 4am.
I found going low carbs really exacerbated this, and was maybe the whole problem for me. I've now found out low carb really doesn't agree with some hypo people. Only some, though, the other half absolutely love it. It's something to do with thyroid hormone being required differently for the different energy pathways the body has (krebb cycle, lactic acid cycle, etc).
I also found that my 24 hour saliva cortisol results just improved by themselves as I got closer to optimal thyroid dose.
Specific things you can do for the adrenals, there are several herbal supplements like rhodiola et al, but I never ended up taking any of those, things like nutri adrenal extra which contain dessicated adrenal, but also lifestyle things. Reduce stress to a minimum, get high quality rest, do mindfulness, general healthy diet things, reduce crappy foods, etc.
But of course get thyroid dose closer to optimal. Also check out the standard set of vitamins as they impact everything, B12, vit D, ferritin, folate.
Yes Diane17884 I have had exact issues after my thyroidectomy and my Endo and Primary Doctor said sugar is good. It's pretty disturbing when it strikes which isn't after every meal and for me it doesn't correlate with too many or to few carbs ...it's weird.
My Levo was slightly reduced on Thursday (never been given or tested for T3, they won't do it!) because TSH was "Rock bottom" (T4 was at top of range). Yesterday I was hungry most of the day, couldn't stop eating! I do sometimes get low blood sugar, but not like that for a long time
I've never posted but didn't realize this was a subject of interest and felt I should respond with my experience:
I've had hypoglycemia-like episodes since I was a baby, including noticeable shakes. My parents were medical professionals at the time and thought it was odd but nothing was found. I have never in my life tested remotely diabetic.
As a young adult I began noticing what I would now call endocrine problems. (My grandmother had extremely early menopause and I assumed that's what it was.) I asked a general practitioner about the symptoms once and was told to go home -- probably because answers I gave weren't as expected and I was quite young. I didn't precisely ask about the thyroid but can look back and see those were the questions given. A few years later, when I followed a job to a new city, my new doctor was pretty gungho about utilizing common tests. He tested me a number of times after I complained about arthritis-like pain. Over the next few years I was put on levothyroxine and saw physical therapists for hand, shoulder, and hip pain. I had one dosage increase early on. During the time I was with him I seem to recall he noted a tendency toward pernicious anemia but I don't think it ever became clinical. (I've not had that noted since.)
As a mature adult, I had early onset (yet mid-range) polyhydramnios with my second pregnancy and was constantly being told I "must" be diabetic by a midwife at the women's hospital ... they kept assigning her to me so my appointment time was continually wasted and trust eroded. (I'm from the States so our midwives will be slightly different.) I was actually tested numerous times for causes, including diabetes, and nothing ever looked suspicious (all labs and scans in the same women's hospital). I was miserable but the baby was and is totally healthy. While recovering from a CSection, my hospital nurse was concerned I was developing a blood clot because I had too much trouble with positional faintness and general dizziness. I told her it was normal for me and she was really concerned! She warned me to get it looked after as soon as I got out "no matter what 'people always say' because that's not normal." That really surprised me, because, like I told her, I bring it up pretty often, it's not like it doesn't bother me, but I usually get a slightly interested shrug and shake of the head or something like that.
All that said I need to point out two other aspects that, in this case, might relate, because it speaks to system, so add this into your mental map:
I had brain surgery as a child and have since been given a clean bill of health, as it were. However, at the time, they had no body of comparative research to estimate likely long term effects on different systems, endocrine included. This is now thought to be commonly affected. The "hypoglycemic" like symptoms were purportedly with me before that but what I'm getting at is circumstantial evidence that they are, when not indicative of hypoglycemia itself, symptoms of endocrine dysfunction -- because not only do I have a family history of endocrine disorder on multiple sides, I'm diagnosed hypothyroid, have had unrelated trauma that's known to often result in endocrine disorder, and were that not the case, I've STILL had similar symptoms since birth. I've always been active, always been in relative shape, never a commonly noted blood sugar problem.
To get through this as an adult I've loaded protein, kept meals frequent. I don't know why but it seems like that and a lot of extra sleep are the only thing that helps, and it's hard to get both. I need A LOT of protein, way more than the average person, or my hours of usefulness are numbered. This isn't some sort of diet advice I follow it's just what I've noticed through trial and error about myself -- done out of desperation. I ALWAYS slept a lot. Simply eating something doesn't help. Eight hours sleep is nothing to me, and I've been that way my whole life. In addition, for whatever reason, I can't and don't drink sodas and things with artificial sweeteners. There's something about this that is more particular, like, there are certain types that I immediately react to and others I'm fine with, there are ones I'd never notice, but to be frank, I just try not to have any and leave it at that to save time and trouble.
[[Postscript: This could be important to add -- I also have a rather strong family history of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis and, as alluded to above, that has sometimes come into play. I was once sent to a Rheumatoid because of [history] + [reoccurring knee pain (which didn't make sense for my age or general health)]. I only saw her once and she diagnosed me with fybromyalgia (she was a specialist to whom I was directly referred, not anyone I normally see). I didn't know anything about the condition at the time. She presented it to me as neurological (which I am given to understand many doctors did not back then) and with my history that made perfect sense, so I was grateful to be given the information ... but when I read through all the literature at home, it didn't seem to describe me or my experience. I told my regular MD (the same guy who diagnosed me with hypothyroidism and sent me to the Rheumatoid) and described my neurological history in greater detail and audibly wondered how the two were connected and what that might mean, if it changed diagnosis, changed treatment, etc. ... He admitted he had no idea about anything that brain specific and sent me to a Neurologist. I went, much fun was had. I came out with an altered diagnosis of secondary fybromyalgia (meaning it didn't happen the way it normally happens and doesn't look the same in the brain but it might as well be the same if you're not a Neurologist) and "seizure tendency" (meaning I'm epileptic, probably as a result of postsurgical changes, but not drastically enough to write the big E on my medical record as I might run afoul of someone wanting to unreasonably take my driver's licence away -- true story they really said that! :D) Since an anticonvulsant can be used for both she set me up with one and I'm supposed to be on that for life, going to the Neurologist once or twice a year. It was great! (Though I'm not currently since I've been in the middle of having kids and you can't take the medication while pregnant or breastfeeding.)]]
Thanks for the replies everyone. Much appreciated and nice to feel I'm not alone. The doctor is doing a blood sugar test which measures my blood sugars over a longer period of time. My results are back but waiting to discuss with her. So wll let you know if they find anything x
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Haramaki....I think I found the secret of warmth!
Blood sugar question
Duodenum ulcer reoccurring..
Collagen for Hair Growth?
