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Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 5:10 pm
by vbplease
Hi,
I’ll be seeing a doctor about this soon, but thought I’d throw it out here in case anyone else experiences this or knows about it?

I’ve had a super-fast metabolism as long as I can remember, but in the past 12months since I’ve been exercising a lot more, it’s gone into overdrive. The first few attempts at a 80km+ ride gave me the symptoms of hypoglycaemia i.e. dizziness, feeling faint, tingling in the arms/legs and starting to hallucinate. Pretty scary at the time, but as soon as food goes in it’s all good.
Doing 100km+ rides on the weekends now and if I don't pack enough food, I'm in big trouble. For example, last ride I took 4 bananas, two trail bars, a protein bar, stopped for a spinach/feta pie & choclate milk.. as well as two water bottles of Endura.. I was ok.. just.

It’s starting to affect a normal working day whereby if I don’t eat by 10am (after a big breakfast) the symptoms come back – feeling faint etc. Could it be that my metabolism is just very high and I have to eat accordingly with complex carbs, low g.i. food? Just hoping it’s not something more serious like diabetes??

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 5:19 pm
by gorilla monsoon
vbplease wrote:Hi,
I’ll be seeing a doctor about this soon
Bloody good idea, I reckon. The sooner the better in fact.

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 5:37 pm
by sogood
Untreated diabetics have hyperglycaemia, not hypo.

Your description sounded just like you haven't ate enough and lacked endurance. In any case, it's normal for people needing to refuel on long rides. The quantity required depends on the individuals' preparation, body characteristics, intensity of activity, past eating habits amongst other factors.

There's no harm in getting it checked out by your family doctor, just in case you have some rare conditions that I am not even going to name for fear of generating more paranoia.

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 9:03 pm
by liamb
if you were diabetic the sugar would be super high not low. I am a Type 1 diabetic and the symptoms you describe are very similar to a hypo or low blood sugar but I do know people who just need more food than "avarage" for example my wife if not eating regularly feels very ill and has at times become very lethrgic and weak almost passing out.
I would be consulting a GP for a referal to a specialist and ask for a referal to a specialist in food and your body re the issue with your metabolism. Never go to natropaths and such as they dont have the training and skills to treat you effectively, but they do take your money.
Bill

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 10:32 pm
by wombatK
Good thing to get the doctor to check you over anyway, but the cause might be
pretty simple novice errors.

Dizziness can occur because bloods not getting to your head real well, and that can
happen because dehydration (lack of sufficient water/electrolytes) will deplete your blood
volume and reduces circulation to your head.

Two bottles (assuming 750 ml) per 100 km ride (about 3 to 4 hours ?) reads as less than
enough. Depends a bit on the heat and sweating, but a good starting point is a bottle
per hour.

It's important to realise that your thirst is not a good guide to how much water you need
to take in. By the time you feel thirsty, you're already dehydrated. Take a small drink
every 20 minutes so that you don't ever feel thirsty.

Sports dietitians advice is also to take
in a small amount of (quality) nutrition along the way too. As with thirst, don't wait til
you feel hungry.

Cheers

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 10:16 am
by Alistair
How tall are you, and how much do you weigh? I had similar issues even before i started riding, at 6'5 and under 80kg.

It has gone away since I've been riding more, eating more at regular intervals, and put on some weight.

What kind of stuff do you eat day-to-day?

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 12:52 pm
by twizzle
Common problem for me until I switched from 'carbs' to paleo recently. I still get the low-blood-sugar problems, but very mild compared to before.

Sports and "insulin resistance" issues supposedly aren't uncommon either. All those sugar spikes from sports drinks and hi-carb foods.

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 2:09 pm
by vbplease
Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll try see a doctor soon, but sounds like a dietician will be worth consulting as well. The sugar spikes are what's doing the damage I think.

The Paleo diet looks interesting, although the fat component looks quite high? Training the body to burn fat instead of sugars might be worth considering for me. I'll try to start snacking on more avocado, nuts, salmon/tuna, olive oil.. and less chocolate!!

I have some high5 4:1 drink mix ordered as well.. hopefully this isn't based too much on simple sugars.

Alistair, I'm 180cm, 70kg.

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 3:43 pm
by Alistair
Diet makes a huge difference. I used to have irregular eating patterns, and rarely made time for breakfast. Making time to eat properly and avoiding processed stuff has helped massively.

I think it takes a while to get to know what your body needs to sustain regular exercise. If you are feeling like that, it is probably an indicator that you need to make some changes. I'm sure your doctor can make some suggestions or refer you to a dietitian.

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 4:12 pm
by Reman
wombatK wrote:Dizziness can occur because bloods not getting to your head real well, and that can
happen because dehydration (lack of sufficient water/electrolytes) will deplete your blood
volume and reduces circulation to your head.
+1

When you pass urine, is it pretty clear or yellow?

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 7:05 pm
by twizzle
Reman wrote:
wombatK wrote:Dizziness can occur because bloods not getting to your head real well, and that can
happen because dehydration (lack of sufficient water/electrolytes) will deplete your blood
volume and reduces circulation to your head.
+1

When you pass urine, is it pretty clear or yellow?
Mine is pink. What does that mean?

Sent from my phone thingy.

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 9:32 pm
by wombatK
twizzle wrote: Mine is pink. What does that mean?
Two possibilities I can think of...

1) Blood in your urine - not a good thing to ignore. See a doctor ASAP. There are benign reasons for this,
but you need to eliminate the sinister ones.

2) You have a pink toilet bowl.


Cheers

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 9:59 pm
by twizzle
wombatK wrote:
twizzle wrote: Mine is pink. What does that mean?
Two possibilities I can think of...

1) Blood in your urine - not a good thing to ignore. See a doctor ASAP. There are benign reasons for this,
but you need to eliminate the sinister ones.

2) You have a pink toilet bowl.


Cheers

No prize. Keep guessing.


Sent from my iThingy...

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 10:22 pm
by wombatK
3) Beetroot juice ?

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 10:28 pm
by twizzle
wombatK wrote:3) Beetroot juice ?
Beetroot. :)

And I can get a yellow/orange colour using berocca.



Sent from my iThingy...

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 7:40 am
by Mulger bill
Let's not go into the effects of eating asparagus :(

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 11:07 am
by twizzle
Mulger bill wrote:Let's not go into the effects of eating asparagus :(
:lol: Forgot about that one.

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 11:31 am
by kb
twizzle wrote:
wombatK wrote:3) Beetroot juice ?
Beetroot. :)

And I can get a yellow/orange colour using berocca.
That's a cool effect in toilets lit by black light...

Re: Hypoglycemia or something worse?

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 1:51 pm
by sogood
wombatK wrote:
twizzle wrote: Mine is pink. What does that mean?
Two possibilities I can think of...
1) Blood in your urine - not a good thing to ignore. See a doctor ASAP. There are benign reasons for this,
but you need to eliminate the sinister ones.
2) You have a pink toilet bowl.
Or seeing pink. What were you on? :mrgreen: