[KitRittyTug]

hi, everyone, i haven't been on for a while so its good to be back! i would like to ask advice on blood sugar levels and the jitters i have had lately.
i have been 80% of the time been sticking to low carb for around 7 months now, the other 20% being used up on wine and sometimes fries, i dont usually bother with sweets or pastries at all and certainly no bread..until this past few days when we have been away in our campervan on a 3 day trip. Proper food was limited and i found i was eating a lot of rubbish (pot noodle, sweet chewy breakfast bars and toast) i didnt feel very well the whole time, very shaky and really hungry with a hollow emptiness in my stomach. I never get this when i am eating normally (l/c) and i do know that its to do with my glucose levels. i have not really read too much into the science behind sugar levels in blood and its effects etc, but something happened yesterday when i got home from camping which gave me a bit of a scare.
I went food shopping as soon as we arrived back to stock up on l/c foods when in the shop i started to tremble and shake quite badly, i was very hungry even though i had just eaten about 2 hours ago on the journey home (bread and 5 jelly babies) i also felt very sick and had blurred vision and thought i was going to faint. i got back in the car and drunk a sweet drink and was fine in about 20 mins. I am not diabetic.
i have started fresh today with my normal eating and had a spinach omelette for breakfast, i expected that jittery feeling to go straight away but still have it, although not as bad as yesterday. i know i probably overloaded my self with sugar but it was the effect it gave me which worries me, can bread and a few jelly babies really make me feel so dreadful?

[NodePark]

YES... they CAN. What you're experiencing is low blood sugar. Your sudden, and over whelming, increase in sugar intake caused your blood sugar to SKYROCKET. Your body responded with an equally high output of insulin. Which in turn, LOWERED your blood sugar. Too much sugar = too much insulin = severe drop in BS = your symptoms. I used to get this all the time. I had to carry high carb snacks with me where ever I went. DH wouldn't go on a long car ride with me unless I showed him my snacks (usually pretzels or raisins). My symptoms were like yours... and very scary. I would get disoriented, shaking hands, sweaty, cold body, headache, blurry vision, sick to my stomach, etc. Your body does whatever it has to do to get you to eat in order to bring your BS back up. It's a vicious cycle... what you're eating is causing this. Go back to low carb... and in the future plan better so you're not left feeling like this again.

Also... this is how people gain weight very quickly. When your BS gets too high (bad for your organs!) insulin is the key to getting it out of your blood and into your cells where it can be used... but if you have more than you need, or if you are insulin resistant (your cells don't respond as they should) then the glucose is easily converted to fat and stored in fat cells. Now, imagine what happens when your BS drops too low... you get the symptoms you had, eat more carbs, make more glucose and the whole cycle repeats itself. Over... and over... and over. When someone tells me that they are STARVING all the time, I believe THIS is what's happening. The person really IS hungry. It's the body's response to low blood sugar caused by this cycle of carbs/high BS/insulin/low BS.

[Prarnenoexpog]

Hi Tracy

So glad to hear from you again. Sorry you are having such troubles and it sounds like it would be terrifying! It's an eye opener for me thats for sure! I have a camping/ family reunion in July and was planning on just letting loose for the week. There will be lots of alcohol and all meals will be pot luck. After reading what you have gone through I'll have to rethink this and pay far more attention that I would like to.

Thanks for explaining all this Sarge. You've certainly made it very clear and it would be good for all newcomers to know this. It's a good deterant for those tempted to binge on carbs.

[bQXHsKzS]

hi, There is really no excuse for me not being organised, i was backpacking for a week in a little tent when i first started l/c and managed just fine. what i have been doing is i have been, very slowly without realising it, is letting little high carb things creep in, just a taste here and there over the past few months, i have not put on any weight (nor lost) but this few days away eating junk has made me put on a whopping 7lbs! and its all gone on around my tummy, i feel bloated and uncomfortable.
lesson learned!!
Trill thanks for the backround on what was happening to me, i was very worried about myself although i new it was the food, but couldnt quite believe how intense the feelings were. i still felt a bit funny today after a l/c breakfast but it is now 4pm and am starting to feel that nice level feeling again, i had some fatty pork with veg for lunch and the hunger has gone now.
Allie, please do be careful when you are away, it would be awful to feel like when you were away.the funny thing was i actually really didnt enjoy any of the food i ate when i was away, so tasteless and gloopy, really not worth the 7lb weight gain and the jitters!
thanks for advice guys and its good to hear from you again

[joanasevilyboaz]

Hi Tracy! Yes, as Tril said you had Hypoglycemic symptoms. High sugar, High insulin reaction lowers sugar below what you are used to and walaaaa. Diabetic and Hypoglycemic folks are used to this, take too much insulin and this is what happens. For diabetics it can be life threatening.
It is NOT worth it.

[Soolfelpecelf]

thats frightening to hear Arlene, i am lucky to get off with feeling just a bit rubbish. I have been very careless lately which is very silly when i know what i should be doing and how easy it is when you prepare properly. we are away again this weekend and i have spent the afternoon making tupperware boxes of suitable foods for me, i do not want to feel like that again.

[JNancy46]

A very scary wakeup call Tracy. It is best to be prepared, that's why I prefer, when travelling & unable to use my van - too far or whatever, to be somewhere I can self cater. I often stay in cabins at caravan parks or youth hostel type places because they have great kitchens. I just go to the local shops for my meat & veges for dinner and do a stir fry that is big enough to have leftovers for the next day. A bit dull but it works well for me.

[LoloLibia]

Good for you Tracy, hard way to learn, tho. And it got Allie thinking.....

Traveling is hard!

[DebtDetox]

Darn tootin it did!

[KLhdfskja]

i feel a bit funny again today, only 24hrs has passed since my strange episode, what can i do to relieve the symptoms? i had a chicken omelette for breakfast and feel so full up so dont understand why i feel bad again. I am drinking plenty too, i so regret overloading my body with all those carbs and sugar. hopefully i will feel better soon

[smirnoffdear]

You're going through "Induction" again as you body reverts back to ketosis. Water... frequent meals/snacks with protein/fat... broth/boullion made from chicken or beef (not veggie). Exercise will help burn off the stored glycogen. But you'll feel "iffy" until you're through this.

[huntbytnkbel]

This usually only lasts a few days. I could barely walk up stairs, headachy and no energy.

Are you still shaky or just generally feel bad?

[letittbe]

horrid feelings all gone! we went to a campsite that sold their own meat from their farm so my weekend away was l/c heaven, i went on a long walk to rid the glycogen stored in my body. i am now back on track yay!!

[soryalomop]

Awesome news Tracy!!!! And lucky you going camping!! I'm itching to go but it's still too cold here and theres just too much work to do to justify playing. It's pouring rain today which I'm sure means snow up at my trailer. BRRRRR No thanks LOL

So glad you are back on track and feeling normal again!

[ergyuu]

Good on you Tracy!

[dumadegg]

Awesome Tracy. Keep on Keepin' on!