Greetings all,
My doctor just diagnosed me with hypoglycemia. Basically whenever I eat sugar, my blood sugar levels peak quickly and then just crash and I end up feeling exhausted, headachy and crabby. I was told that I am at risk of developing diabetes when I get older, and I could also develop depression. My doctor has said that I have to avoid sugar and carbohydrates and he really wants me to start eating meat again because he's worried I won't have enough variety in my diet. I REALLY don't want to eat meat again - I've been vegetarian for nearly 4 years and I don't think I could stomach it. I'm going to see a dietician, but I'm dreading she's going to say the same thing.

Has anyone else here got the same condition? How do you handle it? I would like to hear some other people's stories, as I'm feeling a bit freaked out right now.

re: what your doctor said--that's crap!

there are a lot of threads on this so you might want to do a search. here are some:

http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=35935&highlight=hypoglycemia

http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=21533&highlight=hypoglycemia

anyway,
you don't need to cut out anything really from your diet. and you certainly don't need to eat animal flesh again.

i'm hypoglycemic and very nearly vegan.

you need to eat every few hours. you need to include some protein in every meal/ snack (nuts, beans, nut butter, soy, gluten). you cannot have just simple sugars or refined carbohydrates by themselves. e.g. you can't just have a piece of candy by itself, you can't just have a plate of white pasta with marinara sauce with nothing else. you COULD have a piece of candy with a balanced meal. you could have a plate of white pasta with sauce if you add kidney beans or tempeh (altho, why not just have whole wheat pasta).

whole grains are your new best friend. brown rice, w.w. pasta, bulghar, oats.

eat lots of fruit and veggies.

ideally this is the way ALL people should eat. now you're just being forced to do what is best for your body anyway.

Yeah. Don't stress out about it. I have symptoms of hypoglycemia too (I've never been diagnosed as I think the test is crap) and I just manage it with healthy, balanced, regular meals.

Really, it is no big deal.

http://www.workingdogs.com/bookstore/us/product/1570671397.htm

This book might be helpful. You could also talk to a veg nutritionist. There is no need to start eating meat again.

Thanks guys, I feel heaps better now. And sorry, I should have searched before posting. I was feeling pretty awful yesterday and searching just didn't occur to me. I was stuck at work with no proper food and I was STARVING. They only have chocolate biscuits which I knew were just going to make me feel worse. I'll have to start carrying some healthy snack food around with me all the time.

My doctor is very "old school". He likes to throw drugs at any medical problem, and he's also a bit sexist. He keeps asking when I'm going to have children (I got married 18 months ago) and seems very confused when I say that my husband and I don't want children. I guess he has a standard western view of food and can't see around the "meat and three veg" idea of a healthy diet. I've been going to him since I was six, and it feels a bit like betraying a lifelong family friend by switching!

I'm going to see a dietician soon - hopefully she'll be more helpful. And lijahbaby - that book looks really interesting, I'll have to check it out.

After I finish every lunch and dinner I get fatigued and sleepy due to the carbs and sugars that are in the meals. It happens to my non-vegetarian friends, too so it is not a foreign concept. Ever heard of caffeine after for pick-me up? I usually drink half-caff, except I have anemia right now, so I'm drinking full-caff right now, til' my blood count picks back up!

Ever heard of caffeine after for pick-me up? I usually drink half-caff, except I have anemia right now, so I'm drinking full-caff right now, til' my blood count picks back up!

Errrr, no offense but I don't think it would be too smart to mask my symptoms with caffeine. Besides, it would only help short term.

i've been hypo for years. ever since i was a kid, too much sugar and refined carbs gave me the worst headaches. In fact, i still avoid pancakes because of the syrup association. I can't even have regular maple syrup by itself or on pancakes. i'm really quite sensitive (which may be why it's easy for me to avoid junk food. . .interesting).

Mary Tyler Moore is a diabetic and a vegetarian. most diabetic vegetarians are not vegans (protien-carb issue), but there are a lot who are vegetarian. So, it is possible, even if diabetes does develope.

but, diabetes doesn't have to come in. you could just get your diet in order and figure out what works for you. For me, a balance of protien and fat per meal really helps. I also eat a lot of fruit with low glycemic indexes. whenever i want something 'really sweet,' i reach for dates, stuffed with almonds and rolled in coconut shavings. it's perfect! the glycemic index is low, with the almonds and coconut you get fat and protien. so, it burns nicely. i can only eat one or two--tops--but usually one is enough for me to 'take the sweet tooth edge' off.

After I finish every lunch and dinner I get fatigued and sleepy due to the carbs and sugars that are in the meals. It happens to my non-vegetarian friends, too so it is not a foreign concept. Ever heard of caffeine after for pick-me up? I usually drink half-caff, except I have anemia right now, so I'm drinking full-caff right now, til' my blood count picks back up!

caffeine is actually not great for hypoglycemics.

Catswym, I just went to the dietician and she pretty much said the same thing as you. She also gave me some literature on vegetarian nutrition and said that a vegetarian diet is very healthy, as long as I make sure I get the right nutrients (eg iron). But we all knew that didn't we?

Feeling much better these days.

I have hypoglycemia and I was told that it is completely unrelated to diabetes :-/ . Anyway, I have three balanced meals throughout the day, based on low GI vegan foods, and if I feel up in the air, I eat low GI fruit in between. If I am having a hypo, or on the verge of, I eat dates.

I rarely have 'junk' food, and if I do, it is usually date and coconut rolls, mung bean chips, and other non-incriminating stuff. I get it really bad. Last week I lost my balance and fell over, but thats coz there was no food in the house and I had nothing to eat :no:

Staples of my diet are:
- Whole Grain Oatmeal
- Stone ground wholemeal sourdough bread
- Avocado
- Salad vegetables (tomato, cucumber, capsicum, lettuce, mushrooms etc...)
- Oranges
- Bananas
- Apples
- Dates
- Brown rice
- Dhal (lentil or split peas)
- Lima beans
- Chickpeas
- Black beans
- Kidney beans
- Wholewheat couscous

If it weren't for the fact that I have a nut allergy, nuts would be a fantastic food to include. They are very low GI. Sometimes I eat nuts, but then I get sick and itchy.

Buy a can of (high-protein!) almonds, and snack on them throughout the day.

-Qit

Catswym, I just went to the dietician and she pretty much said the same thing as you. She also gave me some literature on vegetarian nutrition and said that a vegetarian diet is very healthy, as long as I make sure I get the right nutrients (eg iron). But we all knew that didn't we?

Feeling much better these days.

eep, i could be a dietician! :up:

i'm glad you're feeling better. it's really no big deal once you start eating right. yay!

I know how you feel. I am in the same boat. I drink a protien shake for breakfast and eat like a pbj and I am still famished by 10:30.

I did a test. Caffeine and nutra sweet is your worst night mare. I still need my diet pepsi in the morning, but when I skip it my blood sugar is fine.

I bought nuts this morning and not a diet pepsi to see if that would make me feel better. Low blood sugur and nutra sweet just does not get along. It did the trick.

I love diet pop, but I can only handle it with food. I can not drink it along for a pick me up.