Ok I may sound crazy when I say this...but I am just curious if this happens to anyone else. I have found that when I have high bloodsugar and it stays high for a fairly long period of time, when I am finally able to get back where I am supposed to be (for me 90-130) I feel like I am low! I call this phenomena bloodsugar detox. Definition: a period of time when your bloodsugar is in range just after your bloodsugar has been continually high. During this period of time you have the symptoms you would normally expierience when you have low blood sugar. (ex. shaky, dizzy, hungry, ect.) I think this happens becuase if my bloodsugar is high for a long time my body starts thinking that high is normal...so when I do get back in range my body is confused and thinks its low, therefore giving me the symptoms I normally have when I actually am low.
It really stinks because theres really nothing you can do except wait it out. (hence the name detox) If I eat something I'll start to feel better, bu then my bloodsugar goes up again and the whole process starts over again.
Does this happen to other people? Or am I just weird? haha. please let me know!!
Happens to me, too. Like my body gets used to being high, and starts to think that's it's normal range and anything lower is too "low." But it's the same with lows for me - after a while lows feel normal. That's the point where it gives me issues!
Oh I never thought it could work the other way too...yikes that could definitly be problematic. Well I am glad to know that I'm not the only one. My mom makes fun of me when I call it that but thats what it is! and it really sucks when you feel like crap but theres really nothing you can do about it.
Yeah ... this def. happens after a period of highs or lows. For me, esp. w/ lows b/c that tends to be more my problem, but I've heard people mention it w/ highs...
This for sure happens to me also! I have asked my mom about it before, but we could never figure it out. I thought it was just me or something. I didn't give it any thought until it actually happened. My blood sugars tend to run high so it does feel low when my blood sugars are in my stellar range. So strange how this happens.
I think this happens becuase if my bloodsugar is high for a long time my body starts thinking that high is normal...so when I do get back in range my body is confused and thinks its low, therefore giving me the symptoms I normally have when I actually am low.
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that's excatly it. your body is used to being at that level, so you no longer feel "high" when you are, and anything below what you normally are is unnormal for your body so you reach as if you are low. thats why when you keep your blood sugar in range for a longer period of time, you are able to notice eaiser when your bloodsugar starts to drop or go start to climb.
ohh ok now I see how it works and that does make a lot of sense. I've noticed that when i keep my bloodsugar in range even just being at 85 gives me the symptoms of being low. Thanks for the help!
I don't really have any of the high or low symptoms when my blood sugar is off. The only time I really notice anything is if my blood sugar is dropping more rapidly than usually. It doesn't matter if it's high, normal or low.
I get that all the time. I'm struggling with an eating disorder where I omit insulin to lose weight, and I find when my bloodsugar is just a little lower (in the teens) or at a normal range, I feel like I'm going to pass out! Of course, I can't take anything since I'm not actually low, but I always do anyways because I can't stand the symptoms and then my sugars shoot right back up again. It's an endless cycle :[
What your describing is one component of the blood sugar "roller coaster." After 40 years of Type 1 diabetes with unfortunately many very difficult periods, I have found that the key to successful management is to learn how to break the cycle quickly. I believe that the easiest place to break the cycle is when you're low. Someone once told me that the amount of carbs you eat to correct a low blood sugar has nothing to do with how fast it will be corrected. It's going to take 15-20 minutes for a quick-sugar food such as fruit juice, regular soda or glucose tabs to raise your blood sugar by around 30 points. So eat no more than what you need, like a half cup of juice or 3 glucose tablets, and sit on your hands or tape your mouth closed for 15-20 minutes. Let the horrible feeling of hypoglycemia subside without causing your blood sugar to go higher and higher for hours. That's why I use glucose tablets to treat lows. I know exactly how many to take and I don't like them enough to want more. I think of them is medicine pills for low blood sugar... and not as a snack. Yes, it's tougher than I'm making it sound, but it's worth the effort.
That's great advice Paul. I never knew that it actually took 15-20 minutes to enter your blood, so I've always over treated my lows and then it just ends up messing me up even more. I'll try sitting on my hands and see if that works ;]