Sugar levels crashing - don't know why

[Toxed]

I struggle with the sugar thing too: All the pressure saying sugar is bad. Oh, the guilt! I kept trying to reduce it. It would end up bad!!!! I researched it. All cells need glucose. If your condition is one that has poor glucose uptake, drop kick the popular dogma! You need the sugar. One of my conditions is Toxicant Induced Intermittent Porphyria. If I get an exposure and I have been trying to reduce sugar, it gets life and death real fast. Sugar is the only treatment that's effective. I also have glyphosate induced dysphagia and achalasia. Sugar is used to treat dysphasia. When I get achalasia, I can't get food past my LES. sugary coffee, or honey in herbal teas, will get in though. Its all I have to survive on. Be careful not to guilt people about sugar. They may have something going on that is undetected. Just sayin'

 

[MeSci]

I struggle with the sugar thing too: All the pressure saying sugar is bad. Oh, the guilt! I kept trying to reduce it. It would end up bad!!!! I researched it. All cells need glucose. If your condition is one that has poor glucose uptake, drop kick the popular dogma! You need the sugar. One of my conditions is Toxicant Induced Intermittent Porphyria. If I get an exposure and I have been trying to reduce sugar, it gets life and death real fast. Sugar is the only treatment that's effective. I also have glyphosate induced dysphagia and achalasia. Sugar is used to treat dysphasia. When I get achalasia, I can't get food past my LES. sugary coffee, or honey in herbal teas, will get in though. Its all I have to survive on. Be careful not to guilt people about sugar. They may have something going on that is undetected. Just sayin'

I don't want to make anyone feel guilty, just to help! Yes - all cells need sugar, but we don't necessarily need to consume it, as we have stores of it, and can also make it from other things that we consume. If some people feel that they need to consume it, they are welcome to do so! It may just be worth trying without for a while to see how they feel. That has made a big positive difference to many of us.

 

[South]

@MeSci (I think it was you who asked?) Yes I should buy a blood pressure monitor, which as a one-time cost to purchase would be affordable compared to blood sugar test strips and machine, which due to cost I haven't bought.

But when I had those episodes in the past, I can guarantee that if I hadn't quickly eaten something high glycemic, I would have continued to have those same symptoms of shakiness, sweating, and craving for sugar and salt. (having been stuck in locations away from food a few times in my life during those episodes, I know what being stuck with those symptoms for hours is like).

So, I'm not sure how it could have been just low blood pressure without also being low blood sugar....or low something that is similar to low blood sugar but isn't just low blood pressure.

@Toxed I partly agree that glucose is necessary for body functions, but the key is slow steady delivery. Eating cane sugar without fats or something to slow down the hit on the blood isn't good, IMO. Starch is more slowly broken down into glucose, if eaten with some fat, than a piece of hard candy is, and gives a much smoother ride!

 

[Toxed]

@South, I don't disagree with what you're saying about eating fat and protein with sugar (for my body type). When I can eat, it was mostly protein, veggies, fat. Carbs pile on the pounds (again, for me. Everybody's metabolism is different). If I'm not having achalasia I don't eat carbs very often. The reason carbs increase weight gain is that fructose stimulates insulin, which signals fat storage. Fructose can also lead to insulin resistance, the contributing factor in diabetes. Carbs breakdown into glucose and fructose. Cane sugar is just glucose. My porphyria cure is home made eggnog. Sugar, protein and fat. All organic. I have found that I have to eat the sugar, or I get hypoglycemia, or porphyria. So part of my protocol is my morning organic (o.) coffee, with o. cream, o. Turbinado, o. cocoa. Linus Pauling says that organic, shade grown coffee and organic cocoa are some of the highest plant sources of antioxidants. Dr. Yasko advised me to up my coffee consumption because its a great source of methyls. When I did, I found the added sugar helped balance me out. I felt tons better. So, yes, sugar plus fat and/or protein. My point was, that I spent a lot of time trying to reduce my sugar intake due to all the hype about how bad sugar is for people, and actually harmed my health. I guess I didn't communicate it very well yesterday. I'll try to say it better this time: There are some people out there, that need to feel supported in their against the flow, higher sugar diet. Its kinda like the same social pressure that we all feel when our friends and relative keep telling us we need to exercise more, etc.. They don't understand our problems and it makes us feel bad, even though we know better. People with impaired glucose uptake, porphyria, etc, who have to eat sugar to feel even marginally healthy, feel bad when others go on about how bad sugar is, and how everyone should cut down; even though we know better...

 

[Toxed]

I don't want to make anyone feel guilty, just to help! Yes - all cells need sugar, but we don't necessarily need to consume it, as we have stores of it, and can also make it from other things that we consume. If some people feel that they need to consume it, they are welcome to do so! It may just be worth trying without for a while to see how they feel. That has made a big positive difference to many of us.

I know you don't want to make anyone feel guilty. I don't either when I share controversial stuff. I get that you're trying to help. Its very compassionate. I was just trying to express a minority view point. I apologize if I didn't do it well. That happens with me.

About the stored energy, I can't access it most of the time. Thats part of my problem. I have metabolic errors there, too. Losing weight is a nightmare. In more than one way. The year I first came down with achalasia, I starved. I literally couldn't eat for two weeks solid at a time, interspersed by a day or two of barely getting the smallest amount of stuff in. I couldn't get liquids in very well either and survived on IV fluids. I finally managed to lose weight... From spring to October I lost 80 lbs.. I looked and felt like the walking dead. It took me that long to figure out the sugar trick. Sugar helps dysphagia. Once I get past the worst part of the attack (after 2 weeks) I can get thin "raw cake batter" in. Eggs, sugar, fat, a very small amount of spelt flour. I try to eat better as the attack lessons, but it can't have substance. So, cream of mushy vegetable soup with melted cheese is the best I can manage. What ever "solids" I eat sit on the top of my LES. The liquids drain out and the rest has to come back up. I eat raw honey, royal jelly, etc to keep my strength, and my weight, up. If I don't, during an attack, I drop weight too fast. I have to have sugar. Is that too much info?