Thank you everyone for your help.
For a very long time I did have to eat every couple of hours to keep my blood sugar stable and this had nothing to do wtih d-ribose. I found the best thing to do for my blood sugar was to eat something with protein - nuts, cheese, etc. with snacks. If I just ate sugar without some form of protein or a complex carb, it wasn't good. Sugar alone led to more blood sugar spikes and lows for me. But as long as I had some protein every couple of hours (it didn't have to be a lot), I did okay.
I can go longer without eating now than I used to and I think it may in part be due to B1, thiamine, which can help regulate blood sugar levels. Also l-glutamine I think has had a beneficial effect on my blood sugar.
So re the d-ribose, I would have it with food - mix it in with something you're eating, or dissolve it in water and drink with something you're eating, preferably something with protein. I would not keep eating sugar every 15 minutes as your medical sites say to do.
Thank you
@Mary this is helpful. Also, that's great that you can go longer now without eating and that it may have been the supplements that helped with this.
I'll have to check them out further at some point in time.
I'm with Mary on not eating sugar every 15 minutes. Are you sure the medical site was talking about primary hypoglycemia and not hypoglycemia in diabetics who have taken too much insulin?
Hi,
@Little Bluestem. I'm not sure. The sites speak of diabetic hypoglycemia and other causes of hypoglycemia and treatment. They don't differentiate and only speak of the one treatment. Maybe an error or limited on words or some other reason. So I gather from what is being said here, that diabetic hypoglycemia and other types of hypoglycemia are treated differently. Am I correct on this?
This is exactly what you are trying to avoid. If I eat something sugary to quickly bring up very low blood sugar, I have about 15 minutes to eat some protein and complex carbs or I will get an even worse sugar drop. If my blood sugar is not seriously low (another thing to avoid, if possible), I find it better to do protein and complex carbs. That gives you a slower rise, but a more stable blood sugar level.
Ribose will give me low blood sugar if I take it on an empty stomach. I have never had any problem taking it with food. I just take it with my meals and bedtime snack.
P.S. A blood sugar monitor is not that helpful for low blood sugar. What is low for one person may not be low for another. How quickly your blood sugar has dropped also makes a difference in how you feel. That is the reason for eating food that will keep your blood sugar more stable.
Thank you this is very helpful.
I like others take d ribose on an empty stomach with my morning coffee (10g). I then take another 10g with food for brunch ( I feel sick if I eat first thing). I may then have another cup of decaf coffee with d ribose in and some dark chocolate (>70%) for a snack if I feel I've overdone things. I used to get the ups and downs with energy before and after meals but this has stabilised since reducing my total carbs to 100-150g per day. I also have a higher fat (50% of calories) and normal protein (100g) diet and use almonds as a snack if I get a bit wobbly. This has helped loads. I've not noticed any drops from d ribose either. I hope it goes well for you.
@arewenearlythereyet, thank you. This is very interesting. Someone else has recommended more fat in my diet. Something to check out some day, too.
You could mimic time-released ribose by sipping water with ribose throughout the day. This way hopefully you can avoid spikes and crashes.
Thank you
@adreno. That's a good idea to try.
Get a monitor. Much easier and cheaper than making major dietary changes based an a guess.
Thank you
@Valentijn. Oh, I can't get a meter at this time. Don't want to go into the reasons why because it will overwhelm me putting my struggles and realities I'm dealing with into words. Bottom line I'm too limited and too much of importance needs to take place...
I wasn't looking to make major dietary changes. Only how to deal with the situation if it arises from taking d-ribose. Even if I had a monitor I'd still have to know how to treat it if it happens after I take d-ribose.
Yes it's quite cheap to get a monitor
@Jennifer J
Also it is easy to confuse hypoglycaemia with dysautonomia/POTS/low salt type issues. I thought I got hypo but I did this
https://tipsforme.wordpress.com/2016/02/16/resource-home-hacking-blood-glucose/
and didn't have any hypo readings but quite a few high glucose ones.
Thank you,
@Jenny TipsforME. I'll have to read this. I've experienced years before I had ME what appears to be hypoglycemia sometimes when I've needed to eat. It's good to know a few of the other things it can be confused with. Gosh, doesn't that seem to be the case with a few things, it can be other things.
...One person could have no symptoms below the bottom of the 'acceptable' range, while another would be showing extreme symptoms.
If you are quite familiar with how hypoglycemia feels then just go by your symptoms. Take the d-ribose with food and see how you feel. You could try starting low and increasing over a few days. The standard dose is 5g. I take 5g in the morning and 5g later in the day.
There are different causes of hypoglycemia. The advice to eat sugar is usually for diabetics. If you are having reactive hypoglycemia then eating sugar will just spike your blood sugar and cause a crash a short time later. Eating something that contains fat and protein slows digestion and allows for a more gentle increase in blood sugar.
I think the low blood sugar some of us with CFS/ME experience isn't diabetic, and isn't reactive but happens due to adrenal dysfunction. I have to eat starting at 4:20am, then 1h40m after finishing that small meal I need to eat again. This goes throughout the day until 7pm and then I can last until 4:20am without needing to eat again. The timing is important to head off the start of a blood sugar drop and the cascade of reactions the body goes through to compensate. I feel much better if I eat a few minutes before I know my low blood sugar symptoms will start.
I've been using Vitacost d-ribose for a couple of years. It's currently $25 for 10.6 oz and is sometimes included in their buy one get another for half price deals. The quality seems good and the price is the best I've found for the quantity, although there are probably bulk suppliers that could provide it for a better price.
Thank you
@PatJ for all of this. Very helpful.
That is interesting about the adrenal dysfunction and low blood sugar, and the hours you can go without eating. I'll have to notice this with myself. And thank you for letting me know about Vitacost's d-ribose works for you and their deals!
