My son, who is 17, was just diagnosed as having hypoglycemia. The doctor said that he needs to eat 6 times a day--3 meals and 3 snacks. These should be heavy on protein. My son is having a hard time trying to adjust to this. Basically, food just doesn't sound good to him. Apparently he's had this for awhile and I didn't know it. Anyway, I'm not sure what types of foods to make available to him--you know, that would be attractive to a teenager. We found out, also, that he should avoid simple sugars and caffiene. So, I'm thinking, basically, that he needs a diet similar to what I've been on to help with my anxiety. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Hi drg,
I am hypoglycemic and eat as often as possible. I always carry snacks with me when I leave the house. My favorites are mixed nuts with raisens, sliced apples with peanut butter, peanut butter crackers, granola bars... and yes, he should stay away from simple sugars because of the rebound effect. I would suggest getting him some glucose tablets (sold at your local drug store). I carry them in my purse just in case I start feeling weak and dizzy and I don't have access to food. I just eat a sugar tablet and it gives me enough energy just until I can get real food. But make sure he understands that he has to eat something with nutritional content soon after the sugar tablet because if not, his sugar will drop again and it will be worse. It might be hard at first, especially given his age but with practice, he'll do fine.

Thank you, Celeste. I'm glad that you've found foods and habits that work for you. Thank you for sharing them with me. My son is having a little bit of trouble adjusting, but he is trying to do what the doctor ordered. So, I have to give him credit for that. For him, the biggie seems to be Slim Jims and beef jerky. Peanut butter and crackers work for him, too. He's WILLING to snack on these things. He's starting to get the hang of eating breakfast, too. He was skipping it or having a piece of candy. Not a good way to start the day. But, he's doing better. Thanks, again, for your help.

Hi DRG,
I have terrible Hypo-attacks. Once they start, I have minutes to get some peanut butter and orange juice and then lay down. He needs to have snacks with fiber. I thought if I had a huge glass of OJ in the morning I would not have an attack. To the contrary, OJ rises your glucose and then drops it super-fast - The same problem with candy. He needs to eat something that will stay in his stomach a while. Eight tp ten almonds are recommended as a snack by my dietician.

HI DRG,
I was diagnosied with hypoglycemia when I was 17 so I can relate with what your son is going through.I too wasn't a breakfast eater, and it took me about 3 years of continous headaches, dizzy spells, fogginess and spending alot of time at the doctors, when the doctor finally told me I can continue to take your money but until you realize that you are what you eat and you need to exercise daily did I make a change. I started running,and went on a high protein, low carb, low fat diet and I started feeling better. Three pm is my worst time of the day so I will eat a hard boiled egg or pnut butter with apples, cheese stick and apples, or a protein drink(little to no sugars),nuts, or yogurt with nuts, meat and cheese rolled up. It may help him to stay off white bread and refined sugars as much as possible. Eating breakfast is my main meall By eating six small meals a day you will keep your sugar up and feel better. Add some exercise on a consisitent basis and things may come around for him.

Ihope this helps.

Well, it's been a few months since my son's diagnosis and I'm not sure what to think. For a little while he was doing better. But, the last week or so he's gone backwords. Even though he's trying to follow the high-protein diet and trying to cut down on sugars and carbs, he's back to feeling really bad. We went on a trip to Texas over the weekend to buy a car from his brother. We made it back to Missouri, but not home. My son passed out behind the wheel and totalled the Mustang that he had just gotten the evening before. Luckily, nobody else was involved in the wreck and he wasn't hurt. Both of my sons and I are very unhappy about the loss of the car. But, I'm thanking the Lord like crazy that my son is still alive. The wreck occurred on a very busy interstate at 10:45am on Monday. Lots of traffic. He hit the guardrail on the right side of the road and spun across two lanes of traffic and ended up sideways in the median. I saw it in my rearview mirror. Talk about a sickening sight! I was SO HAPPY to see him get out and walk around. Anyway, I have contacted an endocrinologist and am going to try and get him some help with his health.

Has anyone else had a problem with passing out from hypoglycemia?

Take care everybody!

I can totally relate! I have severe hypoglycemia and have a hard time eating. It's to the point where nothing ever sounds good. People ask what my favorite food is and I have none because it seems like I just hate everything equally.

None the less, I have to eat. It's either that or have a seizure or pass out.
Here are some snacks that I try:

-cheddar rice cakes w/ turkey lunch meat (sounds gross, but it's really good)
-peanut butter crackers
-fruit smoothie w/ silken tofu (for the protein..you can't taste the tofu, but it keeps me from dropping low)
-cereal in the morning with protein powder in it.
-soy joy bars


those are just a few. I am still struggling myself to find things i like. I know that mixing it up is best. Eating 6 times a day is tough and you want to grab something quick, but then we get tired of the same things over and over.

Best of luck! I will definitely let you know when I find new things and ideas!

Thanx, Nikki! I'll suggest these ideas to him and see what he does with them. If you should come up with more, please let me know. I hope that you're doing okay.

drg,

I am SO glad that your son walked out of that one.

My husband has been trying to get a DX on this SAME thing. It happened when I was with him, he was the driver. I was rading a magazine and I felt the bumpy roadside and heard the gravel tossing. I looked over and he was out! I backhanded his arm and yelled and he got back to it quick. He has explained this to about 5-6 MD's and no DX yet. All his blood tests are "normal". One doctor told him to come in when it happens, but HOW can you? It happens when it happens and has NO special time it does and it does not happen all the time, this is SO unpredictable and he has told the MD's this. It just hits him and he is down. Then after the close call he wakes right back up, so he may never get DX'd. He drove 8 hours alone to visit his daughter and ended up taking a jug of orange juice, a thermos of coffee and LOTS of rest stops to stretch. I hope you all can get to the bottom of this.

Hi, Schauzermom! I'm so sorry to hear about your husband. I'm glad that you were able to get him to come to at the time that he had passed out. But, it's bad that the doctors can't come up with anything to help him. Strange that his blood tests all come out normal, but yet he keeps having problems. I wonder if there's something else that could be causing the blackouts? I'm taking my son to an endocrinologist on Thursday. Hopefully we'll learn something there. If I get anything good to share, I'll let you know. By the way, what type of blood tests has your husband had done? For my son, they just did a simple blood draw. But, I've been told for a "proper diagnosis" it has be a blood draw every so x number of minutes apart over an extended period of time, such as 6 or 8 hours. If this was not done, you might check on it. It's supposed to follow the highs and lows of the blood sugar count related to what you've eaten or had to drink and some time involved to get it through your system to see how your body reacts to it. I hope you can come up with something helpful for him. Take care.

Drg,
Hubby had MANY tests...CBC (complete blood count), CMP (complete metobolic profile), lipids, Clostridum Toxin test, Giardia Lamblia, Chemical Profile, TSHP/WBC and general health panel, urinalysis, 2 & 16 hydroxyesterone, Vitman D 25 hydroxy, ferritin, iron serum, Lactate dehydrogenase, phosphorus inorganic(phosphate), uric acid, total iron binding capacity, Insulin, Thyroid, Cortisol, DHEA serum, occult blood, metal toxicity and THAT is about it, thus far. He had this panel of stuff done in the begining of September and NOTHING. We hope this new diet from Dr. Mercola (mercola.com) will help this. The MD he/we see at Mercola's clinic seems to think it will, so we are extremely hopeful. I think you are right on with the blood sugar thing. My husband has a HUGE adversion to needles and would not do the blood draw throughout the day thing. Thank goodness some of the above tests were saliva, stool, urine samples. My husband changed his diet according to Mercola's suggestions and hubby said he ate lunch at 1pm and noticed a "dip" as he felt tired, so he grabbed a Lara bar and within a half hour, he was back to feeling awake again.

I hope your son will get answers. I know this is very frustrating to deal with. Please let me know. I will have him in my thoughts and prayers.

Schnauzermom--Wow! What a bunch of tests!! Most of them I've never heard of before. I sure wish that they had been able to come up with some answers for him out of them all. Very discouraging, I'm sure.

What I keep getting told, for now, and it seems to be working somewhat for William, is to follow a high-protein diet, avoid carbs and sugars and eat six times a day. Also, to keep a little sugar around in case the blood sugar drops too low. Biggest thing is to eat breakfast, even though most times you don't feel like it.

Good luck and more!

Debbie

drg,

LOL! The tests I am not even sure what they all are for either!

YES! Today, my husband voiced his concerns again now with the dietician at Mercola's clinic. She told him his sugar level drops, so he needs a MASSIVE amount of protien for breakfast and for lunch, even fish and red meat (organic only) for breakfast. (I could NOT do that, too heavy!)Hubby can have carbs, but they need to be vegi or fruit only. He also is steering clear of grains and sugar that is not fruit sugar found naturally. We shall see how he fairs out. I hope this also works for William.

Schnauzermom...I'm very confused now, too. I took my son to an endocrinologist this afternoon. Long visit. Lots of questions. They drew blood. Talked about all kinds of tests and different possible diagnoses. The doctor told us that William can't have hypoglycemia--that hypoglycemia isn't something you can have. It's a side-effect of something else. I really wonder if the root of his problem is anxiety. Anyway, the doctor was going to put him through a bunch of tests. So, we'll see what happens. I'll let you know when I find out anything. Take care.

drg,

I know! My husband has been dealing with this since he was a kid. he is 45 now. Some of he MD's said it was stress, others were clueless, others said for him to come in when it happens but how can you? When it happens, he basically gets the head bobs and then he is out until I poke him one or he hears the gravel and feels the bumps. One MD thought he had that disorder (forgot the name) where people just "fall asleep" on the spot, but it does not happen all the time. What my husband has found a pattern of is...

1) If he is sitting for long periods of time, either at work or driving, it happens.
2) If he skips meals, it happens.

On Wednesday, my husband INCREASED his protien intake. He started to take skinless, boneless, no breading chicken tenders. (I season with garlic, olive oil.) When he starts to feel like he is going to "nod off", he eats 1-2 chicken tenders and he has noticed he is back to normal again within a half hour! He also started to include MORE protien in his breakfast (2 raw eggs in an egg nog shake which is rice milk, the egg, cinnamon, nutmeg blended, 2 eggs scrambled with veggies, 3-4 chicken or turkey sausage links or a slab of ham and a veggie juice) and lunch is a veggie juice, salad and chicken, turkey, or steak. Dinner is a veggie juice, salad, a fowl or fish protien with 1 veggie. He states he has noticed an improved difference. He says he feel more "with it" and is not getting foggy headed and wanting to nod off. The nutrition plan he is following is at http://www.mercola.com/nutritionplan/index.htm and it is the "Protien Type". Maybe a nutritionist that is familiar with the METOBOLIC PROFILING TYPE can help him divise a diet plan that may help him. He also has a book about this diet, maybe you can check it out from the library. I hope this helps. Please keep us updated how William is progessing.
Take care! Liz