Possible Blood Sugar problem

chainsaw

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I know its hard to guess what is going on, and without a glucometer its a real long shot.

Here is the situation. I wake up after 8 hours of sleep I eat within the first 30 minutes usually between 8-8:15. I have 4 whole eggs, 1 peice of bacon, 1 slice of toast, and three packets of instant oatmeal. Within 1 hour and 30 minutes of eating I feel dead, weak, flat, I want to go to sleep, just really exhausted. So I am guessing this is blood sugar related.

Maybe there is too high of a insulin spike and I am going hypo in a hour and a half? I thought that oatmeal had a low GI and did give off that much of a insulin response?

I have been doing this for the past week and it happens everytime.

By the way if it helps I am a ectomorph so I need big calories for maintence, hence why it is a large breakfast.
 
Chub

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Go to the doctors and see what he says. Or wait it someone else replies. I don't know much info on the subject. Thats my two cents :)
 

chainsaw

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I will go to a doctor eventually, I hate to say it but I have a hard time with doctors, unless it is cut and dry they don't have answers. I feel they won't take into account my bodytype, they will say something like "You look healthy, it is probably nothing, or they will prescribe medication" Only reason why I am going is so I can get a glucometer with my insurance.

O/T I have 3 bulging disc's and a SI joint problem, I went to see an Ortho about he suggest I have colon cancer because I have similar pain symptoms?
 
sf9ersfan8

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i know that earlier in the morning and later at night your body has the potiential to handle insulin a little more poorly compared to the middle of the day. dont know if your necessarily having an insulin spike tho. i used to get that feeling to, i have to eat a small breakfast then eat something bigger an hour-hour and a half later. your not stuffing yourself are you, kinda sounds like a lot.
 
Hank Vangut

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yeah, ask your doctor for a glucose test.
blood sugar imbalance can be dangerous.
 

chainsaw

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i know that earlier in the morning and later at night your body has the potiential to handle insulin a little more poorly compared to the middle of the day. dont know if your necessarily having an insulin spike tho. i used to get that feeling to, i have to eat a small breakfast then eat something bigger an hour-hour and a half later. your not stuffing yourself are you, kinda sounds like a lot.

Right after my second meal I feel better which is 2-3 hours after my first meal. But still it scares me because it could mean something like diabetes. And the not so serious its affects on bodybuilding glucose storage, muscle wasting, etc...
 
Nitrox

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I know its hard to guess what is going on, and without a glucometer its a real long shot.

Here is the situation. I wake up after 8 hours of sleep I eat within the first 30 minutes usually between 8-8:15. I have 4 whole eggs, 1 peice of bacon, 1 slice of toast, and three packets of instant oatmeal. Within 1 hour and 30 minutes of eating I feel dead, weak, flat, I want to go to sleep, just really exhausted. So I am guessing this is blood sugar related.

Maybe there is too high of a insulin spike and I am going hypo in a hour and a half? I thought that oatmeal had a low GI and did give off that much of a insulin response?

I have been doing this for the past week and it happens everytime.

By the way if it helps I am a ectomorph so I need big calories for maintence, hence why it is a large breakfast.
.

If you want to get a better idea of what it is before you go to the doctor do this experiment. One morning have something like a 3 or 4 egg omelette with veggies only - no additional calories (no fruit, juice, grits, go real easy on cooking oil, etc.)

The next morning have your 3 packets of oat meal and toast and nothing else.

If you feel ok after the omelette but crappy after the oatmeal/toast, then yes you could be looking at pre-diabetes. If that is the case you will have low insulin and be hyperglycemic.

This can show up more often in the morning because after long periods of inactivity (sleeping) insulin sensitivity drops. Once you get up and start moving around it improves again (so a huge carb meal first thing in the morning isn't necessarily the right thing to do).

Like you I am ecto and my diabetes explains years of being a hardgainer. Get to a doc ASAP as those are serious symptoms.
 

chainsaw

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It's not too much carbs around 74g anyone know anything about glycemic load?
 
sf9ersfan8

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It's not too much carbs around 74g anyone know anything about glycemic load?
whats your weight &lbm, thats a LOT of carbs at once, try having something small at first and a little bigger about an hour later. 25g then 50g.
 

chainsaw

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Why do I bother...

Sorry I worded the statment wrong, I was asking if 74g of carbs is too much? Thanks for all your help.

By the way I ran the same amount of eggs this morning and no carbs, just a few peppers and onions in the eggs. I don't feel sleepy or lethargic. Tommorow I try the just carb method. I will be seeing the DR. next week.

The reason I go with that many carbs is because that is where I am trying to get my calories from, I am running a 60/30/10 diet. I got this idea because from reading the ectomorph should have a 2:1 Carb to Protein ratio.
 
sf9ersfan8

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Sorry I worded the statment wrong, I was asking if 74g of carbs is too much? Thanks for all your help.

By the way I ran the same amount of eggs this morning and no carbs, just a few peppers and onions in the eggs. I don't feel sleepy or lethargic. Tommorow I try the just carb method. I will be seeing the DR. next week.

The reason I go with that many carbs is because that is where I am trying to get my calories from, I am running a 60/30/10 diet. I got this idea because from reading the ectomorph should have a 2:1 Carb to Protein ratio.
whats your weight? i wouldnt sweat the doc's bro, you've probably just solved your problem. remember the key is not just nutrients, but nutrient timing. let us know how tomorow goes anyway.
 

chainsaw

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whats your weight? i wouldnt sweat the doc's bro, you've probably just solved your problem. remember the key is not just nutrients, but nutrient timing. let us know how tomorow goes anyway.

205-210 about 11%BF. I going to try find more info on all of this. Conventional advice for ectomorphs is to use tons of calories, and that is what I need to gain weight. And with 60% calories coming from carbs it is becoming a problem.

How exactly do carbs impact the bodybuilders diet both in a negative way and a postive way. I read protein needs carbs to shuttle nutrients, so how does the protein and vegatable diet accomplish bodybuilding?
 
Nitrox

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Sorry I worded the statment wrong, I was asking if 74g of carbs is too much? Thanks for all your help.

By the way I ran the same amount of eggs this morning and no carbs, just a few peppers and onions in the eggs. I don't feel sleepy or lethargic. Tommorow I try the just carb method. I will be seeing the DR. next week.

The reason I go with that many carbs is because that is where I am trying to get my calories from, I am running a 60/30/10 diet. I got this idea because from reading the ectomorph should have a 2:1 Carb to Protein ratio.
Gotcha.

Insulin and blood sugar management isn't just about carbs. Unfortunately most non-diabetics (and even many diabetics) don't know that. Total daily calories consumed and meal frequency are also factors that affect it. 300g of carbs on a 2000 cal diet over 6 meals per day might not lead to symptoms but those same 300g on a 3000 cal diet over a standard 3 meals per day could. Quality of those carbs is important as well. Fruits and legumes are much better than breads, pastas, and other refined carbs.

If your doc doesn't suggest one, ask for that glucose tolerance test. A fasting test may or may not show an abnormal result for the reason I just described. I slipped under the radar for several years because of it.
 

chainsaw

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Gotcha.

Insulin and blood sugar management isn't just about carbs. Unfortunately most non-diabetics (and even many diabetics) don't know that. Total daily calories consumed and meal frequency are also factors that affect it. 300g of carbs on a 2000 cal diet over 6 meals per day might not lead to symptoms but those same 300g on a 3000 cal diet over a standard 3 meals per day could. Quality of those carbs is important as well. Fruits and legumes are much better than breads, pastas, and other refined carbs.

If your doc doesn't suggest one, ask for that glucose tolerance test. A fasting test may or may not show an abnormal result for the reason I just described. I slipped under the radar for several years because of it.

Thanks for all of your help, hopefully it is nothing, I will post what my glucose tolerance test shows next week!
 

chainsaw

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Okay, I went to the DR. he is a douche bag, he told me that they hardly ever run a glucose tolerence test. He took some blood but I don't know what that is going to show him. He gave me a glucometer, and today I ran a test.

First thing in the morning (so fasting) I tested my blood sugar, it was 76. I then ate, 4 eggs, 1 slice of bacon, 3 packets of oatmeal, 1 slice of toast. It was 80g of carbs.

I has been an hour after the start of my meal and I tested my blood sugar and it said 94. I will test again in another hour.

However doesn't this number seem kind of low for that amount of carbs?
 

chainsaw

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Blood Sugar 2 hours after start of first meal, 86. So everything seems fine?
 
Nitrox

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Okay, I went to the DR. he is a douche bag,
Couldn't help but laugh. A good doc who will work with you is hard to find. However, if he gave you a meter and some test strips you can kinda do your own testing without having to buck up for it yourself. Not a total douche bag...

he told me that they hardly ever run a glucose tolerence test. He took some blood but I don't know what that is going to show him. He gave me a glucometer, and today I ran a test.

First thing in the morning (so fasting) I tested my blood sugar, it was 76. I then ate, 4 eggs, 1 slice of bacon, 3 packets of oatmeal, 1 slice of toast. It was 80g of carbs.

I has been an hour after the start of my meal and I tested my blood sugar and it said 94. I will test again in another hour.

However doesn't this number seem kind of low for that amount of carbs?
He might have an A1C done on your blood sample. It will measure what your 3 month blod glucose average was.

76 first thing in the morning is a bit low. 'Textbook' is around 90 for fasting. Did the doc show you how to calibrate the meter if necessary?

After eating, you are looking for the change in levels. From 76 to 94 is about 20 points and not really unusual for a person with good insulin function.

How did you feel? Did you still get all sleepy and lethargic?
 

chainsaw

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I didn't feel sleepy this morning, so I am thinking there is other factors involved, as far as how many carbs I had the day prior. I will just have to test on one of the days I feel sleepy.

So what about insulin restistance?
 
Nitrox

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I didn't feel sleepy this morning, so I am thinking there is other factors involved, as far as how many carbs I had the day prior. I will just have to test on one of the days I feel sleepy.
Good plan. Given those numbers and the fact that meters can be somewhat inaccurate, I think the results are relatively normal.

So what about insulin restistance?
Unfortunately, without measuring your insulin levels there is no way to tell what your resistance is. Insulin tests are expensive - if your doc wont due a glucose tolerance test he probably wont do an insulin test given your results.

Since I have to take my own insulin (measured amounts) and I also follow a meal plan I can monitor my resistance. From my experience, what reduces insulin resistance the most is all the boring stuff that you hear from the medical community:

- Reduced calorie intake
- Smaller, more frequent meals
- Exercise (leg and HIIT cardio days especially)
- Whole food meals with somewhat balanced macros and limited starches.

Sorry no magic bullets (e.g. supplements).
 

chainsaw

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So there is no other way to tell if you are insulin resistant. I will try to get an insulin test.

My question now as how it relates to bodybuilding. Being an ecto and eating more calories I will get the glycemic load. Also to get to 5000 cals which I need to bulk some of those calories are from refined carbs.

Thanks for all your help.
 
crazyfool405

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text book is 70-90 most people lye in the 80-90 range,

100-120 is prediabetes


i think you may be eating too much causing you to feel that way all the blood rushed to digest the food,

how bout trying to have a weight gainer shake in the morning.
up your mass or cyto gainer may help
 
suncloud

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seriously, work out your legs harder. i know that sounds retarded. my best friend has type 1 - and although you're not really at risk for getting it (slow digesting carbs, and being an ecto), he found that working out his legs decreased the amount of insulin shots he needed. maybe you just need to get your insulin working better for you. it might just be about shoving those carbs into your muscles rather than having them float around in your bloodstream. that would usually be accompanied by headaches though. i'm not a doctor, so thats all i got for you.
 

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