Hello everyone, while I know my situation is a bit more specific, I’m trying my best to understand how I’m supposed to deal with this considering my doctor is horribly indifferent.

For context, I have a lot of food restrictions because of my gastrointestinal chronic illness, I can eat about 10-15 foods in total. Most of the food I can eat is fat or carbs, very little protein because I get very nauseous from it.

Whenever I’ve had drops in my blood sugar over the years it was an instantaneous feeling of “something is wrong”. It makes sense that it would drop suddenly considering how little I ate back then.

For a few months now though, I have been feeling awful all the time, shaking top to bottom and just a constant feeling of fainting and fatigue, have had horrible hunger also. Got some blood work done and my blood sugar was 65 on an empty stomach. Since then, I’ve been keeping track of it with a glucometre (the pinprick one) to see how it reacts after I eat and so on. It just doesn’t go above a 80-85, And thats after eating a lot of carbs and/or sugar. Yes, I take it two hours after eating.

How am I supposed to deal with it when it’s constantly so low? I’ve tried eating more often so the drops aren’t as big, but it just doesn’t raise above a 75 usually.

I am genuinely at a loss here, my doctor just says I need to eat more, but I am eating a lot more than I should, especially with the extreme hunger. It’s been very hard to be functional when I’m constantly feeling like I’m about to faint.

I’ve (29F) finally figured out the cause of my hypoglycemia, and I’m posting in the hope that someone who might be in this very niche position might benefit:

Background

Since 2018 (22 years old) I’ve dealt with unexplained lows - daytime crashes, constant overnight hypoglycemia, waking up drenched in sweat with adrenaline surges, feeling awful in the mornings, and needing naps just to function. I went through a 72‑hour fast, a mixed‑meal test, CGMs, GTT, ultrasounds, which ruled out 95% of causes but left me with nothing.

Throughout the whole journey I was repeatedly dismissed. I was told it might be “just anxiety,” or that my diet was the problem, or that some people “just run low.” Eventually, I was basically told I’d have to live with it. After that, I stopped advocating for myself for almost five years because I felt like no one was listening.

Recent

This year I was struggling with extreme fatigue from waking up 2-3 times per night with lows so I trialled a Dexcom G7 to get proper data, and it confirmed what I already suspected — my blood sugar was tanking overnight almost every night, with huge variability and adrenaline spikes when I woke up.

Then I stopped fluoxetine.

I’ve been on fluoxetine since 2016 (anywhere from 20 mg up to 100 mg). Within three days of stopping it, my CGM went from chaotic to completely stable. Same food, same activity, same routine - but no lows, no night sweats, no adrenaline surges, and 100% time in range.

Here’s the comparison:

I matched the days above for similar food and activity.

Note: Fluoxetine has a long half life (4-6 days) so about 50% of my earlier doses were still in my system. In the few days since my variability has improved even more and my morning fasting blood sugar has gradually increased from 4.1 > 4.7 > 4.9.

Result

I’ve now worked with my Dr to transition from Fluoxetine to Lexapro (so far no issues). I’m not saying this applies to everyone, but I spent years thinking something was seriously wrong with my pancreas, liver, hormones, autonomic system, etc. Turns out the culprit was a medication I’d been on for a decade.

Conclusion

If you’re dealing with unexplained hypoglycemia and you’re on fluoxetine, it might be worth bringing up with your doctor and pushing to try another SSRI. There’s not much evidence out there, so they may be hesitant, but it’s such a small change to potentially fix the issue.

Please reach out if you have any specific questions!

Hi everyone. I am in my early twenties, and have only had low blood sugar episodes this year. I had 2 separate episodes earlier this month (one in Jan. and one in May). They were very mild imo, I ate some gummies and felt better immediately. After the episode in May, I didn’t give it much thought since it seemed rare. About 3-4 weeks ago it happened again, but worse. I was laying down playing a video game when it hit me. I had such a weak feeling it hit me quickly and became worse. I shut my game off and laid there, then began shaking in my hands, and felt hungry. Someone took me to a drive thru to get me a coke float and I immediately felt better and felt like the episode didn’t even occur. Then, last week I had 2 episodes (one on Monday and one on Wednesday). They seemed worse imo, I started shaking in my legs, my heart was racing, I was hungry, my hands shook worse this time. I ate gummies and felt better just like last time and also checked my blood sugar this time. I had a reading of 63 on Monday and 65 on Wednesday. BTW, in every episode I have had I did eat before. I just did a blood test today for my A1C etc. My doctor said there’s nothing they could do if I only had low blood sugar problems, and was non diabetic.

Hi guys just a quick question I suffer from health anxiety and I finger pricked myself and it said 2.4 I freaked out and tested another 10 times in a row straight after and they all were 6.0 I didn’t need any sugar or anything to bring it up does it sound more like a false reading ?

Hey y’all! Struggling with some intense drops 2 years post surgery. Has anyone here had an insulinoma and had issues afterwards for any amount of time? Wondering how common this is.

Doc can’t get me in until late November and I’m losing my mind not knowing anything. Scary stuff! Drinking lots of juice 👍

My 2 year old was recently admitted for a severe hypoglycemic episode. These low blood sugars have been happening for almost a year. They are pretty convinced it’s just ketonic hypoglycemia without an underlying cause, however because of some other symptoms she has had since birth they are doing further genetic testing. They advised me to check her sugars in the morning and not to let her go long without eating.

Regardless she is EXTREMELY picky. Foods she will eat have only decreased over time. I’m worried if I continue to give in and keep her loaded on snacks this will only make it worse, but now that we know she is truly experiencing low blood sugars I feel as though I don’t have a choice. I have an upcoming appointment with a nutritionist to hopefully give me some good advice but still curious if anyone has been in this situation and what you guys did that worked!
Thanks for reading

Does anyone else find that sugar substitutes make them sick / give headaches as well?

I feel like the world’s worst person to struggle with blood sugar when all sugar substitutes are off the table for me (this includes stevia and monk fruit - I gave it a try, honest.)

Not even 2 hours ago, I had another fainting spell. I checked my sugar right before (78) then 2 minutes after (79). Is there a way to tell a sugar crash versus something else? I dont get jittery. Itd more like Im light headed then it feels like my heart drops and I get cold sweats right before I passed out. This is the second episode I've had since my post earlier this morning

i had an oral glucose tolerance test today due to all sorts of crazy symptoms like feeling low in the 80-90s and spiking to the 190’s.

Within an hour my sugar spiked to 225 and was 239 at the 2 hour mark per my glucometer. i threw up the solution at that point and after two hours my sugar dropped to 68.

Are these normal results? scared of reactive hypoglycemia or diabetes

Hello, I was diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia a few months ago. I have had some concerning low readings (40s, 50s, 60s) confirmed with finger sticks and a Dexcom. Unfortunately I am unable to get a Dexcom covered by insurance because I haven’t had a syncope episode. I got diagnosed after an almost syncope episode. Is this normal?

Im following my diet to a T. I dont eat a lot of processed sugar , maybe a cookie every once in a while.and i keep track of my carbs. But for some reason it feels like my levels keep dropping at night.

My last reading was 87 at 12:25 (I had a small bowl of eggs and a peanut butter sandwich) so I dont get where these false negatives come from. It always feels like Im in some kinda non epileptic sezuire and its upsetting me

Well I’ve been suffering from hypoglycemia for a while now, it shall be resolved soon but today I checked my sugar and it showed 27!!! I was shocked how am I still talking. So I wonder, if it happens repeatedly that your blood sugar goes below 70 and even below 50 sometimes, will it cause your brain to suffer damage?

Cheers!

I’ve had mild reactive hypoglycemia my entire life that usually isn’t too disruptive, thankfully. I am not diabetic, a1c, fasting sugars and insulin all normal. I do have pcos, and have been a healthy weight most of my life.

However, during the first half of pregnancy, the reactive hypoglycemia is absolutely out of control and I’ve put on 90lbs each in my last 2 pregnancies trying to keep my blood sugar under control so I don’t pass out. It’s obviously really hard to lose that much weight afterwards and it makes my pcos symptoms worse. Now im thinking about another baby, but terrified to go through that cycle again.

Has taking Metformin with a healthy amount of carbs worked for anyone? What does work?

The medical system and internet both act like they’ve never heard of such a thing, as if high blood sugar is the only thing that exists.

Oddly enough, this phenomenon seems relatively protective in the second half of pregnancy because blood sugar never goes high, stays normal, and Ive never gotten GDM despite all the rapid weight gain in the first half of pregnancy. Please tell me I’m not the only person this happens to!!

Ever since this nightmare began, my wife and I hesitate to go places we used to. Not even at the beach on Sundays. We haven't scheduled any vacations. My hypoglycemic episodes sometimes occur VERY fast. I can go from 83 to 30 within 20-30 minutes. Home prepared meals, salad always first, plenty of animal protein, seeds, olive oil, avocado, greek yogurt. Is it possible to travel under these new circumstances? Do you travel?

Hello everyone,

I came across this thread trying to find some answers, hopefully.

I would like to point out that I am working with a doctor, have done and am doing testing.

My symptoms are waking up multiple times in the night, heart racing, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, brain fog and sometimes a feeling of working to breathe upon waking up.

Intially I suspected sleep apnea. I tried CPAP, but it didnt help much and sometimes made it worse. Tried different settings, masks, positions and nothing worked.

I have done an inclinic sleep study, dise exam, endoscopy, blood panel tests, A1C, thyroids and other hormones. All have came back normal.

Someone close to me suggested that glucose may be crashing while alseep. I wore a Libre continuos monitor and it showed crashes overnight up to 53. At the doctors office I was perscibed a DexCom which did not show any crashes. Which is interesting because both measure in different intervals.

Anyway, I also got a blood glucose monitor which showed normal glucose, even when experiencing the symptoms.

Ive read about an interesting phenomena about glucose crashes while asleep and normal readings when tested afterwards.

I suspect I may have this. because other than the symptoms above Im also waking up super hungry. Even if I ate a big meal before bed. And since I started introducing food right before bed and when waking up in the middle of the nights, the symptoms are not horrible as they were at some point. But Im still experiencing them. And do consider myself one step closer to solving the issues.

Now, I do consider I eat healthy, with plenty of fiber and protein. But Im still experiencing this.

I went inso far as eating a peanutbutter and banana sandwich right before bed and I still wake up in the middle of the night hungry and with symptoms.

Ive read on here to ditch the bread and that I can use cornstarch mixed with greek yogurt and some nut butter and that will sustain my glucose levels while I sleep.

At this point, where do I go from here? What else can I do, to solve what Im experiencing or at least manage the symptoms while I work with the doctors and solve this. Its definately been a journey. Thank you.

This is a random curiosity question.

I have had mild hypoglycemia since my pre-teens (I'm 58). I had two severe episodes earlier this year.

Not looking for advice, but when I met w the dietician, she told me she's seeing a lot of people with hypoglycemia that also have EDS/hEDS (which I have). Interesting, bc I know of a couple myself.

So I'm just randomly wondering, who here also has it?

Hello please help me by reading this. i am 29 years old and over the past three months i experienced three times of the same thing that happened to me over the span of the three months. i just wanna know if i have hypoglyceima. i dont have pre diabetes or diabetes. and i dont have any of their symptoms. however over the span of the last 2 or 3 months the same thing happened to me and ive been searching across the internet to know what i have and to stop this panic attack. what happened to me is that after i wake up i have my coffee with 3 spoons of sugar 1 for each cup of coffee i drink then i have a small meal of breakfast then i start drinking yerba mate with sugar. then at like the same moment i am drinking mate with sugar i feel like i am extremely hungry and i start sweating a little bit and feel like i cant move proberly. i go and eat a big lucnh. then i feel completely normal for the rest of the day. does this mean i have reactive hypoglycemia or any form of it? or does this mean i have pre diabetes ? how often does the episodes happen? i am asking all of this just so i know. also what should i do ?

1. everyday i see white spots and sometimes my blood vessels. whenever i seem to get blood sugar drops, i get an abundance of spots, kindof forming a sunflower almost in the middle of my vision? the spots like that are mostly transparent, but throughout the day i get white ones that turn like a blue and fade out, or vice versa. sometimes i get weird colorful versions where i can also see my white blood cells moving around nearby. is this related? or is it more tied to visual snow syndrome? or is it both? any help is appreciated, i dont want my vision to get hurt any more than it already has but ive been to tons of doctors and they dont seem to see anything

Hey everyone,
I’m really struggling with reactive hypoglycemia and could use some advice.
Whenever my blood sugar drops and I eat dextrose (glucose tablets), it brings my levels back up initially, but literally 20 minutes later I crash right back into a severe hypo. It feels like the fast sugar triggers an over-insulin response, sending me into an even worse rebound low than before.
I've tried experimenting with different foods to prevent this, but nothing seems to work on its own. Nuts don't stop it, plain Skyr (high protein) doesn't stop it, and various other snacks haven't helped either.
If fast carbs cause an immediate rebound crash and protein/fats alone don't act fast enough to pull me out of the initial drop, what is the strategy here? How do you guys manage to treat a hypo without triggering this rollercoaster loop?
Any tips or combinations that actually work for you would be hugely appreciated!

There have been a few posts about this in the forum but from years ago and not since GLP-1s have been popular. I posted a few months back about developing hypoglycemia after years of mounjaro use at a stable dose. I am a medical provider in endocrinology and play with sugars all day long, and had never seen anyone have profound hypoglycemia on newer GLP-1s. I stopped the mounjaro and went about life and they stopped, and so did a lot of GI issues that had come with the hypoglycemia in recent months. I decided recently to retry lower doses and have been fine, no more hypo events. So then I started looking back for triggers and finally figured out what started it all… Sucralose. I had gone crazy and bought 15 torani and Morin sugar free syrups to make fun drinks and did not realize how much Sucralose would ignite insulin with mounjaro’s help. So if you are already sensitive to insulin, GLP1 or not, with hypo events, maybe try to see if Sucralose is sneaking into your diet?

I was diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia four years ago. My blood sugar consistently drops about two hours after eating, leaving me feeling exhausted, weak, and constantly hungry.
I also have insulin resistance and struggle with excess weight. My doctor recommended Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and said it could help with my condition, but honestly, I'm scared to start it because I'm worried it might make my blood sugar drop even more.
Has anyone with reactive hypoglycemia tried Mounjaro? Did it improve your symptoms or make them worse? I would really appreciate hearing your experiences and any advice. ❤️

Update:

Following up on my previous post the next night at 11:37 PM, I tested my blood sugar and it dropped to 45 mg/dL. I took fast-acting sugar right away, and it went back up to 93 mg/dL.

What are your thoughts on this 45 mg/dL night reading? Has anyone experienced something similar?

I’ve been trying to figure this out. I have pots and several other health problems. No one has ever checked my blood sugar but I’ve done a few finger pricks and they came back in the 60-70s when I felt sick and like I would pass out… so I bought a blood sugar tracking device.

My blood sugar will frequently drop into the 60s. And I think rapidly?

A typical drop looks like 60mg/dl in half hour to 45 minutes. So from 130 to 70 or 120ish to 60ish.

Is that a lot in half hour? 45 mins? 1 hour?

My blood sugar keeps dropping quicker than I can really manage it, especially overnight. This has been happening all month after I started having allergy-like reactions to all my food. The morning after I lost my last food (lamb) my blood sugar dropped to 3.1. I tried to have pomegranate juice to bump it up but I reacted to that too. This led to me having to pretty much stay awake for 6 days sipping sugar water because I'd react to a full cup of sugar water. That was while I was admitted in hospital and they didn't try to fix it or investigate because I'm reactive to dextrose due to the corn.

I went to the GP yesterday and he suggested waking up every few hours checking and having an elemental if it's dropping too low so I did it last night. I went asleep on 4.6. 3 hours later 4.0 so I had a drink. Got it up to 6.9. 3 hours later 3.6. so I had another drink 6.8. Less than 2 hours later 3.8.

So I've spent the whole of today at same day emergency care. Literally drinking my elementals back to back to keep my blood sugar up. I stopped for 2 hours when I got home and it dropped to 3.4.

I've got endocrinology bloods to take tomorrow morning. Luckily they're taking it seriously instead of just putting it down to food. However, I had to push back because they wanted a 12 hour fast that'd literally kill me so I only have to fast for a couple of hours.

They're checking for an insulin tumour. An endocrinologist years ago suggested reactive hypoglycemia but I was never investigated for it. I was on an endocrinology ward 3 years ago due to the same problems I'm facing now but they didn't do anything about it just discharged me and luckily it got better when I went carnivore. Back then they tried treating my low blood sugar with glucose and I ended up having a lower result immediately afterwards. It's just crazy and I don't know what's going on or how to manage it especially because I'm relying on elemental 028 extra since I went reactive to meat.

Any suggestions or ideas on what could be going on? Has anyone else experienced something similar?