When my husband and I were first dating we were walking in Seattle sightseeing.  He started to have clammy sweats and began to feel shaky and weak.  His first response was to go back to the hotel and lie down.  I told him I thought he was having a low blood sugar and he needed to eat.

I guided him to a restaurant and ordered a full meal for him.  After eating he felt nauseous and sleepy.  He went and laid down for a while, and when he got up he felt better.  I suggested to him to get a glucose tolerance test to see if he was hypoglycemic. Rather then take my advice, a few months later he went out for a long run and didn't eat properly before.  He had cut his run short, struggled to get back to his car and passed out in the car.  He made it to a convenience store where he ran in bought a box of fiddle faddle, m&ms(1 lb!) and a large coke.  Proceeded to eat it in the car and after felt sick, tired and shook from head to toe.  

Since we've been together( now 16 years) he has not had the problem.  I base his diet more heavily on protein to stabilize his metabolism and he can have complex carbs, which burn slower.  Look at symptoms for hypoglycemia and see if you match.  If so make a journey to the docs office and have a glucose tolerance test to see what your blood sugar does.  

Hi Vivaelvispaula,

What you are experiencing is hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. If you are a diabetic, then you should monitor these episodes by testing your blood sugar. If you are low, then you need to raise your blood sugar slowly and smartly. Eating a bunch of sugar foods is not the answer. If you are experiencing hypoglycemia the best thing is a small glass of orange juice. If that is not available, then table sugar or hard candies are ok substitutes. The idea is to take a little and wait 10 minutes or so and test your blood glucose. If it is still too low, then take some more and wait 10 minutes and repeat the test. By stuffing yourself with sugary foods, you overload your system and then experience the sleepiness that is associated to having high blood sugars.

You can read more about this in the the overview located here. The best defense is a good offense. Don't allow yourself to go low. There are tips for avoiding Hypoglycemia here.

Take care of yourself and stay in touch. Let us know how you are doing!

Vicki M

It's unclear from your question (and from your profile) whether you have a diagnosis of diabetes, prediabetes, prior GDM, or a family history of diabetes. If you do, it seem likely that your symptoms are related to hypoglycemia. And if you don't, there's still a chance.

What to do?

First, if you have access to a home glucose meter, check your BG at the time you have symptoms; if your BG is low, then you probably do have hypoglycemia.

Second, talk to your physician. He/she may advise additional testing (such as an oral glucose tolerance test), and will prescribe a meal plan for you.

It'd also be a good idea to talk over your meal plan with a trained dietitian, preferably one with the CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator) credentials.

Hope this helps! 

Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar is scary when you first start experiencing it. 

Also, it's very hard to combat the urge to eat a bunch of carbohydrates as fast as you can until you feel better.  However, the amount of sugar or carbs that you actually need to raise your blood sugar sufficiently is usually only 15-20 grams.  You can easily eat upwards of 100 grams of carbohydrates or more if you keep eating until the symptoms subside.  That's because it takes awhile for the sugar to get into your blood.

It took me several years to master my lows and treat them efficiently.  Now, I'll usually just drink some orange juice or eat a few glucose tablets and wait (sometimes it's difficult!) for my blood sugar to rise. 

Good luck!

Kelsey