Lumifer comments on Optimal eating (or rather, a step in the right direction) - Less Wrong

5 Post author: c_edwards 19 January 2015 01:35AM

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Comment author: c_edwards 29 January 2015 01:42:09PM *  0 points [-]

Agreed. "hypoglycemia" is really the symptom, not the cause.

What I have appears to be a genetic disorder (my father and his father had it) that doesn't seem to be associated with any other health impacts. I recently realized that I should probably actually get the specifics pinned down, and that's something I'm going to work on in the future.

My understanding (through my father, who had his hypoglycemia tested when he was younger) is that my pancreas overreacts, putting out more insulin than is necessary for any given blood sugar level. It's particularly problematic when I consume simple sugars, as my pancreas drastically overshoots. The consequence is that, unless I eat slow-digesting foods every few hours, I feel cranky/exhausted/sad/impatient, get the shakes, and have general weakness in my muscles. If I continue to not eat, my emotional state stabilizes and I simply get really really tired. Not life threatening, but a serious interference with happiness/productivity.

But I will be looking more specifically into the causes, instead of my father's interpretation of his own diagnoses from forty years ago.

Comment author: Lumifer 29 January 2015 04:13:10PM 0 points [-]

Hypoglycemia is a symptom of diabetes. What you are describing is consistent with this.

Go talk to a doctor and do some blood tests, specifically fasting glucose and HbA1C.

Comment author: c_edwards 29 January 2015 05:49:30PM 0 points [-]

Thank you for the advice - something I've already had in the works. My understanding is that typically diabetes-caused hypoglycemia is usually helped (and not harmed) by the consumption of simple sugars? One of the defining characteristics of my condition is that simple sugars make things worse, especially when I'm already experiencing the symptoms of hypoglycemia.

Comment author: Lumifer 29 January 2015 05:54:07PM 0 points [-]

Well, let's put it this way avoiding specific diagnoses: your insulin/sugar regulating system is screwed up. This is pretty common and pretty bad for your health. You should pinpoint the exact problem and fix it to the extent possible.