As long as you feed Alan that diet, which is heart healthy and
similar to that which is used to control diabetes, you are not going to
see the same blood sugar fluctuations you had reported on the test.
That test administered glucose--- to see how it was absorbed and
metabolized.
When your diet has low glycemic carbs, and protein, these are metabolized slowly, to glucose in the body and wide fluctuations are less common.
If you want to see if you can duplicate the very low reading (assuming that low reading was not an error), you need to give Alan a sugar challenge, and test for 5 hours on a fast. The next best test is after the workout, before he eats
anything.
You can use glucose tablets for the challenge (glucose is best because it requires no metabolic change--other sugars have to be changed in the body to glucose and that takes TIME). Here is a website that gives estimated elevations for certain doses. You can call the lab and find out if Alan had a 50gm solution or 100 gram solution for his test.
Quote:
How much glucose is needed? A good rule of thumb is that 1 gram of glucose raises the blood sugar 3, 4, or 5 points for body weights of 200 lb., 150 lb., and 100 lb., respectively. For example, a 5-gram glucose tablet raises the blood sugar about 20 points at 150 lbs.
Use 15 to 20 grams of quick carbohydrate for all low blood sugars. Check to see how many grams are in each glucose tablet you use so that you actually get 15 to 20 grams. The quick carbs listed below should rapidly raise the blood sugar between 45 and 80 mg/dl (1.7 to 4.4 mmol) depending upon your weight. Test your blood sugar again in 20 to 30 minutes to ensure the low has been corrected.
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http://www.diabetesnet.com/diabetes_..._treatment.php
This quote is to raise extremely low blood sugars for diabetics. But the information can pertain to helping you test at home.
Since Alan does not show the typical low blood sugar responses your
job is more difficult.
reasons for this:
1) autonomic neuropathy which blocks the symptoms
2) poor adrenal function (blunts symptom response to lows)
3) poor nutrient absorption (sugar poorly absorbed from GI tract)
4) adequate protein which blunts the sugar response
5) since lots of time has passed, he may be ignoring or not sensing
symptoms
6) he is not able to communicate body impressions well
7) poor glycogen stores
8) he has felt this way for so long he has no other memory of feeling differently!
Since he has had the neuropathy for YEARS as you state, it is not inconceivable that he has some autonomic issues.
I used to have fasting sugars of 70 commonly, when my thyroid was hypo.
I used to feel awful too, when I had to fast for tests. When this was finally
found on a radio-uptake test (technicium scan) (my serum values were not that illustrative),
and I was put on thyroid hormone, my fasting sugars went to 90 and I could do the fasting tests without discomfort. It was a small thing, and the doctor overlooked the low values as "good" instead of wondering why it was so low and looking for a reason. I was like that for 15 yrs! And angry when it was finally fixed...all that time..I felt horrible.
Your other option is to have another test..to check to see if the first one was
done in error (testing failure), and also have it done for a
5hr test..longer, to see if the low readings persist. And of course at the same time you can have the fasting insulin taken, with the first fasting glucose sample.
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All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.-- Galileo Galilei
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Weezie looking at petunias 8.25.2017
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