My mother is the worst sugar addict ive ever seen. Should consumes over 4 liters of soda a day. She has been doing this for about 25 years. She says she has hypoglycemia (she is a nurse and tests her own blood sugar level) She can polish off a 6 pack of pepsi and have low blood sugar. I feel like she is killing herself and whenever I approach her, she gets very defensive. She says that in order to work, she has to consume the soda, and if it drops too low, she could die. Could anyone send me some links to articles? I need to show her scientific proof that she has a sugar disorder, and she can stabilize her sugar level in better ways. I dont even know whats wrong with her, I am hoping someone here has some insights. Yesterday she was carrying around a 2 liter of mt dew, and drinking like crazy. Her life is on the line here; her health is going downhill fast.

You're right...she is killing herself. Slowly. And, as a medical professional, she should know better.

What used to be called "hypoglycemia" is rapidly being changed in the medical terminology world to "prediabetic". It is well known (even to doctors!) that those who suffer from hypoglycemia normally get there after having been hyperglycemic which necessitates a huge insulin secretion, which results in hypoglycemia, which makes one feel swimmy-headed and hungry, which results in increased sugar intake, which results in hyperglycemia....

Get the picture? It's a horrible and viscous cycle. The only "cure" for this is for Mom to give up the sugar sodas, cold turkey. She could wean herself down to caffeinated sugar sodas and probably avoid the caffeine withdrawal, but she's still going to have "Induction Flu"-like symptoms from the sudden lack of sugar.

Life's too short to be hooked on anything other than smiling!

Thanks for responding. This is exactly what ive been suspicious of. I have talked to her about it, and she keeps saying "i have the complete opposite of diabetes." Her mother had diabetes, and suffered for years. My mother also has the classic weight that is centered around her middle area.

I just talked to her about it and she gave a valid response. She said that her blood sugar level is always low, and it never jumps around. Does that mean that she isnt prediabetic? I am confused....

Every time she gets a hit of the sugar in the soda, she'd get an insulin reaction... if she's always drinking it, her body is releasing more and more insulin and never getting a chance to normalize itself.

When's the last time she's been to the doctor, and has she been HONEST with him or her about how much she's consuming? I don't know ANY doctor who would prescribe chugging sugar all day as a tool to keep her blood sugar up. I suspect, being a nurse, she's diagnosing herself and self-treating... it's a common thing. Doctors and nurses can make the WORST patients!

i just discovered i am hypo.. i am going to the endo on monday. My BS is usually anywhere from 50-70. When i eat it will go up to about 90 then quickly come back down and stay there. I certainly dont think drinking sugar to bring it up would be a good idea.. but i dont know.

Hypoglycemia is caused from the body's cells being unable to absorb all the sugar one is throwing into the body. So, the pancreas will work overtime to produce a high amount of insulin to shove the glucose into the calloused cells. The spike in insulin will cause the sugar to drop too low. This will make the patient feel lithargic, weak and shaky. Usually sugar, mistakenly , is used to aleviate these symptoms. In actuality, it encourages the same vicious cycle. Sugar is the cause of her symptoms not the solution. As a nurse, your mom is aware of this fact.A pharmacist tried to explain this to me and I didn't listen. She told me that protein controls insulin and I did not believe her. I paid closer attention to the process by reading the Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution. I do recommend getting the Protein Power publication by Drs. Mary and Michael Eades. Page to give an excellent description of the process that leads to hyperinsulinema / low blood sugar / diabetes. Your mom should also realize that hypoglycemia leads to hyperglycemia
( diabetes ). She learned this in nursing school.

Oh BTW, I have been tested for hypoglycemia beacuse I had all the symptoms for it. Tests always came back negative. NOW that I am doing Atkins all of my symptoms have vanished. So I am certain that I am hypoglycemic regardless of the test results.

It means that she is treating her blood sugar with sugar. Her sugar level is low because her insulin level is high. Her insulin level is high because she consumes too much sugar. Stabilizing insulin levels will stabilize sugar levels.Proteins and fats will do the job not sugar. She would do herself a world of good if she would rid herself of the cause___ sugar.

It's so hard to get people to understand our logic on this, though. No matter how many times I explain to my mom about the roles of sugar, insulin, and glucagon in the body, she still insists I need to eat some bread or something to raise my blood sugar when it is low. What happens if I do so is my slightly low BG level of 70 will drop to 35-50. Still, they won't understand

Good luck with your mom, skibunnie. It's hard to overcome a lifetime of fat-phobia and carb-mania!

What baffles me is your mom is a nurse. This should be crystal clear to her. I began learning the facts thru a pharmacist. I shared with her my symptoms of hypoglycemia. She didn't necessarily tell me to reduce my sugar/carbohydrates but she did tell me to increase my protein.

Mio1996, I am glad that you mentioned the glucogon.
Skibunnie if insulin is not stable glucagon is not produced. This hormone is partnered with insulin only when insulin is balanced. With the production of glucagon, fats and cholesterol is brought down to normal. It does many other things to keep blood pressure normal and improve metabolism. This happens ONLY when insulin is balanced.So it is logical to deduct that your mom is dealing with numerous other health issues due to her insulin spikes.

That means nothing. I've seen the respiratory therapists at work suck gunk out of the lungs of a lung cancer patient on a ventilator and then go outside for a cigarette! 'Going for a breathing treatment' they call it. Half the nurses I work with smoke and they eat garbage, then say I'm killing myself by doing Atkins!

can eating too much protein cause blood sugar levels to be low?

Yes. Eating too much protien at once, particularly without enough fat, can cause your body to process the protein into glucose, which triggers the insulin system.

Down in the Health section we had a good hypoglycemia thread going and several of us agreed that things like protein shakes caused us to crash.

Fat is our friend.

I've seen first hand how a prediabetic acts when their condition heads rapidly on to full blown diabetes. My ex began by being very shaky with low BS, eating everything sweet in sight, to try to relieve it, then soon after became diabetic, same thing with my mom, same symptoms, everything.

This happened to both of them, and they were neither overweight, nor sugar junkies. But the moral of this story is, that is EXACTLY the way many patients present immediately preceeding diabetes.

I am amazed she hasn't seen enough of health problems in folks, her being a nurse, to figure out that is the way things happen, from first hand knowledge. Sounds like she is in denial, or has a death wish! (sorry for being so blunt)

Goes to show you just how addictive sugar is, and how hard to break the habit.

DGO1223, I recall my first notable insulin spike. It came at the hospital after having breakfast in the cafeteria. It was pancakes and syrup. After my sugar dropped I was so shaky and weak i thought that I would pass out. I went to the gift shop and purchased a candy bar. I knew exactly what I was experiencing because I am a trained medical assistant. My mom is diabetic and I knew that hypoglycemia is a precursor to diabetes ( hyperglycemia ). What I didn't realize was that the candy bar was the last thing that I should have had. I was taught in my classes that if a diabetic was in "trouble" that they should have some form of glucose just to play it safe. By studying this subject I know exactly what is going on inside of me.

Once I had an insulin spike and I drove to my mom's house to have my sugar checked. She checked my sugar and said that if it were any lower I would be dead. But I was never diagnosed as being hypo.