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Permalink Reply by acidrock23 on February 28, 2012 at 8:15pm

I think that munchies from high BG is pretty common? I still recall gorging on Cap'n Crunch and Kool-aid and puking right before my mom took me to the doc to get DX'ed in 1984. I like to correct and then go for a walk and maybe have some water/ coffee/ tea/ Propel or other no carb drink to waste time waiting for corrections to hit.

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Permalink Reply by marie on February 28, 2012 at 8:21pm

To me that's the worst part about high bloodsugar . It's weird cause you would think that our bodys wouldn't have a desire to eat when bl is high but the exact opposite happens and the food I want are always bread , crackers or anything that is a starchy like food . I have to keep my bread in the freezer cause than it's no so easy to eat ( but I have eaten frozen bread ) 

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Permalink Reply by Zoe on February 28, 2012 at 8:25pm

I'm also wondering, Marie, if you have some type of eating disorder. Eating disorders are much more common in People with Diabetes. We are so subject to obsession on what we do and don't eat, it's almost like a set-up for an eating disorder. Also our whole body image, especially if we're young can be effected by being a Type 1 Diabetic. There definitely is help out there for eating disorders in general and I would think a therapist with experience of both ED and Diabetes could be very helpful.

I also think that it isn't necessarily a "different kind of Type 1", because I think there are an infinite variety of ways we experience our blood sugar management as well as accompanying syndromes like Depression and Eating Disorders.

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Permalink Reply by marie on February 28, 2012 at 8:37pm

It's deffinetly not a eating disorder because even though I am trying to lose like 25 pounds I do understand that the only way to do this is slow (like  2 pounds a week ) but my recent experiences of uncontrollable hunger has only been when my bl has been above 180 . I don't think that all diabetics experience this but there is a name for it that starts with a p ( just google hunger with high bloodsugar)my minds blank at the moment 

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Permalink Reply by LaGuitariste on February 28, 2012 at 9:53pm

From the wiki:

The following symptoms may be associated with acute or chronic hyperglycemia, with the first three composing the classic hyperglycemic triad:

Polyphagia - frequent hunger, especially pronounced hunger
Polydipsia - frequent thirst, especially excessive thirst
Polyuria - frequent urination
Blurred vision
Fatigue (sleepiness).
Weight loss
Poor wound healing (cuts, scrapes, etc.)
Dry mouth
Dry or itchy skin
Tingling in feet or heels
Erectile dysfunction
Recurrent infections, external ear infections (swimmer's ear)
Cardiac arrhythmia
Stupor
Coma
Seizures

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperglycemia

Frequent/unusual/unexplained hunger, thirst and urination are the classic signs of high blood glucose. You're not so strange after all. ;0)

Keeping ourselves as close to normal glucose as possible is how we avoid all the grotty signs and symptoms of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. The body likes to achieve homeostasis in a fairly narrow range.

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Permalink Reply by Gerri on February 29, 2012 at 12:00am

Wonderful to have no complications after 22 years! Many T1's don't go into DKA. A friend has been T1 for 40 years & never experienced DKA. Have no idea what percentage do or don't.

I've felt very hungry with high BG also & it's a signal to me to test. But, I don't feel bloated. Are you also thirsty? Feels different than the hunger that accompanies lows. Worst hunger I experienced was right before diagnosis & DKA, but that was due to my cells being starved for glucose from lack of insulin. I was a bottomless pit, ate staggering amounts & drank gallons.

Having no complications, hunger with highs & never been DKA doesn't mean you're in a different category:)

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Permalink Reply by Frankie Sloane on February 29, 2012 at 2:15am

I can relate to feeling a compulsion to eat when dealing with high blood sugar, but for me it generally has to Be in the 300-400 range (which is extremely rare).  The 2 times in the past year that my sugar has been that high, I had an almost crazy desire to drink soda (which I absolutely never do).  I don't want to tell you what you are contending with, but as someone who personally has issues with eating disorders, From the way you are describing it, you could have binge eating disorder.  Don't completely rule it out! If you are able to seek help, you might be pleasantly surprised at the physical/emotional results.  Definitely don't think you have a "different" kind of diabetes.  We all react to it differently, but the disease itself functions the same in all of us.

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Permalink Reply by MyBustedPancreas on February 29, 2012 at 4:41am

Yes, I too get EXTREMELY hungry when my BGs are high. I don't think your situation is that unusual, although I also think it's safe to say there probably are variants of type 1 that are not yet fully understood (and that our testing isn't advanced enough yet to detect). You may be noticing a difference that speaks to something we don't really understand yet.

Keep in mind that 40-50 years ago, people were regularly walking around with double-digit A1Cs. With no home blood glucose monitoring it was impossible to know how you were managing things. Many of those folks went on to develop complications, but even some of them didn't. This is what the Joslin 50-year Medalist study is looking at - why do some type 1s develop so few complications, while others do not?

The beta cells produce hormones other than insulin (amylin, c-peptide, and some others). When people develop type 1 and those beta cells are destroyed, they lose these hormones as well. Although it is suspected that some folks continue to produce small, possibly undetectable amounts of these hormones long after diagnosis. That may have something to do with the development of complications. No one knows for sure.

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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on February 29, 2012 at 5:34am

I think that going high can also cause dehydration. This may also cause you to crave things, perhaps as a way of restoring electrolytes. It is a good thing to restore electrolytes, but probably not good to get them from Doritos.

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Permalink Reply by acidrock23 on February 29, 2012 at 5:38am

LOL, I really like Propel, although some of my "earthier" friends have expressed alarm at sucralose? The first couple of 1/2s I ran I hydrated with water before the first one and Propel the second. It was at least 20-30 degrees warmer but I didn't feel as thirsty at race #2 so I've continued with Propel. Plus Strawberry-Kiwi is pretty yummy?

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Permalink Reply by Tim on February 29, 2012 at 5:42am

I can identify with almost everything you say and tell you that I work a lot the same.

While a long time ago it was very common for kids to be diagnosed in deep DKA it is less common today. Still more common than it should be though.

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