Hypoglycemic Nursing Student

[prairiegirl]

I need some help. I am starting my clinicals in the fall and am worried about it. I have had 2 doctors tell me I am hypoglycemic and one NP tell me I am not. I feel I am because you dont normally just pass out on the floor when you havent eaten in 3 hours for no good reason. I have only passed out once from low blood sugar, but get very dizzy and shaky at times. I try to eat a balanced diet and exercise, and that helps, but I still get it some times. I also pass out when I get nervous (I passed out at my own wedding. Not just a little woozy and slumped to the floor, but I just WENT DOWN in a second and went totally out for a good 4 minutes.) I told my NP about this and she didnt seem at all concerned.

My question is, how do you handle keeping blood sugar up while on 8-12 hour clinicals??? I have tried using hard candies,but that just makes me worse within an hour. And it doesnt do me any good to eat a big breakfast, because I will still need something in a few hours to keep it up. I am very worried about this, and my biggest worry is passing out during a clinical. If I mix low blood sugar with nervousness, I guaranteed I'll pass out at least once. I"m not sure how to handle this.

[threelittlebirds]

I too have a family history of hypoglycemia...you're not alone! :) I'm a junior in my program, and we have 12 hour clinicals. I was initially really nervous (I usually eat at least every two hours!), but found that if I'm careful, it's pretty easy to regulate my blood sugar. First, stay REALLY hydrated. Seriously, every time you're not in a patient's room, you should be drinking as much water as you can! Second...try swapping out the simple sugars with complex carbs, protein, and fat. Before I go to clinical, I have a big bowel of grape nuts and whole milk and coffee with whole milk...for some reason, the combination of fat and protein and sugar in whole milk (as opposed to skim or fat free, which make me crash later) really regulates me. For my lunch break, I try to bring either quinoa or brown rice with black beans and cheese. Delicious, and my blood sugar doesn't plummet a half an hour later. I also try to keep a stash of emergency almonds in the break room (you might want to keep them in your scrubs just in case) to snack on if I'm feeling low.

I agree that you should be working with your doctor to make sure there's not something else going on...but you could be like me, just running low with no real explanation. If that's it, you just need to learn to self regulate. Everyone's body reacts differently to foods, so you need to find what works for you! And if you start feeling dizzy- just sit :) there's no shame in passing out, as long as you don't endanger a patient.

[Frozen08]

So you should not seek medical advice on the internet, but....

The symptoms you are describing, syncope, are worrisome. A blood glucose of 72 is not low, but a fasting glucose should be checked anyway.

Syncope can be assosicated with several things that you should have a physician work up (i would skip past the NP on this). Make sure that they understand that you have had several bouts of syncope. Long QT syndrome, pheochromocytoma, seizures, hypotension etc.... are other disorders that mimic exactly what you are describing.

This is not medical advice, and you should consult a physician about this.

[talaxandra]

This thread is seven years old - prairiegirl's last post was in 2008, when she was thinking about returning to her nursing education.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

keep a protein/ nutrigrain bar handy at all times!! ALWAYS make time for breakfast. drinking coffee will help too. make sure to eat when you are hungry, don't neglect your self :)

good luck in your schooling!!!

Since she posted about this hypoglycemic episode back in 2004, I certainly hope that she has graduated from school by now! I also hope that she has seen her physician sometime within the past seven years and addressed her health issues with him/her.