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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Low Blood Sugar Level After Eating Oatmeal?

I am a 64 year old man. I am not diabetic - my last A1C was 5.7. My fasting blood sugar is a bit high at 118 but after I eat it is well down into the normal range. The problem I am having is that after I eat oatmeal ( old fashioned oats with no added sugar) in about 2 hours I will experience a hypoglycemic episode. Only oatmeal.... why?
Fri, 20 Oct 2017
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Internal Medicine Specialist 's  Response
Hello,

it may sound strange but this 'disorder' may indicate inadequate blood sugar control but not as serious as diabetes (prediabetes which means 'before diabetes'). The high fasting blood sugar is indicative. Individuals with this disorder fail to secrete insulin on time but they still have the potential to secrete the required amount, they just do so late enough to cause hypoglycemia 2-3 hours after the meal.

In normal individuals insulin is secreted on time, therefore it won't let the blood sugar get too high after the meal. When insulin secretion is inadequate or delayed the blood sugar rises fast and may trigger an even more exaggerated insulin secretion but not on the right time.

A 3-hour oral glucose tolerance test may help to reveal this disorder, particularly if insulin levels are measured as well.

This disorder is supposed to be more exaggerated when eating food with high carbohydrate content or high glycemic index. Oatmeal is not a low-carbohydrate meal (it's not the worst for blood sugar either) so this may well be the cause of your hypoglycemia. Perhaps you will experience the same problem with other high carbohydrate food like sweets, fruits with high carbohydrate content (bananas for example), etc.

I hope you find my comments helpful!
Be sure to discuss this with your doctor as other causes are also possible (but less likely) and investigation might be required.

Kind Regards!
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What Causes Low Blood Sugar Level After Eating Oatmeal?

Hello, it may sound strange but this disorder may indicate inadequate blood sugar control but not as serious as diabetes (prediabetes which means before diabetes ). The high fasting blood sugar is indicative. Individuals with this disorder fail to secrete insulin on time but they still have the potential to secrete the required amount, they just do so late enough to cause hypoglycemia 2-3 hours after the meal. In normal individuals insulin is secreted on time, therefore it won t let the blood sugar get too high after the meal. When insulin secretion is inadequate or delayed the blood sugar rises fast and may trigger an even more exaggerated insulin secretion but not on the right time. A 3-hour oral glucose tolerance test may help to reveal this disorder, particularly if insulin levels are measured as well. This disorder is supposed to be more exaggerated when eating food with high carbohydrate content or high glycemic index. Oatmeal is not a low-carbohydrate meal (it s not the worst for blood sugar either) so this may well be the cause of your hypoglycemia. Perhaps you will experience the same problem with other high carbohydrate food like sweets, fruits with high carbohydrate content (bananas for example), etc. I hope you find my comments helpful! Be sure to discuss this with your doctor as other causes are also possible (but less likely) and investigation might be required. Kind Regards!