"A Problem Page For All!"

Well, my kiddiewinks, it looks like your friendly neighborhood Elizabeth has hypoglycemia. I haven't seen a doctor about it or been diagnosed or anything, but my grandmother and my dad and my cousin all used to have it (I think Cousin Katie may still have it?), so my parents know the signs. I've been having some health concerns (for lack of a better word) lately, and last night Cherie suddenly said that it sounded like blood-sugar stuff to her. That matched with what we know about some of the stuff that's going on, so Steve went and got his blood-testing machine and tested my blood (he poked my finger really hard and it still hurts! At first there wasn't much blood and the machine couldn't get a reading, so we had to squeeze more out -- ick). The reading was 65, which is low, because I think the average for a healthy person is 100. Sigh. I always thought that hypoglycemia was for "other" people. You know, the unhealthy people!

The other part of it is that a couple weeks ago I went to this cool natural-health place that's just opened up. The women who run it are the sweetest, most eccentric, coolest people you'll ever meet! We've been there several times for Cherie and Steve, to buy some of their supplements, etc., and I just love talking to them! They remind me of Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Whatsit in Madeleine L'Engle's <i>A Wrinkle in Time</i>. Did any of you ever read that book?

<i>Anyway.</i> The point is that I had my blood looked at a couple weeks ago and Clarece, the woman who did it, found that I have problems with my pancreas and liver. She said it was digestive problems and didn't mention blood sugar, but the pancreas, digestion -- hypoglycemia fits right in. Clarece also saw from my blood that I am (or was) dehydrated!! Yow.

The deal is that I'm not absorbing protein correctly. Clarece told me to eat lots of raw fruits and vegetables and other enzyme-rich foods. (Almonds, for instance, even when raw, have an enzyme-prohibitor; but if you soak them in water overnight, they release the enzymes. So I've been eating soaked almonds. They're pretty good.) I'm also drinking a half-gallon (8 cups) of water per day, along the 8-to-10-glasses-a-day thing, to prevent getting dehydrated again! It's hard to balance everything, though, because you can't drink within like an hour of eating or else the water dilutes your digestive acids, and I need all the digestive help I can get (eh, that sounded dramatic, but you know). According to Clarece I should eat only fruits in the morning, but by the time I've drunk my morning quart of water and waited an hour, I'm starving and needing protein really badly! I know that you're supposed to eat something raw before every meal because the enzymes get your body ready for cooked foods, but when I just want to stuff some protein in my mouth, it's hard to eat raw, wait ten minutes, and then eat. Almonds are really good for those times, because they're raw and contain protein.

When my blood sugar is low/I don't have enough protein/or whatever it is that's happening, I get jittery, a really bad bitchy mood, and a kind of brainfog where I have trouble pulling my thoughts together. It's yucky.

My family, always interested in a new health challenge (curse them for their scientific minds!), have suggested that I take the day in hours. Drink, wait an hour, eat a small amount, wait an hour, drink, eat, drink, eat, etc. It sounds like a good plan, and since I've been struggling to figure out how to eat and drink and eat the right things and drink at the rights times and everything, maybe I'll just let the others tell me what to do!

One of the things that annoys me the most is that I always have to go pee when I drink this much water!

Anyway. It's time to eat now, so I'd better go. But I thought I'd fill you all in on this, because it's kind of a big thing in my life right now, mostly just annoying, but also a little unnerving. My grandmother got rid of her hypoglycemia and now eats sugar all the time without feeling it, so I'm not concerned about being sick for the rest of my life. I just need to get balanced and healthy, curse it. Do any of you know anyone who has hypoglycemia?

Hugs, me