Blood Sugar and Rage

[happydance]

My ds, almost 7, has been experiencing severe blood sugar fluctuations. I most notice it in the morning, because he cant seem to motivate himself to eat breakfast - or he gets busy - and I remind him several times but he just doesnt feel like eating. Then he starts FREAKING OUT. I am reminded of the scene of Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias where she is cussing at her mother in the beauty parlor and shaking. Well, its not that bad but its crying and screaming and thrashing and throwing things and sometimes hurting people. And I cannot force food in his mouth but the SECOND I am able to get juice or candy or whatever in him, he is fine. (within 5 minutes)

eta: It probably has happened during the day but since we dont have regular mealtimes I just call it "tantrums" or misbehaving - and I'll be monitoring that more closely also.

I plan to check his blood sugar with a monitor we have during the actual crash to see what might be going on.

Before i call the doctor - I want to gather some more information though and I wondered if anyone had been through this with their child, what info you need for the doctor, what the dx ended up being, etc.

Anything would be greatly appreciated.

[writteninkursive]

Before you do anything with a doctor, I would get ketone test strips. You can buy them at Walgreens or CVS or whatever drug store you have. Just a little vial of like 40 of them for $10. Dip it in his pee and it will tell you if he has ketones in his urine. If he doesn't, than it isn't likely to be a blood sugar issue. We suspected my 2-yo DD had diabetes (because she started drinking like crazy and waking up freaking out at night demanding water), and the ketones test was negative so the ped said it wasn't diabetes.

Wish I could help more! Good luck!

[JaneS]

You can have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and insulin resistance without ketones. I would check his fasting blood sugar (which seems to be what is happening when he has these rages) to see if it's low.

I am learning that low blood sugar can be simply an effect of a high carb diet. I would learn about the Glycemic Index of foods and cut out the juice and sugar and simple carbs (white rice, white flour, pasta) as a regular part of his diet.

A smoothie with lots of fat and protein might be the best choice if he doesn't want to eat in the morning. I would seriously up his fat and protein to be most of his diet. And vegetables and whole fruits, not juice, be his main carbs. Snacks are nuts and fruit, or nut butter and hummus or other fatty dip to accompany lower glycemic index foods.

When you eat high glycemic foods, especially without fat and protein to slow digestion, it spkes your blood sugar. Then insulin is released to bring it down, and either store it in the muscles or as fat. If the insulin is not working well, or if you have repeated blood sugar highs as a normal part of a high carb diet, it can lead to what is termed "insulin resistance". This means your body needs more and more insulin to be released from the pancreas to bring down high blood sugar (which can be dangerous) because the cells are becoming deadened to the constant high blood sugar/high insulin cycle.

There becomes a backlash to this... if high amounts of insulin are released and when it is gradually processed, the blood sugar goes way low. This is your "sugar crash". The body then needs to get sugar into the blood immediately to protect the brain... this causes adrenaline to be released: possibly triggering these rages?

Diabetes Type 1 is inability to produce insulin at all.
Diabetes Type 2 is you are still producing insulin but not enough b/c of insulin resistance and blood sugar stays too high.

This crash can also happen in the middle of the night too. I've been posting about this recently. A lot of insomiacs are likely to be suffering from the adrenaline surge from low blood sugar and this causes nightwaking or inability to fall asleep at night.

Does he get a lot of regular exercise? This as well as diet is very important for blood sugar control.

This concludes my brain dump.

[happydance]

thank you so much!!!!

[**mom2one**]

OP - I am dealing with what sounds like the same thing! My DD is 4.5 and she can be the sweetest little girla nd then all of a sudden she turns! SHe screams, cries, kicks, hollers and on and on and on. I was thinking we were doing something wrong as parents and that maybe she just needs more discipline etc. But then we started thinking about blood sugar, and trying to see when it happens etc. So tonight she had her supper, then at around 7:30 - 8 she started syaing she was hungry but we were out and didn't have anything to give her, she kept saying she was hungry and thirsty and we kept trying to put her off for just a little while longer until we got home. Well she LOST IT COMPLETELY! I had to leave early and bring her home - she was kicking and fight so hard my DH had a hard time getting her in her carseat and then she was raging on and on and on about how she hated the van and she wanted out etc etc etc. I tried to stay calm but it was hard! I tend to get caught up in her moods. So we gt home and by that time (like 10 minutes later) she hates me and basically hates everything in the world. I got her a drink and tried to help her into her bed with her milk but she refused to let me help and then spilled the whole thing in the bed which led to more crying and kicking etc. By this time the baby needed to nurse so I got her an apple and told her to eat her apple and I would be in right after DD2 was done nursing. Well she ate the apple and in like 5 minutes she came out to apologize for being mean and said that she knows it wasn't nice and good and she was sorry - TOTALLY different kid! So I would say the apple helped?
So all of this to say I have no advice other than maybe watch his food intake - but I hear what you're saying they get busy they don't want to eat and you can't force food into their mouths! I did try taking her to the store and letting her help me pick out the healthy snacks with me hoping it would make her want to eat them. Anyway - I know what you are going through! Any info you get would be greatly appreciated too!

Lindsay

[KimPM]

You might try to explain what is happening to him (low blood sugar), so he has a good reason to eat, even if he's not hungry. You can tell him he needs to eat to keep his brain working normally, and so he keeps feeling well.

[staceychev]

Make sure the snacks are fat and/or protein because carb-y snacks (and carb-heavy meals) are just perpetuating the cycle. Almond butter smeared on apple slices is a favorite around here--I learned about that one when my mom was diagnosed with hypoglaucemia in the 80s. DD has also been known to sit down to a tiny bowl of sunflower seeds and a demitasse spoon.

[JaneS]

People low in chromium and magnesium are less insulin sensitive... so those minerals may also be low in these kids.

[Violet2]

Oh yeah, low blood sugar can be homicidal. I've been there wanting to kill the pizza guy for being too slow.

I would make it non-negotiable that he has to eat something in the morning. What that is he can help figure out but he needs a healthy carb with protein. Kefir would work. Greek yogurt. I am not opposed to things like reduced sugar oatmeal cookies with almond flour added in for protein, but it does taste like dessert for breakfast which may not be a good precedent.

V

[happydance]

Originally Posted by JaneS

People low in chromium and magnesium are less insulin sensitive... so those minerals may also be low in these kids.

Oh wow I didnt know that!

Its so hard to parent these days because we have to be nutritionists and doctors in addition to the overwhelming job of just PARENTING!!!

I have no idea how to make sure my kid gets all the right nutrients. LOL

On the Protein:

We are working on finding lots of options for him. Hot dogs, Tuna, Cheesecake, Bacon (This kid could eat a pound to himself!),

He doesnt like nut butter at all. Or nuts. Sometimes I try to make him eat them by saying "Snack time! Do you want Almonds or peanut butter on toast?" he looks at me and scrunches up his face and chooses one. I know its not nice but it would be good for him to acquire a taste. I hope he does because nuts are so important!!!

ETA - I made smoothies with LOADS of protein powder and spinich and froze them in popcicles for the kids. They will eat ANYTHING in the form of a popcicle. LOL.

[karlin]

My DS is very sensitive to sugar (in fact, my whole family is). DH and I eat paleo/primal, and I have switched DS mostly over to this kind of eating over the past year (I've been primal for 1.5 years). The difference is amazing.

Anyway, my point is that you need to focus on protein and fat. Try to cut sugar as much as possible. If you must give sugar, make it fruit. Fat and protein come first though. This will keep blood sugar levels normal and avoid the swings. My DS is picky, but he is starting to broaden his horizons. I offer food in this order: meat, dairy, vegetables, fruit, rice products (this is the only grain my DS handles well. I eat no grain.).

Good luck!

[blessedwithboys]

my son has rages which are likely due to inherited bi-polar disorder, but before i even consider meds with him (he's 8yo) i am trying every other thing i can think of. we already eat a great diet, so i'm just trying to make it better. i eat low glycemic bc i have metabolic/insulin resistance, so i'm slowing taking away the last bits of sugar ds has.

anyway, a few yrs abck i read a great book about hypoglycemia and how under-dx it is in this country. it was written by an Md, i wish i could recall the name of the author and book, but in it she basically said that hypoglycemia quite often causes rages and anger, even to the point of inducing criminal activity. there was some sort of study of prisoners who were violent criminals and some huge percentage of them were hypoglycemic. just food for thought...