-- Posted by murphy mcbagel at 9:21 pm on Nov. 22, 2008 hi i'm new here and i joined because A) there's a lot of teens here who B) might be able to help. my story is basically this: i've been extremely depressed and anxious most of my life. i've been in and out of hospitals and treated with virtually every medication and alternative treatment. then i read up on "hypoglycemia" and found out one of the reasons why i'm always feeling low. then i read an article by a member, lostwitness, claiming a link between mental illness and hypoglycemia. so now i'm both happy and confused: all i have to do is change my eating habits, but does this mean no more cereal? or deliciousness? does anyone have it? thanks. -- Posted by Mr Speed at 9:23 pm on Nov. 22, 2008 hypoglycemia is an acute drop in blood sugar...its usually harmless and can be treated by eating preferably sugary foods...but as with any other complication,it may be fatal if left untreated -- Posted by murphy mcbagel at 9:25 pm on Nov. 22, 2008 yeah no kidding im stupid for not taking it seriously. i've messed up so many friendships and stuff because i was in a withdrawl mode. man i sort of feel like a drug addict. -- Posted by murphy mcbagel at 9:30 pm on Nov. 22, 2008 well when other people chime in i'll check back, er vise versa i worded that wrong but...im goin to bed! -- Posted by nik1 at 3:08 am on Nov. 23, 2008 Here is a great site for diabetes/hypoglycemia: http://www.diabetes.org/home.jsp It's all about what you eat and exercise.  The best way to know what you can eat and can't eat is to measure your blood glucose levels four times a day for several weeks.  Glucose monitoring devices are free and most insurance plans will pay for supplies.  Times to take readings are; first thing in the morning...right out of bed before eating or drinking anything and then two hours after each meal. You should eat breakfast, mid morning small snack, lunch, mid afternoon snack and dinner.  Exercise is a major factor in controlling it. Learn all you can about it and what has a negative impact on your blood levels.  It is to your benefit to take it seriously and learn all you can about it.   The ADA link is a good source of information. -- Posted by lostwitness at 9:19 am on Nov. 23, 2008 Here is a glycimic index chart (it is a way of measuring how much a carb triggers a rise in blood sugar), foods that are low & medium are fine to eat, as long as you aren't sensitive/allergic to them. Be sure to eat often throughout the day, and have a lot of high protein, high fat snacks.   http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/glycemicfoodchart.htm And here is a really in-depth and advanced one: http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm Btw there are many alternatives to the foods you are currently addicted to. For example cows milk can safely be replaced with goats milk (in some cases), rice milk, soy milk, or almond milk. They also come in different flavors (vanilla, chocolate, etc.) that you may be able to tolerate. WHeat can be replaced with rice. Really it isn't so bad once you learn of all the different alternatives out there. -- Posted by murphy mcbagel at 6:55 pm on Nov. 23, 2008 thanks for the message lost witness, but with the milk thing wouldn't organic work? and with wheat, i've been eating oatmeal but lets face it oatmeal is effin nasty shit. and i have to a 100 pounds of rice to feel content. i'm sure there are other alternatives right? -- Posted by lostwitness at 10:49 pm on Nov. 23, 2008 Quote: from murphy mcbagel at 7:55 pm on Nov. 23, 2008 thanks for the message lost witness, but with the milk thing wouldn't organic work? and with wheat, i've been eating oatmeal but lets face it oatmeal is effin nasty shit. and i have to a 100 pounds of rice to feel content. i'm sure there are other alternatives right? No organic wouldn't work. Organic milk is healthier because it doesn't have the added hormones and crap in it... but that isn't why people are sensitive to milk. It is the proteins in milk that cause the problem... caseine & and sometimes whey... as well as lactose if you are lactose intolerant. Goats milk tastes almost the same as cow milk and it should be fine, though it still has small amounts of lactose and caseine in it which is why I still wouldn't recommend it. This is why I recommend a blood test which checks for IgG allergies so you can know for sure if you are able to tolerate dairy at all, because it is very difficult to eliminate ALL wheat and dairy products. And I HIGHLY recommend you ask your doctor to check you for celiacs disease (Gluten intolerance), search "celiacs disease" on google if you don't know much about it. I personally drink vanilla flavored rice milk... and I love it. Soy milk I never liked. Murphy I would recommend you go to a health food store and shop for "Gluten Free" (Wheat free) foods. At first you should just buy a bunch of stuff and experiment with different foods until you find stuff you like, then eventually it'll just be natural to buy it, and will require no thought at all.