Do You Have Undiagnosed Hypoglycemia?
Wednesday April 28, 2004
Cynthia Perkins, M.Ed. takes a look hypoglycemia -- low blood sugar -- a common condition that is often misdiagnosed and overlooked, and causes symptoms including shakiness, headaches, confusion, and more.
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Do You Have Undiagnosed Hypoglycemia?
by Cynthia Perkins, M.Ed.
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can be the culprit of many physical and psychological symptoms. It?s a very common occurrence in our society and often goes undiagnosed. It can mimic most every medical condition and is often misdiagnosed or labeled as hypochondriasis. Hypoglycemia is when your blood glucose levels drop too low and your body and brain can?t function properly. The brain is very sensitive to the levels of blood sugar and needs glucose to function adequately. It is fuel for the brain. The brain doesn?t have the ability to store glucose so it needs a continuous supply from the blood. It extracts it from the blood as it does oxygen. If the brain does not have enough oxygen or glucose it can go into a coma.
Hypoglycemia occurs when the body does not metabolize blood glucose properly. Abnormal metabolism can be caused by a variety of factors such as:
Symptoms of Hypoglycemia can be mild, moderate or severe and may consist of any of the following:
To treat hypoglycemia it?s necessary to avoid eating sugar or any food that easily converts to sugar. Your diet should consist of foods that take a while to digest so there won?t be a rapid rise in blood sugar and then the plummet that causes hypoglycemia symptoms.
Foods that digest slowly consist of meat, eggs, cheese, yogurt, beans, nuts and seeds and complex carbohydrates, which are (whole grains, fresh vegetables, fresh whole fruits (not juice).
Avoid the use of alcohol, tobacco and caffeine and reduce emotional stress as much as possible. For stress that can?t be eliminated find ways to cope effectively with the use of exercise, meditation, massage, counseling, etc.
There are a number of illnesses that produce similar symptoms as listed above, so it is necessary to consult with a health care professional that is knowledgeable in this area. Perhaps a sound nutritionist or alternative health doctor capable of diagnosing and treating hypoglycemia. The key word here is ?knowledgeable? because the average mainstream medical professional has a very limited education and understanding of the complex issues surrounding hypoglycemia.
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Cynthia Perkins, M.Ed. is an author and holistic health counselor providing alternative solutions, life management and support for individuals living with chronic illness or chronic pain. She is also author of the inspirational E-Book ?Finding Life Fulfillment when Living with Chronic Illness-A Spiritual Journey?. Subscribe to her FREE monthly Newsletter for inspiration, advice and support. http://www.holistichelp.net/ or send any email to this address to subscribe to the FREE Newsletter Holistichelp-subscribe@topica.com
*****************************************************
Do You Have Undiagnosed Hypoglycemia?
by Cynthia Perkins, M.Ed.
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can be the culprit of many physical and psychological symptoms. It?s a very common occurrence in our society and often goes undiagnosed. It can mimic most every medical condition and is often misdiagnosed or labeled as hypochondriasis. Hypoglycemia is when your blood glucose levels drop too low and your body and brain can?t function properly. The brain is very sensitive to the levels of blood sugar and needs glucose to function adequately. It is fuel for the brain. The brain doesn?t have the ability to store glucose so it needs a continuous supply from the blood. It extracts it from the blood as it does oxygen. If the brain does not have enough oxygen or glucose it can go into a coma.
Hypoglycemia occurs when the body does not metabolize blood glucose properly. Abnormal metabolism can be caused by a variety of factors such as:
- Excess refined sugar and white flour in your diet,
- Pancreatic or adrenal underactivity or overactivity
- Excessive use of alcohol, tobacco, and coffee or other products with caffeine
- Overeating of refined carbohydrates
- Allergies
- Severe emotional stress that doesn?t go away
Symptoms of Hypoglycemia can be mild, moderate or severe and may consist of any of the following:
- Sweating
- Shaking between meals
- Crankiness
- Weakness
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Confusion
- Inability to concentrate
- Nervousness
- Tingling
- Pounding/racing heart
- Speech difficulties
- Fuzzy head
- Mood swings
- Feeling faint
- Nausea
- Fatigue
- Melancholy
- Depression
- Obsessive/compulsive behavior
- Slurred speech
- Poor coordination
- Glassy eyes
- Headaches
- Migraines
- Unresponsiveness
- Highly agitated
- Unconsciousness
- Convulsions
To treat hypoglycemia it?s necessary to avoid eating sugar or any food that easily converts to sugar. Your diet should consist of foods that take a while to digest so there won?t be a rapid rise in blood sugar and then the plummet that causes hypoglycemia symptoms.
Foods that digest slowly consist of meat, eggs, cheese, yogurt, beans, nuts and seeds and complex carbohydrates, which are (whole grains, fresh vegetables, fresh whole fruits (not juice).
Avoid the use of alcohol, tobacco and caffeine and reduce emotional stress as much as possible. For stress that can?t be eliminated find ways to cope effectively with the use of exercise, meditation, massage, counseling, etc.
There are a number of illnesses that produce similar symptoms as listed above, so it is necessary to consult with a health care professional that is knowledgeable in this area. Perhaps a sound nutritionist or alternative health doctor capable of diagnosing and treating hypoglycemia. The key word here is ?knowledgeable? because the average mainstream medical professional has a very limited education and understanding of the complex issues surrounding hypoglycemia.
*********************************
Cynthia Perkins, M.Ed. is an author and holistic health counselor providing alternative solutions, life management and support for individuals living with chronic illness or chronic pain. She is also author of the inspirational E-Book ?Finding Life Fulfillment when Living with Chronic Illness-A Spiritual Journey?. Subscribe to her FREE monthly Newsletter for inspiration, advice and support. http://www.holistichelp.net/ or send any email to this address to subscribe to the FREE Newsletter Holistichelp-subscribe@topica.com
Comments
The symptoms describe the hell that I’ve started going through the past couple of months. Thanks for the post, now I know for sure what I have and can work on fixing the issue. Greatly appreciated, for sure.
I’m wondering has anyone ever had hypoclycenic symptoms increase due to using the birth control pill? I’ve had low blood sugar my entire life and was always kinda heavy. Last year, I started eating right and running and I lost 90lbs.I felt great, I had my hypoclycemia under control and the symptoms were not interrupting my life. About 7 months ago,I started seeing my sypmtoms getting worse. I still ate healthy and worked out but I always felt “sick” like my blood sugar was constantly low and I had no more energy to go to the gym. It was about 8 months ago that I started taking Ortho tri cyclen lo, could that be contributing to my increase in symptoms? Has anyone heard of this before? I really need help because I don’t want to get pregnant, but I really don’t want to constantly feel sick either. Thanks in advance for your help!
I was reading this for my husband but I am writing about the birth control. I have been on the same one for about a year and I feel a little crazy, or really off. My hormones or moods I dont know, I feel different. I think I am going to switch because I took the regular (non lo) and i did fine. Friends tell me to try Yasmine, but sorry I cant help about the low sugar.
i was starting to think that i was going mad. couldn’t understand what was wrong with my speech and then the real serious headach hit. that’s what got me researching this. thanks for the info.
I can’t say whether the birth control pills are the problem, but I was on that one 10 years ago and have suffered dry hair, skin, fatigue, weight gain/can’t lose, shakiness etc. I’ve always been borderline low blood sugar but never had this bad of symptoms until the Ortho birth control pills. Every year it just gets worse. Was treating for thyroid but didn’t help. The doctor is now treating as low blood sugar from tests and adrenal issues. All of this happened one month from taking the Ortho birth control pills. I wouldn’t stay on it. If you need to be on birth control definitely find another one. A friend of mine experienced problems with it as well but went off of it after 2 months. I wasn’t that smart. She has had weight/hair issues but I can’t say if hers was connected. Hope this helps. Good luck!
There are so many diseases left undiagnosed. And so many different sypmtoms.
My daughter, who is in her late 20s now, was so full of anxiety and so depressed several years ago that she felt suicidal. She saw a psychiatrist. She was diagnosed with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder and given very expensive drugs that neither she nor our family could afford, but we found a way to pay for them anyway because they were the only hope. After years of taking them, she became convinced that they were not helping, so she weaned herself off of them all by herself. Just recently she has talked to a specialist who is almost positive that she has hypoglycemia and that this has been the problem all along, never bipolar. She hasn’t done the necessary blood work yet to confirm hypoglycemia, but is following the prescribed diet and is already feeling better. The specialist could not believe that my daughter got off the bipolar drugs by herself without going to a rehab center. I can’t believe what an expensive and frustrating journey my daughter has endured. Since the psychiatrist was an MD, why didn’t she order the simple blood test that would rule out hypoglycemia before sending my daughter down this dangerous and expensive drug path? I’m posting this so that someone might read this and insist on a blood test for hypoglycemia before accepting a diagnosis that requires expensive psychiatric drugs.
I am going through exactly that. I also have hypothyrodism and my doctor says my thyroid is in the normal range so I don’t need more medication. But one day when my doctor was out and couldn’t see me, the doctor on call said my thyroid was low and if I was able to take more thyroid medication it could help my blood sugar stabilize a little more. Does anybody know if this is true? Who do we listen to? Can someone please help if you know anything about this please help! I have been going through hell also and have been off work for 2 months now because of my hypoglycemia. I try eating beans, they seem to maintain my blood a little longer but all else my sugar goes up and comes right back down. If anybody can help me I would truly appreciate it, this is the worse illness I have ever had!