Hypoglycemia

#7

Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar, is when glucose, an important source of energy for the body that comes from food, drops below normal levels. Carbohydrates are the main source of glucose. This syndrome can be caused by a couple of different things. For example it can be caused by medications, this is the most common way and usually happens to people with type 1 diabetes. Can also be caused by a problem with the pituitary or adrenal glands, the pancreas or the liver. The pituitary gland controls the body’s production of hormones needed to raise the body’s blood sugar levels if they become dangerously low. If these glands are not working properly it can cause hypoglycemia. The liver can cause hypoglycemia by not properly storing carbohydrates or convert them into glucose. Also a tumour on the pancreas can cause this syndrome by too much insulin being released. The last thing that causes hypoglycemia is people who drink too much alcohol.
Hypoglycemia can happen very suddenly, but can be treated easily and quickly by drinking or eating something glucose-rich. If this syndrome goes untreated it can become very serious, it would even lead to death.
In adults and children older then 10, hypoglycemia is uncommon.
You can have hypoglycemia with diabetes or without diabetes. People who have hypoglycemia and do not have diabetes can either have reactive hypoglycemia- occurs within 4 hours of meals or fasting hypoglycemia- often related to an underlying disease.
Hypoglycemia has multiple symptoms some include; hunger, shakiness, nervousness, sweating, light headedness, confusion, anxiety and\or weakness.
Hypoglycemia is easy to avoid, you can meet with a dietitian and design a meal plan that’s right for you to keep your blood sugar at a normal level.
My mother has hypoglycemia, when she has an “attack” she gets shaky, weak, sweaty and nauseous, sometimes resulting in her fainting. These attacks are easy to treat because all she has to do is eat or drink something high in sugar, but when these attacks happen she is unable to move and if no one is around she has to wait for it to be over before she can get food, these attacks usually last about 5 minutes. It’s very easy to avoid these attacks, all she has to do is eat 3 full meals and asnack in between. Usually she can feel the attack coming on so she can get something in her before it happens. To be safe she also carried around a granola bar for munching on. The one thing the dietitian told my mom is that she could never go on a low carb diet because carbs are the only thing that create the sugar that her body doesn’t on it’s own.
In conclusion, hypoglycemia isn’t a serious syndrome unless you don’t treat it right away. If you have hypoglycemia eat regularly and never go on a low carb diet and see a dietitian to get a meal plan.


Bibliography:

http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/hypoglycemia/
http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/condition_info_details.asp?disease_id=73