Diabetes And Blood Sugar Issues / Question
Published: January 19, 2009
Dear TeenHealthFX,
Sometimes I get really dizzy, nauseous, and lightheaded, but if i eat something, like fruit, it gets better. Can someone be hypoglycemic without having diabetes? If so, what can I do about it?
Signed: Can Someone Be Hypoglycemic Without Having Diabetes?
Dear Can Someone Be Hypoglycemic Without Having Diabetes?,
Yes, someone can be hypoglycemic without having diabetes. There are many different causes of hypoglycemia. Since you are experiencing dizziness, nausea, and lightheadedness, and because FX cannot give you any kind of accurate medical diagnosis over the web, it is very important that you follow up with your primary care physician so that you can be tested to see if you are hypoglycemic (or if there is another underlying medical condition causing your symptoms).
Hypoglycemia is a condition that is characterized by a very low level of blood sugar, also known as glucose. Glucose is your body’s main energy source. Different organs in your body use glucose in different ways. Your brain especially needs a steady supply of sugar, or glucose, which can be obtained from various kinds of foods, such as fruit. If glucose levels become too low, it can have some significant effects on your brain. The symptoms of hypoglycemia can be different depending on how low your blood sugar level drops.
- Mild hypoglycemia can make you feel hungry or nauseous. You could also feel jittery or nervous, you may have heart palpitations, start to sweat, and your skin can become cold and clammy.
- Moderate hypoglycemia can make individuals feel nervous, confused, have blurry vision, be unsteady and have trouble walking.
- Severe hypoglycemia can cause people to pass out, have seizures, or can even induce coma or death.
Your signs and symptoms (along with the ones listed above) are not specific to just hypoglycemia – there may be other causes, so the only way to know for sure that hypoglycemia is the cause of your symptoms is by having your blood sugar level measured by your doctor at the time of these symptoms.
When your body digests food it breaks it down into many different sugar molecules, such as glucose. As stated before, you get sugar from such things as fruit, bread, rice, pasta, vegetables and milk products. Glucose is taken into your bloodstream after you eat with the help of insulin (a hormone made by your pancreas). When the level of glucose in your blood rises, your pancreas releases insulin – this allows glucose to provide function to your cells so they can work properly. If you haven’t eaten for several hours and your blood sugar level drops, a different hormone in your pancreas, called glucagon, will help release glucose back into your bloodstream – this helps your blood sugar level stay within normal range until you eat again. If you do not eat for an extended period of time, you may start to develop the symptoms listed above.
Individuals with diabetes have problems with insulin in their bodies - their pancreas doesn’t produce enough of it OR the cells in their pancreas are less responsive to it. As a result, people with diabetes usually have increased levels of glucose in their bloodstream (hypERglycemia). Therefore, people with diabetes take insulin-medications to help lower their blood sugar level; taking too much insulin or taking insulin and not eating enough, can cause hypoglycemia.
Possible causes of hypoglycemia in patients without diabetes can include:
- certain medications (including taking someone’s diabetes medication accidentally; aspirin; depression meds)
- drug use or alcohol consumption
- illnesses of the liver, pancreas or kidney
- long term starvation (such as with anorexia nervosa)
- tumors (an insulinoma)
- metabolism problems that run in families
- endocrine deficiencies (disorders of the adrenal glands or pituitary gland)
As stated above, you really need to see your doctor as soon as possible. Hypoglycemia can be an indication of any number of illnesses, all of which can be serious. In the meantime, if you have symptoms of hypoglycemia, you need to eat or drink something with sugar in it. For example, you could eat raisins or graham crackers or drink soda or fruit juice.
If you don't have a doctor and live in northern
Signed: TeenHealthFX
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