November 22, 2000
Hypoglycemia
Question from Gibbsboro, New Jersey, USA:
I’m a 35 year old male and recently was diagnosed with hypoglycemia. During the third hour of a five hour glucose tolerance test, I had a reading of 50 mg/dl [2.8 mmol/L] which triggered a low blood sugar attack. At the same time, my insulin level reading was 3. My doctor does not know what to make of this and has referred me to an endocrinologist. Why or how were my blood sugar and insulin both low at the same time?
Answer:
An oral glucose tolerance test is not a good way to diagnose the cause of intermittent hypoglycemia. The results are not specific. In other words, you can still have problems with a normal test and no symptoms at all with an abnormal test. If you are bothered by the problem, it would be tested with a prolonged fast. The insulin is very low and suggests that symptoms are not purely insulin mediated.
JTL