October 15, 2005
Hypoglycemia
Question from Georgetown, California, USA:
I’ve got this on-going condition. When I eat, let’s say a Snicker’s bar, or a Hershey Kiss, no matter how much or what I’ve eaten previously, practically before I’m finished with the candy, I get cold sweats and my eyes dilate. Sometimes, my face starts to tingle, my hands begin to go numb, and I feel just plain daffy. There has been more than one occasion, on an empty stomach, that when I have a small bite of something sweet, I’ve had to lay down, for fear of passing out, with cold sweats, hot flashes, tingling all over. It’s the strangest feeling. I did speak to an interests about this after a really severe reaction and he kind of flippantly dismissed it as “severe reactive hypoglycemia.” He told me to change my diet, etc., but never explained to me why this happens within seconds in eating something sweet. Also, I am very reactive to refined rice, junk, like chips, and crackers. I feel exhausted after eating them and I can hardly move. I’ve had three children and never had any funny results or blood sugar tests when pregnant. Do you have any ideas as to what I might have? I’m getting tired of not knowing what’s really going on with my body. I’m 5 feet, 8 inches and weigh about 120 to 125 pounds.
Answer:
Reactive hypoglycemia refers to the idea that your body is reacting to something you have eaten. That means your symptoms are initiated by a fed meal. The meal that causes the greatest symptoms are those with large amounts of simple sugars that promote a brisk insulin secretory response. In some people, the braking mechanism for decreasing insulin secretion is not as responsive as it should be so that you go low before the sugar goes back to normal. Most people are treated with a diet where you avoid simple sugars and eat multiple small meals throughout the day. There does not have to be any previous issue related to diabetes.
JTL
