November 11, 2002
Hypoglycemia
Question from Dublin California, USA:
I have a seizure disorder, and after each seizure, I am tired, and my blood glucose level is low. Because this is a bad time of year for me, and I am able to know when I have them, the last time I drank a gallon of orange juice and ate a piece of fruit right before then I lied down to help prevent the seizure. My blood sugar was 55 mg/dl [3.1 mmol], and I did not have one. Can low blood sugar be a cause of my seizures? Can I fix this? How?
Answer:
Low blood sugars can certainly be a cause of some seizures and can be treated, but it is only one of many causes. Certainly a level of 55 mg/dl [3.1 mmol/L] just after drinking so much orange juice seems to be low, but would need to be confirmed by a clinical laboratory to be sure that it wasn’t a technical error.
I think you need to discuss the problem of your seizures with your doctor, including the possibilities of further investigation and more effective management.
DOB
