I’m a 16 year old female with hypoglycemia diagnosed at age 15, even though I’ve had the symptoms all my life. When I was two years old, I had a seizure just before breakfast for an unknown reason. My dad saw me fall over and began CPR. Could the doctors have overlooked hypoglycemia at that time? If it were from low blood sugar, how likely is it to happen again? Should people with hypoglycemia test sugar levels regularly? What are the statistics on hypoglycemia progressing to diabetes, especially with both in the distant family?

Hypoglycemia is a rather puzzling disorder. It can be the result of many factors including treatable metabolic diseases. In addition, it can be “idiopathic” which literally means that no one knows the reason. It is important to rule out the treatable causes of hypoglycemia in addition to establishing the diagnosis based on blood testing that repeatedly demonstrates hypoglycemia, making sure not to base the diagnosis on vague symptoms without any blood testing.

A seizure in childhood can be due to hypoglycemia, although there really isn’t a great way to find the cause of a seizure that happened 15 years ago. It can happen again if you indeed have untreated hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia does not typically progress to diabetes. People with hypoglycemia should be able to test their blood sugars at the time of their symptoms of hypoglycemia.

MSB

[Editor’s comment: See Other causes of hypoglycemia at the Diabetes Monitor for additional information.

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