July 2, 2008
Other, Type 2
Question from India:
Hypoglycemia is said to cause stress and should be stimulating secretion of stress hormones and other mechanisms to increase glucose levels. Is persistent hyperglycemia also a stress to the body? As such, can type 2 diabetics with good control by oral medicines and insulin get occasional/chronic sub-fatal hypoglycemia shots causing the occasional stimulation of stress hormones?
Answer:
It is true that patients with diabetes have intermittent stress hormone activity associated with usual lifetime stress, as well as hypoglycemia. However, also remember that protection from hypoglycemia is incomplete because the activation of counterregulatory hormones is not as dependable with diabetes. Many patients with diabetes lose their glucagon response to hypoglycemia very early on.
JTL
