November 27, 2000
Hypoglycemia
Question from Illinois, USA:
My 15 year old daughter was just diagnosed with hypoglycemia. When she had the glucose tolerance test done, her level dropped to 58 mg/dl [3.2 mmol/L] after one hour and 54 mg/dl [3 mmol/L] after three hours.
Prior to having the test done, she fainted after exercising. This had happened three other times within a six month period. All episodes followed activities such as running and cheerleading. Other than these few “fainting spells”, she feels fine and participates in all school activities. Do you feel that she needs to be on a strict diet for hypoglycemia or can we monitor the amount of sugar that she eats and cut down on the sugar and eat more frequently?
Answer:
It is not sufficient to just accept this diagnosis. Hypoglycaemia must have a cause, and your daughter should be investigated further if she has recurrent hypos. In the meantime, she should not do exercise without extra carbohydrate.
KJR
