My five year old daughter was a very difficult baby and is now a difficult toddler. She has always had problems sleeping through the night and will usually wake up two to three times a night screaming, confused and sweating. During the day, she will experience fits of rage that are immediately halted with a quick snack. She has an enormous appetite and is rapidly putting on weight. I believe that she has hypoglycemia, but my doctor informs me that it is not common in children her age. She has never officially been diagnosed. I am concerned since she is to begin kindergarten in the fall. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

This does not really sound like hypoglycemia, but it would be very easy to ascertain this or not with fingerstick blood glucose tests. You can use any of 50 blood glucose meters on the market that can be purchased at any pharmacy. They are all very straightforward to use but, if you need assistance, any local diabetes educator can teach you/assist. If there really is hypoglycemia during any such symptoms, blood glucose levels will be significantly less than 60 mg/dl [3.3 mmol/L], usually less than 30 or 40 mg/dl [1.2 or 2.2 mmol/L]; if all the values during these symptoms are above 70 to 80 mg/dl [3.9 to 4.4 mmol/L], then this is not hypoglycemia, by definition. When she is hungry or when she is have a temper tantrum, check blood glucose levels from her fingertips and you can determine what they are.

SB