
February 7, 2000
Hypoglycemia
Question from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia:
My sister is 36 years old and would like to know what goes wrong in the body for her to be diagnosed as having hyperglycemia. Her symptoms were that she was enraged and ready to murder and the next ten minutes break down in tears and depression. There is a history of diabetes in the family. Knowing what goes wrong in the body would help to understand the disease better.
Answer:
You have not actually said that your sister has diabetes but I will assume that she has. Fluctuations in blood sugar — very high sugars or very low — are known to affect mood and hypos (lows) especially, may be associated with unusual and extreme behaviour. This is because of the direct effect of sugar on brain function. Low blood sugars should be treated quickly e.g. with a sugary drink.
KJR