How to Know if You Have Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels)

Hypoglycemia is a syndrome with a wide variety of causes. In this condition, low blood glucose concentrations lead to a constellation of signs and symptoms that I will be discussing in this article. This article will also enumerate the laboratory evaluation of patients with hypoglycemia. This article may be more relevant to patients who have diabetes and are on exogenous insulin or oral diabetic medications.

Things You'll Need

• Knowledge
• Observation
• Physician follow up

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Instructions

• 1

  CAUSES:

  Drugs:

  * Insulin therapy
  * Oral diabetes medications (sulfonylurea)
  * Anti-hypertensive medication (lisinopril)
  * Aspirin
  * Quinine
  * Haloperidol (Haldol)

  Alcohol
  Insulinoma (small tumor in pancreas secreting abnormally high insulin)
  Factitious hypoglycemia (by injecting insulin a diabetic drug)
  Intense exercise

• 2

  SYMPTOMS:

  Sweating
  Sensation of warmth
  Anxiety
  Tremor or tremulousness
  Nausea
  Palpitations
  Increased heart rate
  Hunger
  Fatigue
  Dizziness
  Headache
  Visual disturbances
  Drowsiness
  Difficulty speaking
  Inability to concentrate
  Abnormal behavior
  Loss of memory
  Confusion
  Seizures
  Ultimately, loss of consciousness or coma

• 3

  Labs:

  Blood glucose levels is the gold standard test to diagnose hypoglycemia (generally blood glucose level below 60mg/dl is considered to be hypoglycemia). Blood glucometers that are available in the market for self testing may not be accurate, however.

• 4

  To diagnose insulinoma (pancreatic insulin secreting tumor) more extensive testing may be required. This includes measuring following levels after as 72 hour supervised fast:

  Plasma glucose
  Insulin
  C-peptide
  Pro insulin
  Beta-hydroxy butyrate
  Sulfonylurea

  High resolution CT of abdomen, MRI or PET scan may also be dome to locate the tumor.