how to treat hypoglycemia

[airedale]

I have a 8 year old boy with severe hypoglycemia. He is taking currently 100 mg proglycem twice a day capsule. He keeps his diet very well. But still has the terrible moodswings and his sugars are around 4 to 4.7 all day long. When he is sick then his sugars go high. he still has a lot of cramping and has problems in school staying awake and focused.
Does anyone have any idea what we can feed him to keep his energy up we are at a loss and the dietician does not have any other suggestions either. He is still undergoing testing had a muscle biopsy done and they are thinking in the line of a metabolic disease. is already being tested for the last 3 years
but the waiting list are so long and it is all so frustrating. He eats about 6000 calories a day and is a big boy tall but weighs only 69 pounds. He is waiting to be admitted for testing. Sorry if i am rambling but i have been up with him again half the night and am tired. sorry I dont know the american numbers for his sugar levels. I live in Canada.

[airedale]

Hello. Yes my son had the glucose tolerance test done the 5 hour one his sugar ranged from 11/2 hours into the test it was 27.8 and a half hour later it was 1.2 and he was unconcious. The endriconologist stayed with him the whole time. She was sure of his diagnoses already then. But finished it anyway. He is on a high protein diet and complex carbohydrates. He eats a lot of meat and cheese and nuts. only eats Whole wheat bread can,t drink no juices because of the natural sugars in there where he reacts to severly. Drinks mil from our own cow no store boughten milk its no good for him Eats oatmeal from rolled oats boiled in milk instead of water and cream added. Snacks on whole wheat crackers with cheese raw veggies ed. At first the diet for about 2 weeks then we were back on square one again. The dr put him on proglycem liquid twice aday 0.5 mg he was on that for 4 months then it was upped to 0.8 mg for about 1 year then he was put on 100mg capsules twice a day and that seems to work fairly well although the dr wants to put him on that 3 times a day since his sugars really drop about midday. He had episodes in school a few times that he would pass out. We cannot give him any glucose because the dip after the high comes quicker then the high gets its peak. I know it doesnt make sence but thats the way it is. The proglycem makes his sugar stay up so he doesnt pass out anymore. But he still has the highs and lows. The thing i advise you to do is ask your dr if you can go to a metabolic endicronologist. Get more testing done My son also had a emg done which was abnormal his muscles didnt react the way they were suppose to. He had a muscle biopsy done which was inconclusive so we are still waiting. They have figured out that it probably is a mitochondrial disease but which one?? he has a lot of symptoms from the one and then another from another miot So they are still trying to figure out which one it is but we were told it could take years. Also diet wise we dont buy anything in the store but make everything ourselves. Never use white flour or anything refined. Aaron also react to aspartame but he does not react to Splenda. I am glad for the reactions on my questions and please if anyone else has anything let me know. Thanks Lian

[robertin75]

Hi Airedale:

My name is Roberto and I', 29 years old. I live in Chihuahua, Mexico and also suffer from hypoglycemia (without diabetes). I have been doing lots of research and I hope we can help eachother.

I just had a 5 hrs. glucose tolerance test and in two ocassions my blood sugar dropped to 41 mg/dL (2.27 mmol/dL). I am having a hard time to get a good doctor who can help me with this problem. The last time I went with my endocrinologist he told me that everything was anxiety and he wanted me to take a Xanax (alprazolam), so I was really disappointed.

I have a drug information handbook and the other day I was reading about the drug Proglycem, which you say your son is taking. Do you know how it works? I know that is used to treat hypoglycemia but I don't know if it supresses insulin secretion from the pancreas or releases liver stored glycogen into the bloodstream, so your blood sugar rises.

I would like to know your experiences with this drug as far as efficacy, side effects, etc.

What laboratory tests has your son taken? Has he had a glucose tolerance test?

There a several abnormalities in the body which can cause hypoglycemia. For example in Addison's disease, cortisol (the stress hormone) is not produced by the adrenal glands, or is partially produced. Cortisol(produced in the adrenal gland's cortex) and catecholamines (adrenalin and noradrenalin produce in the adrenal gland's medulla) are hormones that raise blood sugar. Also growth hormone deficiency can lead to hypoglycemia. There are many more but I think that those are the main ones.

Please let me know what you think and hope ypu can tell me your experiences with Proglycem.

Thanks and keep in touch,
Roberto

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

Airedale,
I hope your son is feeling a bit better by now & that you've both been able to get some rest.  I'm not a physician, nor am I familiar with the treatments for hypoglycemia.  We are focused on Type 1 diabetes.

However, I'd recommend taht you check out this site:
http://www.hypoglycemia.org/

A quote from their site makes them sound like a promising resource for your needs & for support:
"...In 1980, Ms. Ruggiero established The Hypoglycemia Support Foundation, Inc., to inform, support and encourage hypoglycemics and the public about this too often misunderstood and misdiagnosed disease. ..."

They seem to have some practical tips and references to helpful reading materials.

Good luck to you both.  I can hear the struggle & frustration you're work thru.

[robertin75]

Airedale:

I forgot to tell you that I aslo follow a low carb diet but isn't help me much. I think that there must be a metabolic abnormality that is causing my hypoglycemia.

Roberto
:)

[JDRF-Team-wak]

I am not a physician, but the mom of a child with type one diabetes.  I can tell you that when my daughter becomes hypoglycemic she has terrible mood swings. We have found that her having a protein such as cheese or milk, or ice cream helps keep her blood sugars level.  E=being tired in school and not being able to focus could be because his blood sugar is going to low or to high. I would suggest checking his levels at that time.

You might also see about getting a second opinion.  I release that the medical system in Canada is different.