Digestive Disorders and hypoglycemia

  Five years ago I was hospitalized with sever pain in my abdomen
  and had several tests run to check for everything from cancer to
  tumors to an infectious disease: I had traveled to the tropics at
  the time and my eozenophyl (sp?) count was the ONLY thing they
  found to be abnormal - high.  They did not find evidence of any
  abnormal amount of bacteria/viruses etc.  I was sent home and
  told they didn't know what I had and so by process of elimination
  I was assigned IBS as a cause for my disease.
  Recently (4 weeks ago) I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia after
  going through the five hour GTT and insulin test. Following this
  I have read many articles about hypoglycemia and they all state
  that one of the symptoms of hypoglycemia is bowel troubles.  One
  stated that high eozenophyl counts were related to adrenal
  dysfunction.
  My question is:  From a gastrointestinal standpoint, could some
  malfunctioning of my digestive tract cause my hypoglycemia or is
  it more likely that my hypoglycemia affects my digestive tract
  and the discomfort in my colon is one of the symptoms rather
  than the cause.  Has the "gastrointestinal" community explored
  this link much and do you have any other resources about this
  link you can suggest for me to read and learn more about?
  Thank you in advance for all your help.
  Tracy
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Dear Tracy,
I think that it is unlikely that a gastrointestinal problem caused your hypoglycemia.  There have been reports of people with portions of their stomach removed who have developed  hypoglycemia after they eat (delayed dumping syndrome).  In theory, if you have erratic absorption of glucose it could cause hypoglycemia, but I am  unaware of any reported cases of hypoglycemia due to difficulties with glucose absorption. Liver disease, in particular cirrhosis, can be associated with hypoglycemia, but you do not provide any information to suggest that possibility.
It is difficult to comment about your abdominal pain without having additional information e.g. factors that make the pain better or worse, location of the pain etc.  
This response is offered for your general information and should not replace the conclusions drawn from a careful and complete evaluation by a physician.
HFHSM.D.-rf
*keywords: hypoglycemia, abdominal pain
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