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I'm confused....

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Chris986

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I was told several years ago that I have hypoglycemia. I have also been tested for diabetes and told I don't have it. Based on that I understand that the two are different, and yet wherever I look for info on hypoglycemia it is talked about as being something that only diabetes sufferers get.

I get mild hypo attacks fairly regularly and manage them by eating a cake or something similar. Yesterday though, I had a very bad hypo that left me in a very vulnerable position and unable to function correctly, and so after I recovered enough to think straight I decided that I needed to speak to someone about my blood sugar level and diet in general. The first thing the nurse said was "so you've go diabetes then?" There didn't seem to be an option for hypoglycemia without diabetes. Annoyingly, there was nothing in my records about my hypoglycemia either, even though I have spoken to doctors several times about it.

I can understand that the two illnesses are related (high/low blood sugar levels), but can anyone tell me definitively if you can be a hypoglycemia sufferer without being a diabetic, or is hypoglycemia a form of diabetes?

Thanks,
Chris
 
I am no expert but I can tell you that my son has had HYPOGLYCEMIA since he was around 11 yrs. He is now 43 and still has the same symptoms which he controls by eating sensibly but for him it works best if he eats smaller meals more frequently.
If he misses a meal he gets quite ill and becomes very aggressive and confused.

He has been tested for Diabetes, negative result as expected.

I do not believe people who suffer Hypoglycemia necessarily go on to become diabetic.

If you can afford to buy a meter and strips it might be a good idea to monitor yourself to get an idea of what your body needs to keep blood glucose level.
 
Everybody is capable of suffering a hypo even if they are not diabetic. A lot of activity without food or a night on the alcohol can make a person short of blood sugar. This does not mean a person is a diabetic.

The body is able to take countermeasures. Low sugar in the blood usually results in your liver topping it up unless it is busy dealing with alcohol.

People normally only suffer a hypo if they are on medication and they have taken too much.

What will define you as a diabetic is if you cannot produce enough useful insulin to recover from a high blood glucose situation.
 
Thanks for your replies everyone.

I think it is becoming clear that you can have hypoglycemia without being a diabetic. It just appears that many diabetics seem to associate it as being a symptom of diabetes.

I was interested to read about your son, elljay. With hindsight, I also have probably had it since I was a child (I'm 50 now) but just didn't realise it. I have certainly had many of the symptoms since I was a child.

I was interested to read this also:
"People normally only suffer a hypo if they are on medication and they have taken too much."

I have been getting these hypo attacks for most of my life and they have never been associated with medication because there have been very few occasions when I have been taking any.
 
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