A Singaporean personal sharing about experiences with "Reactive" Hypoglycemia.
Hypoglycemia, aka Low blood sugar / Low Blood Glucose, refers to blood sugar below 4.0mmo/l. Healthy fasted range is between 4.0 to 5.5 mmol/L (72 to 99 mg/dL). This why you are always instructed to fast before performing a blood test.
Most common believed that this only occurs only to diabetic person. When a diabetic person cannot produce enough insulin on it's own to control blood sugar, this will result in high blood sugar. Thus, they need external insulin to control it down. Too much, and this will drop blood sugar too low into Hypoglycemia. (But not totally true, read on)
Different person will feel different Hypoglycemia symptoms:
- Shaky
- General weakness
- Lost / confusion, can't focus
- Fast heart rate
- Sweating
- Seizure - if left untreated
- Death - if left way too long untreated
Death in Hypoglycemia?
Every cell in the body requires energy to function. And the source of energy is glucose - sugar! If cells are not fuel up for their function, it will lead to organ failure. And brain has a lot of cells! (As with diabetes, if too much sugar left untreated, it will lead to organ and blood vessels damage.)
What is Reactive Hypoglycemia?
When non-diabetic person produces too much insulin by it's own, this is where their blood sugar goes low, this is called Reactive Hypoglycemia. Usually happens around the 3rd hour after a meal.
Note:
All information are through personal non-medical web searching and personal understanding. Please visit more reputable medical websites or consult your doctors.
