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What are the reasons for hypoglycemia?

This Premium Q&A, reviewed and published, features a real conversation between an iCliniq user and a physician.

Patient's Query

Hi doctor,

My mother has been suffering from diabetes for three years. She is 61 years old and weighs 88 pounds. She was on Gemer-1. Early morning around 5 AM, she often complains of excessive sweating and weakness. Sweating stops after taking tea, biscuit or sugar. She has stopped taking medication for the last 15 days. Due to personal loss, she has been undergoing stress and tension. Please suggest the required medical tests that she should undergo. Thank you.

Answered by Dr. Sandeep V. Nair

Education:

MBBS

Professional Bio:

Dr. Sandeep V. Nair is a highly skilled and established physician in the field of Medical Gastroenterology. He is an expert in tackling any complicated medical cases and can provide an expert opinion.

This doctor is not available for online consultations on the platform anymore.

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Your mother is getting hypoglycemic attacks during early morning hours. Hypoglycemic attacks are episodes of low blood sugar values occurring in blood. Due to this she is having excessive sweating and weakness. Taking a sweet item is the correct treatment for such an attack. The reason for such attacks may be because of many as follows such as skipping meals, incorrect medicine dose, kidney problems, liver disease, inappropriate exertion and stress. So please do the following tests for her. Serum creatinine, FBS - fasting blood sugar, PPBS - postprandial blood sugar, SGOT (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase) and SGPT (serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase). You can either revert back with the results or can consult a physician. Please ask your mother not to skip meals and to take medicines regularly.

Patient's Query

Thank you doctor,

She underwent all tests except FBS. Following are the results of the tests: PPBS 317mg/dL, serum creatinine 0.67 mg/dL, SGOT 12.4 and SGPT 14.8. She is not on medication from last 15 days. What could be the reason for hypoglycemia attacks when she is not taking any medicine?

Answered by Dr. Sandeep V. Nair

Education:

MBBS

Professional Bio:

Dr. Sandeep V. Nair is a highly skilled and established physician in the field of Medical Gastroenterology. He is an expert in tackling any complicated medical cases and can provide an expert opinion.

This doctor is not available for online consultations on the platform anymore.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

All the reports look fine except for the PPBS (postprandial blood sugar). It is very rare to have hypoglycemia with such high PPBS values. Probable reasons may be intentional fasting or skipping meals or not taking tablets regularly. The only way to prove it is hypoglycemia is to do glucometer testing during such episodes. I suggest tablet Metformin 500 mg tablets to be taken twice daily. Consult her specialist doctor, discuss with him or her and take the medicine with consent. Check blood sugars FBS (fasting blood sugar) and PPBS after two weeks and revert back.

Answered by
Medically reviewed by Dr. K. Shobana
Published At July 17, 2016
Reviewed At May 15, 2024

Education:

MBBS

Professional Bio:

Dr. Sandeep V. Nair is a highly skilled and established physician in the field of Medical Gastroenterology. He is an expert in tackling any complicated medical cases and can provide an expert opinion.

This doctor is not available for online consultations on the platform anymore.

Education:

BDS

Professional Bio:

Dr. K. Shobana is a Dental Surgeon specializing in oral health and dental care. She is skilled in preventive dentistry and provides oral hygiene education. She can do restorative treatments such as fillings and crowns. She can handle periodontal problems such as gum diseases and periodontitis. She can do root canal treatment.

This doctor is not available for online consultations on the platform anymore.

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Dr. Sandeep V. Nair

Medical Gastroenterology

Education:

MBBS

Professional Bio:

Dr. Sandeep V. Nair is a highly skilled and established physician in the field of Medical Gastroenterology. He is an expert in tackling any complicated medical cases and can provide an expert opinion.

This doctor is not available for online consultations on the platform anymore.

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