60 years
My 17 year old daughter is feels dizzy at irelregular times and feels as if she's about to faint but feels better when she eats something with sugar, some people say that it is because of the heat
Aug 16, 2014
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-Do you happen to have a glucometer (like Accu Check) within reach? If yes, kindly measure her blood sugar level when she gets the symptoms. If it is indeed low, then it is hypoglycemia (blood sugar <50),and she will need to be evaluated to rule out diabetes (especially if there is a positive family history of diabetes at an early age). Evaluation includes fasting blood sugar, oral glucose tolerance test (where they give her sugar by mouth and measure blood sugar levels after 1&2 hours), insulin level in the blood.
Other possible explanations of a truly low blood sugar include:
-Reactive hypoglycemia: blood sugar drops few hours after a meal because the body secretes too much insulin (exaggerated insulin surge). The reason for this phenomenon is unknown. Treatment is by intake of sugary foods.
-Insulinoma: this is usually an incidental finding. It's a benign growth of the pancreas that secreteseextra amounts of insulin. Treatment is surgical.
-Abuse of medications: common especially among adolescents aiming to lose weight by resorting to blood sugar lowering drugs like Glucovance.
-Dieters: female adolescents following a very strict diet poor in carbs can suffer from this because their bodies are depleted from sugar reserves (glycogen)
-Cushing's syndrome: this is caused by the adrenal gland, the small gland situated on top of the kidneys. It secretes the hormone cortisol (known as the stress hormone) which can induce a drop in blood sugar. Other symptoms of the disease include excessive sweating, thinning if arms and legs but fat accumulationaround the belly, stretch marks, increased body hair, round face.
-pheochromocytoma: also a disease of the adrenal gland causing increase in secretion of certain hormones. Associated with weight loss, fast heart rate, excessive sweating, and blood pressure that fluctuates between high and low values (paroxysmal hypertension).
If however blood sugar turns out to be normal, then other entities should be investigated, like anemia, heat intolerance, syncope (dizziness and near loss of consciousness, which could be of nokknown reason or could be due to a heart or nervous system problem).
-Do you happen to have a glucometer (like Accu Check) within reach? If yes, kindly measure her blood sugar level when she gets the symptoms. If it is indeed low, then it is hypoglycemia (blood sugar <50),and she will need to be evaluated to rule out diabetes (especially if there is a positive family history of diabetes at an early age). Evaluation includes fasting blood sugar, oral glucose tolerance test (where they give her sugar by mouth and measure blood sugar levels after 1&2 hours), insulin level in the blood.
Other possible explanations of a truly low blood sugar include:
-Reactive hypoglycemia: blood sugar drops few hours after a meal because the body secretes too much insulin (exaggerated insulin surge). The reason for this phenomenon is unknown. Treatment is by intake of sugary foods.
-Insulinoma: this is usually an incidental finding. It's a benign growth of the pancreas that secreteseextra amounts of insulin. Treatment is surgical.
-Abuse of medications: common especially among adolescents aiming to lose weight by resorting to blood sugar lowering drugs like Glucovance.
-Dieters: female adolescents following a very strict diet poor in carbs can suffer from this because their bodies are depleted from sugar reserves (glycogen)
-Cushing's syndrome: this is caused by the adrenal gland, the small gland situated on top of the kidneys. It secretes the hormone cortisol (known as the stress hormone) which can induce a drop in blood sugar. Other symptoms of the disease include excessive sweating, thinning if arms and legs but fat accumulationaround the belly, stretch marks, increased body hair, round face.
-pheochromocytoma: also a disease of the adrenal gland causing increase in secretion of certain hormones. Associated with weight loss, fast heart rate, excessive sweating, and blood pressure that fluctuates between high and low values (paroxysmal hypertension).
If however blood sugar turns out to be normal, then other entities should be investigated, like anemia, heat intolerance, syncope (dizziness and near loss of consciousness, which could be of nokknown reason or could be due to a heart or nervous system problem).
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