Hypoglycemia means low blood sugar. Hypo- means low, glyc- means sugar and -emia means in the blood. The word means low sugar in the blood. A symptom is a problem that you know about and usually want to go away. There are a number of symptoms of hypoglycemia. The human brain's fuel is a sugar called glucose. Glucose is the body's primary fuel. When glucose is not available, the brain and all the nerves coming develop problems. The first is light-headedness or dizziness and you feel a bit giddy. If blood sugar stays low you may next experience blurred vision because the eyes are connected directly to the brain.
Muscles use glucose as fuel. If blood sugar remains low another symptom of hypoglycemia is trembling, especially of the hands. You may feel an inward trembling. The trembling disappears after a meal because the glucose is restored. Another effect may be butterfly stomach cramps. Heart palpitations can occur if meals are skipped. The palpitations give the sense that something serious is wrong and make you feel like you are going to have a heart attack. Of course, your body wants you to eat sugar to remedy the hypoglycemia. This is the reason for an abnormal craving of sweets. However, eating lots of sugar often makes things much worse.
An afternoon headache is often a symptom of hypoglycemia, especially when you have not eaten breakfast or lunch. Some people experience bad or terror dreams. They can wake a person up and prevent them from getting back to sleep (insomnia). This makes the patient more miserable in the morning and may be the source of chronic fatigue or chronic nervous exhaustion.
A brain that has been denied glucose functions poorly which can cause depression with crying for no apparent reason and feelings of insecurity. A poorly functioning brain also experiences memory loss and an inability to concentrate. In severe and sudden drops of blood glucose, a severe symptom of hypoglycemia is convulsions. Convulsions are often seen in diabetics who have taken too much insulin or sometimes when they have skipped several meals.
Hypoglycemia has a number of effects on the brain and therefore the sufferer's mental health. Hypoglycemics are highly emotional, fearful and sometimes even have hallucinations. Another set of symptoms is depression, difficulty making decisions, and a reduced ability to take initiatives. Another symptom of hypoglycemia is fatigue that improves after eating. Eating restores the blood sugar and the fatigue. The fatigue can be sensed as a lack of energy. Coffee increases blood sugar by releasing glucose from liver storage. However, difficulty waking up or getting started each morning is relieved by drinking coffee.
Many patients eat early lunch and late dinner. This leaves a long time between meals. A symptom of hypoglycemia during these periods is feeling faint and a little shaky. Many hypoglycemics crave candy, coffee, or Coke in the afternoons to help relieve this uneasy healing. Keeping food at work and constantly nibbling sometimes helps with the weakness and/or dizziness symptoms.
As blood sugar drops a patient often begins to breath heavily and this along with the low blood sugar causes nervousness. The stress of working under pressure lowers blood sugar and makes the symptoms of hypoglycemia worse. Another symptom of hypoglycemia are brown spots or bronzing of the patients skin. Because blood sugar tends to be its lowest before means many patients are very irritable before meals and then get sleepy immediately after eating. Hypoglycemics tend to be allergic people and often have hay fever, skin rashes, and other allergy related symptoms.
If you are having headaches and would like to consult with Dr. Padolsky, please call and make an appointment at 404-874-7428.