From: utzoo!decvax!decwrl!sun!megatest!p500vax:bobbie
Newsgroups: net.med
Title: Re: Hypoglycemia query
Article-I.D.: p500vax.173
Posted: Wed Feb 16 10:20:16 1983
Received: Mon Feb 21 07:07:29 1983
References: mitccc.321 brunix.1558

I am hypoglycemic.  It is very difficult to get diagnosed as most doctors
refused to believe in it.  It took me six months to get a correct diagnosis.
The first step is getting the doctor to believe you really might have it.
The symptoms are severe moodswings, shakes (if you haven't eaten recently),
headaches, heavy urination, eating sugar usually causes a severe depression
taking around 12 hours to go away, if you eat sugar and have a hour of
athletic activity then there are no side affects from eating it.  Lethargy
is also a symptom.   A five hour glucose tolerance test is a beginning step
to getting a diagnosis--you drink glucose, then they take urine and blood
samples 1/2 hour, then every hour after.  It is a bore if you don't have
hypoglycemia.  However, if you do--that's another story.  I had a migraine
1/2 hour after drinking the glucose, then passed out at the 5 hour mark.
Doctors diagnose by the ending numbers i.e. if you fall below 40 they will
diagnose you hypoglycemic.  However, they then to ignore the symptoms so
if you fall above those numbers they will tell you you are normal.  After
the diagnosis, I was put on a eating every two hours diet--and lost 5 
pounds in 4 days, so then I was put on an every hour eating diet.  No
sugar, fruit juices, dried fruit, and by sugar they mean sucrose, fructose,
honey, molasses--any sweetener other than artificial.  I have been
on my "diet" for 4 years and have had an amazing change by staying on it.
But when I got off, it is very noticeable.  

bobbie lawson
Megatest