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What Causes Hypoglycemia?

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Posted on Wed, 23 Apr 2014
Question: YesI have a daughter 42 who has GIST Cancer, covers 8 0 percent of abdomen. has hD FOR 18 MONTHS tOOK gLEEVAK and all was well, no increase in size. MondAY SHE WENT INTO A sTUPER AND COULD NOT WAKE UP. tAKEN TO HOSPITOL. bLOOD SUGAR WAS VERY LOW. sHE NEEDED SHOP OF gUCHOSE I THINK TO GET HER BLOOD SUGAR UP EVERY 3 TO FOR HOURS IT GOES FROM TIME OF SHOT FROM APP. 85 77 54 33 THEN SHE HAS COLD SWEETS AND THEY GIVE HER ANOTHER SHOT. tHIS HAS GONE ON FOR 3 DAYS without A diagnosis. tHEY SAY SHE DOES NOT HAVE DIABETES BUT DONT KNOW WHt is causing it, Excuse the typing, Help a worried fTHER IF YOU CAN.
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Answered by Dr. Shehzad Topiwala (1 hour later)
Brief Answer: Low glucose Detailed Answer: I am sorry to hear about your daughters' condition. Hope she gets better soon. She has hypoglycemia ie low glucose. People with diabetes get low glucose reactions only if they are on certain types of medications that are capable of producing low glucose reactions, such as Insulin and specific types of pills only. So even if your daughter has diabetes, she cannot get low glucoses just like that unless she is on the mentioned types of medications. I have noted the GIST. Sometimes individuals with such types of tumors produce a substance called IGF2 (Insulin like Growth factor 2) which acts like Insulin and produces severe low glucose levels in the blood that can be XXXXXXX Your daughter needs vigilant care and continuous glucose infusion through the veins in the hospital to maintain her blood glucose levels in the normal range of 70 to 100. It is ok to keep it even a bit higher than normal such as 100 to 150 rather than risking going low (below 70) Once the glucoses are, as a priority, brought back up in a stable manner in to the realm of normal, then the above mentioned blood test can be sent off to a specialty lab, because it is a rare type of test and will not be readily available. It is not to be confused with IGF1 (insulin like Growth factor 1) Evaluation of hypoglycemia requires considerable expertise and an extensive evaluation that is best performed by an endocrinologist. Several tests need to be done such as CBC CMP TSH Free T4 8 am cortisol Insulin auto antibodies IGF2 Glucose, if below 5 then Insulin Pro Insulin C peptide Beta hydroxy butyrate Oral hypoglycemic agent panel After these samples are drawn, Glucagon needs to be injected and blood glucose needs to be drawn at 10, 20 and 30 minutes to see if the blood glucoses recover back to normal. This gives important clues to the diagnosis
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Shehzad Topiwala

Endocrinologist

Practicing since :2001

Answered : 1663 Questions

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What Causes Hypoglycemia?

Brief Answer: Low glucose Detailed Answer: I am sorry to hear about your daughters' condition. Hope she gets better soon. She has hypoglycemia ie low glucose. People with diabetes get low glucose reactions only if they are on certain types of medications that are capable of producing low glucose reactions, such as Insulin and specific types of pills only. So even if your daughter has diabetes, she cannot get low glucoses just like that unless she is on the mentioned types of medications. I have noted the GIST. Sometimes individuals with such types of tumors produce a substance called IGF2 (Insulin like Growth factor 2) which acts like Insulin and produces severe low glucose levels in the blood that can be XXXXXXX Your daughter needs vigilant care and continuous glucose infusion through the veins in the hospital to maintain her blood glucose levels in the normal range of 70 to 100. It is ok to keep it even a bit higher than normal such as 100 to 150 rather than risking going low (below 70) Once the glucoses are, as a priority, brought back up in a stable manner in to the realm of normal, then the above mentioned blood test can be sent off to a specialty lab, because it is a rare type of test and will not be readily available. It is not to be confused with IGF1 (insulin like Growth factor 1) Evaluation of hypoglycemia requires considerable expertise and an extensive evaluation that is best performed by an endocrinologist. Several tests need to be done such as CBC CMP TSH Free T4 8 am cortisol Insulin auto antibodies IGF2 Glucose, if below 5 then Insulin Pro Insulin C peptide Beta hydroxy butyrate Oral hypoglycemic agent panel After these samples are drawn, Glucagon needs to be injected and blood glucose needs to be drawn at 10, 20 and 30 minutes to see if the blood glucoses recover back to normal. This gives important clues to the diagnosis