apparently, I am hypoglycemic. - Page 2

Have you ever fasted for a longer period of time? Like say 24 hours or more?

That seems really low. Hypoglycemia in a male is defined as less than 50 mg/dL so you're not just borderline low and I would think that you'd experience definite symptoms at that level. I got hypoglycemic once and broke out in the sweats and shivers. Of course, everyone is different. But it's nothing to sneeze at because if blood sugar gets too low, an individual can end up in a coma. Not likely but possible. The fast would definitely lower your blood glucose but I'm still betting on lab error.

I don't know. Maybe you just have low blood sugar and your body is functional on it. 34 sounds more "doable" than 15 (again, after a fast). I don't have a ton of experience with sugars other than in hospitalized patients (where lots of things are messed up) and then predominantly with high sugars rather than low. If you're not experiencing any of the symptoms that stickshift mentioned earlier, then I'd consider it a non-issue. But if you do start feeling weak, dizzy, any kind of altered mental status, etc. I'd definitely bring it up with your doctor.

When those symptoms kick in, you'll know. There's been a few times where my blood sugars have plummeted due to not eating, being stressed out, and doing a lot of physical labor, and it felt like I was dying.

My suggestion if you go talk to your doctor about this if you feel it might be an issue.

Although I agree with you the connection between hypoglycemia and increased risk for diabetes is poorly understood and/or documented, having worked with diabetics for the past 10 years as a dietitian and certified diabetes educator, I have seen the connection between reactive hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and increased risk for type 2 diabetes. I have followed quite a few patients who were previously diagnosed with hypoglycemia and are later diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I think the risk may come form the increased insulin resistance that may be a consequence of chronic hyperinsulinemia (high levels of insulin in the blood).

Either way Kunk, don't get all stressed out about it. Ask your doctor for a referral to see an Endocrinologist so that you can identify and treat any underlying issues, if there are any.

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Yeah, like the others have said, 15 sounds really really low. Symptoms (anxiety, irritability, hunger) may or may not be present in all people. Sounds like you at least have the hunger. There is a chance your glucose metabolism is awry. I could be wrong, but even if you fasted for 12 hours, your glycogen stores should still provide you with a lot more than 15 mg/dl of glucose. I agree that having 34 in another test does show it's probably not a fluke test. I would definitely request further work up. Could be harmless, or it could be something more. ps. I didn't know that HYPOglycemia was a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Interesting. What's ironic is that a hyperglycemic diabetic functionally is "hypoglycemic" from the body tissue's point of view since you have trouble getting glucose into you cells and out of the blood stream. Of course, the real problems of diabetes are all caused from the hyperglycemic blood state.

Should show up as excess insulin in blood work, so wouldn't be too hard to exclude from a differential if it's not there I would think.

I'm kind of surprised Jumbie didn't steal my diagnostic thunder on this one but have you or your doctor tried checking your liver function? When your glucose gets low the body goes to the liver for to produce more in a process called gluconeogenesis. If your liver is impaired then it could definitely make you hypoglycemic. It could also be some type of adrenal or pituitary insufficiency but without any other kind of info besides your glucose level it's hard to say.