Current term for my condition?

[AspiringCarbon]

In the early 90s, I was diagnosed as Extreme Reactive Hypogycemic. Current medical professionals don't seem to know what that term means. I was almost killed recently while in the hospital, because they thought it was regular hypoglycemia and drew blood without giving me anything to eat or drink. I need to find out the current, correct medical term for my condition so that this won't happen again.

My symptoms: If I don't eat for a long time, my blood sugar drops rapidly and preciptously. Overexertion, stress, heat and dehydration also contribute. Having blood drawn almost always triggers an attack.

First, I get cranky as my brain slows down. Then I cry. Then my brain pretty much stops working and I can't move or talk. At this point, I often get cold and pale (sometimes even bluish or purplish). If I still don't get food, I pass out.

If, before I pass out, I'm given nothing but sugars, my glucose rapidly spikes, then rapidly drops down lower than it was before. I have to have proteins with the sugar to keep this from happening. I don't have diabetes, but when I was given a glucose tolerance test (which almost killed me), I was told that the next time I pass out, I may go into a diabetic coma. (I don't really understand how that works.)

Fortunately, I have a very good diet and exercise regime, and I rarely had episodes. Unfortunately, I recently had an accident, which seems to have weakened me. Especially after my treatment in the hospital, I'm now much more likely to have an attack.

I also have Crohn's Disease. I've been told that the same gene is involved in Crohn's as in blood sugar conditions, which is why I mention it.

[Cathleen Zoretic, RN]

Thanks for using the forum.

The other term for Reactive Hypoglycemia is postprandial hypoglycemia. It is no longer diagnosed using the glucose tolerance test due to the number of severe reactions. I hope this helps.

Cathy

[AspiringCarbon]

Thanks so much for your response! I'm very glad to know that the glucose tolerance test is no longer used to confirm postprandial hypoglycemia. It's truly dangerous.

I looked around the web, and found an extremely helpful site maintained by a fellow sufferer, reactivehypoglycemia.info. It's good to know that the few siezures I've had are probably related to my condition. Before my glucose tolerance test, doctors gave me an EEG, which showed me as negative for epilepsy.

It's also good to know that studies actually show that I'm *less* likely to develop diabetes than the average person. I've always questioned the logic of the pre-diabetes claim.

It seems that I need to find out what the underlying disorder is that causes my reactive hypoglycemia. Since I have an autoimmune disease (Crohn's), I wonder if I have autoimmune hypoglycemia? Regardless, I'll continue to treat it with my strict diet and exercise program, which has worked very well for both Crohn's and reactive hypoglycemia for decades.

And I'll try to stay out of hospitals! ;)