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Sure ... To clarify: the term "hypoglycemia" is used to refer to two distinct conditions. The word just means "low blood glucose". This can occur as an insulin reaction, the result of too much injected insulin (taken to treat diabetes) compared to food intake and exercise. But low blood glucose can also be a chronic condition resulting from abnormalities of insulin secretion, and this chronic condition is also called hypoglycemia. Chronic hypoglycemia may be caused by beta cells which overreact to an increase in blood glucose (bg) by releasing too much insulin, which then causes a too-rapid drop in bG. Such a condition, called reactive hypoglycemia, is usually handled by dietary adjustments, in particular avoiding refined sugars and large meals which stimulate the overreaction. This often requires an effort in calculating the diet and monitoring bG levels that is equal to what anyone with diabetes needs. Tumors (insulinomas) can cause a steady overproduction of insulin. These generally require surgical removal. There are other causes as well. Mayer Davidson discusses some in his book _Diabetes Mellitus: Diagnosis and Treatment_. But you'll have to find the Second Edition, because he dropped this chapter from the Third Edition. I don't believe anyone claims to understand all the causes of hypoglycemia. The US NIDDK has a booklet online which discusses some of the less common causes: http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/diabetes/pubs/hypo/hypo.htm So chronic hypoglycemia is closely related to diabetes mellitus in being a disorder of insulin production and use, and requires many of the same techniques for its treatment. The two are a natural for discussion in the same newsgroup. Which is good, since there really isn't anywhere else in Usenet at present to discuss chronic hypoglycemia. Welcome. A hypoglycemia mailing list, HYPO-L, is available and sees moderate traffic. See the section on mailing lists in part 4 of this FAQ for subscription information. Lars Idema maintains a hypoglycemia FAQ and information on a variety of hypoglycemia resources on the Internet. See his web page at http://hypoglykemie.nl
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Last Update May 13 2007 @ 00:22 AM