Question:
From Michigan, USA:
We have a 5 year old daughter who has been experiencing hypoglycemic episodes since, for sure, June [5 months ago]. We are currently awaiting results for ICA with the DPT Type 1 research study.
Recently, after a morning breakfast, she complained of not feeling well, lying down and saying her arms and legs hurt. I have a monitor, and checked her blood glucose level, and it was 158! I am told this is not normal, especially after a breakfast of cornflakes, no sugar (as we avoid this), and 2% milk. I am concerned that this is the beginning of diabetes for her. Her doctor is concerned, and wants to see her. Am I wrong in assuming that a nondiabetic's pancreas can handle even a high sugar intake, without going this high? She does not eat any sugar, such as candy, or concentrated forms, of any kind.
Answer:
Home monitors are not accurate enough to differentiate between minimally
elevated or decreased blood sugar. The only way to accurately
diagnose hyper- or hypoglycemia is to obtain a blood sugar at the time of the
the symptoms and send it to a medical laboratory. It is important to
make sure the blood specimen is processed properly as the sugar level
in a blood specimen may decrease if the specimen is not spun in a
centrifuge soon after collection or collected in a tube with a special
preservative (fluoride).
TGL
Original posting 24 Nov 96
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