Reactive Hypoglycemia’s Great Imitators

Leo and I went through about a dozen different diagnoses on our way to receiving a diagnosis of reactive hypoglycemia. They included: low blood pressure, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, “stress” and a handful more. In the past, people with RH. have been diagnosed with a host of disorders including behavioral disturbances, alcoholism, allergies, rheumatoid conditions, restless leg syndrome, anxiety neurosis, seizure disorders, hyperthyroidism, and cardiac arrhythmia.
Here are a some disorders that are commonly mistaken for RH.

Adrenergic Hormone Postprandial Syndrome

Closely related to reactive hypoglycemia, Pierre Lefebvre first proposed the term of “Adrenergic Hormone Postprandial Syndrome” in 1991 to describe the anxiety, palpitations, sweating, irritability, and tremors that patients experienced after meals that were not accompanied by low glucose levels. APS is caused by a similar process as reactive hypoglycemia, although the body avoids the hypoglycemia by stabilizing the blood sugar through a biochemical process called gluco (or sugar) homestasis. Unfortunately, due to the lack of hypoglycemia accompanying the symptoms, APS is sometimes referred to by some medical professionals as “pseudohypoglycemia” or “non-hypoglycemia.”

People with APS do not have reactive hypoglycemia, but people with RH can sometimes suffer from adrenergic hormone postprandial syndrome, which can cause–amongst other things–cardiac arrhythmia.
Because the cause of APS is the same as reactive hypoglycemia, the treatment is the same: a change to a reactive-hypoglycemic friendly diet.

Atrial Fibulation

Atrial fibrillation is a most common cardiac arrhythmia involving the two upper chambers (atria) of the heart. It can sometimes be identified by feeling your heart fluttering in your chest, or taking a pulse and noting that the heartbeat is irregular. A definite diagnosis can only be given by an electrocardiogram.
Sometimes, atrial fibulation may be the only sign that a person has reactive hypoglycemia; many people with atrial fibulation have reported that their AF disappeared after changing their diet.

The most common diet changes included avoidance of caffeine and alcohol, and switching to a “Paleo Diet, which is rich in low glycemic index foods.” See The Afibbers Report for more information on how diet can trigger atrial fibulation.

Cyclothymia

Cyclothymia is a mild form of bipolar disorder. Common symptoms are:

• Mood swings ranging from depression to mania
• Inability to maintain focus and enthusiasm for anything for long periods
• Relationship woes caused by mood swings
• Personality changes from upbeat and energetic to down, angry, or depressed
• Sleep disturbances

Unfortunately, these can also be signs of reactive hypoglycemia: low blood sugar can cause depressed mood states; highs and lows of sugar swings can cause bipolar mood fluctuations; sleep disturbances can be caused by blood sugar drops in the middle of the night.
The only sure way to know if your symptoms are caused by cyclothymia or reactive hypoglycemia is to a/ get diagnosed for reactive hypoglycemia b/ try the reactive hypoglycemic diet for a couple of weeks and see if your symptoms improve and c/ see a knowledgeable psychotherapist to rule out cyclothymia.

Prediabetes

The thought that prediabetes and reactive hypoglycemia are one and the same thing is widespread. They are very similar in their appearance, but the mechanisms that cause the hypoglycemia are entirely different. Physicians often warn their reactive hypoglycemic patients to lose weight and exercise more to ward of diabetes when the reality is, true reactive hypoglycemia is relatively rare and is not a precursor to diabetes at all. For more information on why prediabetes is often mistaken for RH, see my article on The Prediabetes-Reactive Hypoglycemia Myth.

Related posts:

1. Why Test for Reactive Hypoglycemia?

---

---



Featured on :

Buy now for 22% off the cover price »
Feel like yourself again,
learn to live well with
Reactive Hypoglycemia

---