RE: Hypoglycemia?

Question

I have been hypoglycemic for about 10 years now..I am 28 years old..keep a good diet (not Always perfect), workout at the gym and have been doing karate for 12 years..still ongoing...I know there have been patients who have been cured from their diabetes with stem cell insulin injections..but can hypoglycemia be cured with stem cell injections(s) of healthy insulin cells as well?
Jrcrow79

Answer 1

I have answered questions about hypoglycemia many times as there is so much confusion. Hypoglycemia is completely unrelated to diabetes and does not predispose to diabetes. The diagnosis came about in the 1960s when people reported symptoms similar to diabetics with true hypoglycemic episodes. By the 1970s however it had been conclusively demonstrated that the symptoms of non-diabetics with so called hypoglycemia were completely unrelated to glucose level. Research then focused on the possibility of a delayed release in insulin and this was called reactive hypoglycemia but this was disproven as well. Next research focused on insulin levels and again no link was found. Finally by 1980 creative researchers asked an obvious question - and this is where I became involved in the research myself. The question: what is common to true hypoglycemia and similar symptoms in the absence of hypoglycemia? The answer was the autonomic nervous system. Thus in 1980 the correct diagnosis became dysautonomia and this led to treatment. Beta blockers such as atenolol and metoprolol eliminate or markedly reduce symptoms of dysautonomia - or what you are calling hypoglycemia - in about 85% of individuals. Since dysautonomia has nothing to do with insulin cells stem cell injections are of no benefit. It is truly distressing for me to continue to find people diagnosed with hypoglycemia as I truly believed that this diagnosis would have disappeared in the early 1980s. Either your physician is 20 years out of date or they are simply using a term that is familiar to you and that they believe will sound familiar to you - the false implication being that you will understand better. I am primarily an educator but education takes time and physicians are not paid to educate. As knowledge increases and your exposure to misinformation - such as is commonly found in this forum - increases then education is increasingly important as well. Unfortunately the amount of education provided by physicians to patients is decreasing over time. Thus people are turning more and more often to friends and the internet for information. This is truly sad in my opinion. Ask your physician for a trial of beta blockers. Odds are heavily in favor that they will help.

Answer 2

Stem cell injections are something that you do not want. Seeing as you've been hypoglycemic for a decade, you should know that your body is sensitive to insulin. The stem cell treatment would harm you rather than 'cure' you. There is no cure at the moment.

My advice: get a blood glucose meter and check your blood sugar when you are feeling low [assuming that you feel it, if not, then check your bg's at least twice a day]. Make sure you eat small meals frequently throughout the day. The best combo: carbs and protein. Protein is important because it helps prolong the carbohydrates, which keeps your blood sugar levels more regulated. Hope this helps!

Answer 3

As far as research goes no. They have not come up with anything for Hypoglycemia yet.