# Fascinating: Is hypoglycemia a thing in non-diabetic people? **URL:** \ **Category:** Type 1 & LADA\ **Created:** [August 28, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209 "2019-08-28T19:44:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TiaG](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/tiag/32/594_2.png) [@TiaG](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/TiaG)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209/1 "2019-08-28T19:44:34Z")
I’ve often had symptoms of hypoglycemia, even though I don’t have T1 or T2. I This study is really interesting to me for that reason. IT’s a small one. HEre’s an excerpt in case you can’t access Medscape: > The new study evaluated just eight patients — all young women who reported symptoms such as shakiness, dizziness, [headache](https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1048596-overview), and irritability that they attributed to low blood glucose — and had no control group, so it’s far from conclusive. > However, while wearing a blinded CGM for a week, all participants experienced glucose values below 70 mg/dL, and in half values actually dropped below 54 mg/dL, correlating with reported symptoms. > > In 2017, the 54 mg/dL cutoff for hypoglycemia was chosen for reporting in clinical trials by the [International Hypoglycemia Study Group](https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/40/1/155) both because it presents “immediate and long-term danger to the individual” and because, that group said, values below 54 mg/dL “do not occur under physiological conditions in nondiabetic individuals,” Mongraw-Chaffin and colleagues note. > **[Modern Tech May Shed Light on Hypoglycemia in Absence of Diabetes](https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/917367)** > > Whether true "hypoglycemia" occurs in people without diabetes has been controversial for decades, but modern technology may shed light, according to a new study considered "a starting point." ---
**Author:** ![bostrav59](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/bostrav59/32/7281_2.png) [@bostrav59](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/bostrav59)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 9:51pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209/2 "2019-08-28T21:51:00Z")
> [@TiaG](#): > > I’ve often had symptoms of hypoglycemia, even though I don’t have T1 or T2 Many people in my family have had low blood sugar issues (my mom, my sister, now my wife who has a family history of type 2 diabetes). These also seem to occur in families with diabetes as well. These days, you can always test when you feel low and see if it’s true. So I think it’s a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Eric](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/eric/32/9209_2.png) [@Eric](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Eric)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 11:14pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209/3 "2019-08-28T23:14:21Z")
I’ve always heard the 70 number is bogus. But using CGM’s for the study, I don’t think they’d every get valid numbers with non-D’s because their bodies would correct it so quickly. I mean, if they see an occasional \<70 on the CGM, it might be that there were a lot more occurrences which were not actually caught by CGM. ---
**Author:** ![Thomas](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/thomas/32/1719_2.png) [@Thomas](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Thomas)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 11:51pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209/4 "2019-08-28T23:51:53Z")
Yes. Hypoglycemia is real. In non-diabetics. I have no idea why anybody would consider that controversial. ---
**Author:** ![Jen](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/jen/32/4777_2.png) [@Jen](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Jen)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209/5 "2019-08-29T02:33:26Z")
People can definitely have hypoglycemia as an issue in and of itself without diabetes. ---
**Author:** ![Sam](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/sam/32/10595_2.png) [@Sam](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 3:01am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209/6 "2019-08-29T03:01:35Z")
Hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia are natural human conditions imo. Just as high and low blood pressure, temporarily high and low lipid levels, high and low respiration levels, high and low pulse, and everything else imo. The distinguishing factor is whether the body lacks the ability to correct for those issues… which if it doesn’t is indicative of a disease state… ---
**Author:** ![Boerenkool](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/boerenkool/32/6307_2.png) [@Boerenkool](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Boerenkool)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 8:54pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209/7 "2019-08-30T20:54:04Z")
> [@Thomas](#): > > I have no idea why anybody would consider that controversial. I get the impression some diabetics find that idea offensive for some reason. As if that would downplay the severity of diabetes or something. ---
**Author:** ![TiaG](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/tiag/32/594_2.png) [@TiaG](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/TiaG)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2019, 9:35pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209/8 "2019-08-30T21:35:22Z")
Well it’s not just diabetics. I think the issue raised in the article is that many people (often young, teen women) will complain of these symptoms and DOCTORS brush them off and say it’s not hypoglycemia.I don’t think that reactive hypoglycemia is universally acknowledged as something that people who do not have diabetes may get. ---
**Author:** ![Thomas](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/thomas/32/1719_2.png) [@Thomas](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Thomas)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 12:42am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209/9 "2019-08-31T00:42:09Z")
> [@Boerenkool](#): > > I get the impression some diabetics find that idea offensive for some reason. Perhaps. Makes no sense to me. There can be multiple reasons for Hypoglycemia in people who do not have diabetes. A liver issue is certainly an aspect that needs to be looked at. A tumor on the pancreas. Drugs giving unexpected reactions. A number of other possibilities. It can be quite serious. ---
**Author:** ![jbowler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@jbowler](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/jbowler)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 12:48am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209/10 "2019-08-31T00:48:04Z")
> [@Boerenkool](#): > > I get the impression some diabetics find that idea offensive for some reason Not at all; in my working life I rarely encountered another T1D but the discussions with hypo-aware non-D’s were always helpful. The thing I’ve always considered weird is this (_ **emphasis** _ added): > [@TiaG](#): > > The new study evaluated just eight patients — _ **all young women** _ who reported symptoms such as shakiness, dizziness, [headache](https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1048596-overview), and irritability that they attributed to low blood glucose Yep, the people I discussed hypos with were women, possibly “young” women (one was older than me, but I guess I was a young man.) I think this underscores a far more worrying situation; “young men” really aren’t permitted to discuss such things, but I’m pretty sure that the non-D occurrences are not sex related and I’ve seen enough “young men” exhibiting the relevant symptoms to suspect that there might be a common cause. ---
**Author:** ![Jen](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/jen/32/4777_2.png) [@Jen](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Jen)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 5:13pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209/11 "2019-08-31T17:13:34Z")
I think part of the problem is that hypoglycemia is like allergies. SO MANY people just say they have these conditions without ever seeing a doctor. They just decide that their symptoms match and this must be what they have, without realizing that they are actually serious medical issues and should be diagnosed and monitored by a doctor. Also, a lot of people use these medical issues as jokes, even when they’re not serious. I’ve heard many people joke about their blood sugar being low to try to (jokingly) get a food break, for example. Or people say they’re allergic to something to (jokingly) try to get out of doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Thomas](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/thomas/32/1719_2.png) [@Thomas](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Thomas)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 5:36pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209/12 "2019-08-31T17:36:02Z")
> [@Jen](#): > > I think part of the problem is that hypoglycemia is like allergies. SO MANY people just say they have these conditions without ever seeing a doctor. > [@Jen](#): > > Also, a lot of people use these medical issues as jokes, even when they’re not serious. Sure. I have no problems with people doing that. To each their own. But I also do not take them seriously. That is not what I talk about at all when I say that of course non-diabetics have Hypoglycemia. I refer to real incapacitating Hypoglycemia in people who do not have diabetes. The existence of that is a medical fact. ---
**Author:** ![Jen](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/jen/32/4777_2.png) [@Jen](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Jen)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209/13 "2019-08-31T17:48:18Z")
Yes. Sorry. Miscommunication. Of course hypoglycemia is a real medical condition. I said so up the thread a bit. 🙂 And, yes, it can be very serious. I was just adding another facet to the discussion and, in particular, a reason why many people may not _think_ hypoglycemia without diabetes is a real or serious condition. In general, people going around self-diagnosing themselves and making jokes takes some of the seriousness out of these conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Thomas](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/thomas/32/1719_2.png) [@Thomas](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Thomas)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209/14 "2019-08-31T17:52:39Z")
> [@Jen](#): > > Yes. Sorry. Miscommunication. > > Of course hypoglycemia is a real medical condition. I said so up the thread a bit. I did not intend to imply you doubted it. Sorry if it came across that way. I think I was more agreeing with you. ---
**Author:** ![Jen](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/jen/32/4777_2.png) [@Jen](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Jen)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 5:53pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209/15 "2019-08-31T17:53:48Z")
> [@Thomas](#): > > I think I was more agreeing with you. Wow, I read your post as disagreeing. Crazy. No wonder people get into arguments on social media! 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Thomas](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/thomas/32/1719_2.png) [@Thomas](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Thomas)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 5:54pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/fascinating-is-hypoglycemia-a-thing-in-non-diabetic-people/8209/16 "2019-08-31T17:54:57Z")
It made perfect sense inside my head. lol