25 Signs You May Suffer From Hypoglycemia

The energetic, beautiful, and talented Connie Bennett!

Back by popular demand is bestselling author Connie Bennett from the SUGAR SHOCK! blog guest blogging with more information about the subject of hypoglycemia which you may find quite the eye-opener, especially if you or a loved one suffers from any of these nasty symptoms. Remember to leave your comments for Connie and she will respond right here at my blog. ENJOY!

Dear readers of the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog,

It's Connie Bennett again. As you may recall, I'm one of Jimmy's many blogging buddies. I'm also a former sugar addict, holistic health counselor and author of the new book SUGAR SHOCK! from Berkley Books (part of the Penguin Group). Anyhow, Jimmy is being kind enough to allow me to guest blog over here as I continue my worldwide SUGAR SHOCK! Blog Tour.

Today, I'm here to talk to you about reactive hypoglycemia, which is a condition that not enough doctors recognize or accept. In my previous post, I mentioned a few symptoms you could get. What you may find mind-boggling is that if you have hypoglycemia (also called low blood sugar), you could have as many as 125 ailments! (To understand more about this condition and how it's often misdiagnosed, read this excerpt from my book SUGAR SHOCK!)

In fact, hypoglycemia has been called the “Great Imitator” because its strange, startling symptoms can mimic a frightening array of diseases and conditions. For instance, people with reactive hypoglycemia have been misdiagnosed as having bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, neurosis, migraines, Parkinson’s syndrome, paroxysmal tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), rheumatoid arthritis, mental retardation, alcoholism, hyperactive disorder, and even senility.

Isn't that scary? You may have reactive hypoglycemia, but your doctor diagnoses the wrong disease or condition! (By the way, in SUGAR SHOCK!, I share some scary stories about people getting misdiagnosed.)

So, here are 25 symptoms which signify you may have hypoglycemia:

1. Cravings for sweets
2. Mental confusion
3. Mood swings
4. Unexplained fatigue and exhaustion
5. Weak spells
6. Cold sweats
7. Depression
8. Headaches
9. Heart palpitations
10. Digestive disturbances
11. Forgetfulness
12. Insomnia
13. Anxiety
14. Obesity
15. Internal trembling
16. Crying spells
17. Lack of sex drive (females)
18. Impotence (males)
19. Allergies
20. Blurred vision
21. Night terrors and nightmares
22. Muscle pains
23. Allergies
24. Itching and crawling sensations on the skin
25. Internal trembling

I’m not a doctor, but if you have a number of the health woes cited above, I’d highly recommend that you see a physician to learn if you have hypoglycemia or another blood sugar condition. (The five-hour Glucose Tolerance Test, while unpleasant, may be able to give you some answers.)

Bear in mind, though, often, if you kick sugar (or at least drastically cut back on your consumption of sweets and refined carbs), you may be able to cut out (or curtail) these ailments. (I'm not promising anything, but isn’t it worth a try to find out?)

Incidentally, that’s what happened to me: I quit eating sugar and quickie carbs on doctor's orders in 1998, and all 44 of my symptoms completely vanished! So, I invite you to do some self-exploration.

- Do you have any of the symptoms I mentioned above? Which ones?
- Do you have any other baffling ailments? Think about any and all health problems that you have such as headaches, mood swings, getting too tired or wired, difficulty focusing, etc.

I’m eager to hear back from you and maybe help steer you in the right direction. Don’t be bashful. Tell us about your strange symptoms.

Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C.,
Author, SUGAR SHOCK! (Berkley Books)
www.SugarShockBlog.com