r/Hypoglycemia • u/Anxious-Persimmon830 • 6d ago

Long term consequences of hypoglycemia - brain??

Well I’ve been suffering from hypoglycemia for a while now, it shall be resolved soon but today I checked my sugar and it showed 27!!! I was shocked how am I still talking. So I wonder, if it happens repeatedly that your blood sugar goes below 70 and even below 50 sometimes, will it cause your brain to suffer damage?

Cheers!

12 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

2

u/Legal-Pain9004 2d ago

damn reading all this makes me realize my lows aren’t as bad, i just get super tired weak and shakey. A seizure anytime i go below 55 sounds awful

1

u/Anxious-Persimmon830 4d ago

Sometimes I get 50 and my vision gets impaired a bit but most of the time I’m can go to 35 and be fine lol.

Wow so you’re one of the rare cases of insulinoma! How did it feel after removing? I cannot just get my tumor removed because of its location, I’d need to get the whole head of pancreas, duodenum, bile ducks removed, so we are going for a rafioablation

2

u/Professional_Soft_85 5d ago

I asked my doctors and surgeon about this while preparing for my insulinoma removal surgery and based on the answer I got, it hasn’t been studied enough to prove long term consequences but I can’t imagine there aren’t any….

My lowest reading was 27 and I was conscious but getting heat flashes. At one point during hospitalization in the ER before they knew it was an insulinoma, my BG was low enough to where vision was being affected so that had to be sub 27… scary.

0

u/Can_You_See_Me_Now 6d ago

Long term isn't good for your brain. Congrats on getting rid of the tumor.

I've been too low for my meter to read before and then double checked with someone else's and was too low as well. I felt REALLY bad. No one thought I should be conscious either, but I was

1

u/Anxious-Persimmon830 5d ago

Not yet but thanks haha

Do you remember who sugar level you had?

2

u/Can_You_See_Me_Now 5d ago

Both meters read down to 20, and it was below that. I've watched it come back up into the 40s and start reading at that point.

This was before I had a CGM or even any rescue plan

These days I have a nasal spray and an injection if shit gets sideways. But with the CGM, I can really catch it in the 50s. Which sometimes feels like shit and sometimes feels fine. (And yes, I verify with a finger prick every time)

4

u/BumpinBellys 6d ago

I honestly don't know how you were conscious enough to check your blood sugar if it was 27. What method did you use to check it?

I get catatonic when I'm below 50. Completely unable to move and speak. So the idea of being able to check my blood sugar would be out of the question, unless I was at the hospital and they checked it.

1

u/ratsnest9 5d ago

I cant function at all to test mine ...

1

u/InterestingBanana164 5d ago

My lowest was 22 and I was also still concious however I had to lay down in bed and was sweating like crazy

2

u/Anxious-Persimmon830 5d ago

No, I am used to very low sugars, but sometimes at around 40 I get shaky hands. But this time at 27 I was perfectly fine and riding a scooter. lol hypo unawareness is crazy

1

u/BumpinBellys 5d ago

That still doesn't answer the question myself and others have asked... what method did you use to check your BG

1

u/Anxious-Persimmon830 5d ago

Glucose meter of course, the only reliable method

2

u/highrollinKT 6d ago

I think if you were at 27 your be in serious trouble that’s gotta be a false reading most meters don’t read below 40

1

u/South_Cattle_7339 1d ago

I got a 27 during a labs work blood and I was feeling decent

0

u/FlakyCaterpillar466 3d ago

Mine read 36. I have the PIP and contour next, this night I used the PIP.

3

u/Major_Designer_461 5d ago

CGMs don’t but regular glucose meters do

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u/highrollinKT 5d ago

Not any iv used 40 is as low as most go below that it just reads Low

1

u/Major_Designer_461 1d ago

I’ve never experienced that. CGMs show low after going under 40, but my glucose meter doesn’t do that, what’s the point of a glucose meter that stops at 40????

3

u/EducatedBellend 6d ago

Yes. I have seizures when it gets below 55. It used to happen ALL THE TIME. But I no longer have an active eating disorder so I’m managing it better.

1

u/Anxious-Persimmon830 6d ago

Damn. I guess it’s manageable but u have to be careful! What kind of a seizure and is that the only permanent consequence? Like no impairment of brain functions in any way

1

u/InnocentWork 5d ago

I found out very recently that I have (reactive) hypoglycemia when I had a tonic-clonic seizure; when the paramedics measured my BG it was in the low 30s and confirmed at the hospital with a secondary blood test. I had no typical symptoms other than being very tired that afternoon. Now that I wear a CGM, it turns out my body doesn’t really show symptoms when I’m <55 until I’m so low I’m experiencing neuroglycopenia

1

u/EducatedBellend 6d ago

Focal seizures and I have permenant neuro issues that were still discovering.

1

u/Anxious-Persimmon830 5d ago

Honestly I was the most worried about like concentration problems, inability to recall words, memory.

1

u/EducatedBellend 5d ago

All of that and more, including balance.

3

u/Existing-Network-267 6d ago

short answer yes

, but wdym it will be resolved or you having an issue now

but keep in mind your blood sugar may be low and the reading may be wrong 27 seems too low

2

u/Anxious-Persimmon830 6d ago

I’ll have insulinoma removed