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Medical Author:

Robert Ferry Jr., MD

Robert Ferry Jr., MD

Robert Ferry Jr., MD, is a U.S. board-certified Pediatric Endocrinologist. After taking his baccalaureate degree from Yale College, receiving his doctoral degree and residency training in pediatrics at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), he completed fellowship training in pediatric endocrinology at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Epinephrine is among the major hormones released during hypoglycemia. Epinephrine causes the majority of the early symptoms of hypoglycemia.

Common symptoms of hypoglycemia include the following:

• trembling,
  
  
• clammy skin,
  
  
• palpitations (pounding or fast heart beats),
  
  
• anxiety,
  
  
• sweating,
  
  
• hunger, and
  
  
• irritability.

When the brain remains deprived of glucose, a later set of symptoms follows:

• difficulty in thinking,
  
  
• confusion,
  
  
• headache,
  
  
• seizures, and
  
  
• coma.
  
  

Ultimately, after significant coma or loss of consciousness, death can occur.

It is important to realize that with chronic or repeated hypoglycemia, the body does not respond as vigorously, so any hypoglycemic individual may display mild symptoms, or even experience no appreciable symptoms. Again, documentation of the blood glucose level is essential to confirm the diagnosis, with further testing to establish the specific cause if not known.

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