Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia) (cont.)
IN THIS ARTICLE
- Hypoglycemia Overview
- Hypoglycemia Causes
- Hypoglycemia Symptoms
- When to Seek Medical Care
- Questions to Ask the Doctor
- Exams and Tests
- Hypoglycemia Treatment
- Self-Care at Home
- Medical Treatment
- Medications
- Surgery
- Next Steps
- Follow-up
- Prevention
- Synonyms and Keywords
- Authors and Editors
- Viewer Comments: Hypoglycemia - Effective Treatments
Medications
The best medication is glucose, given orally as cake icing, hard candy (not chocolate), a liquid containing table sugar, or intravenously as dextrose-containing solutions. Adrenal insufficiency is treated by giving hydrocortisone (as tablets or intramuscular injection, pending definitive medical therapy). Children with growth hormone deficiency are treated with daily growth hormone injections.
The physician may prescribe specific medications, like diazoxide (Proglycem) or streptozotocin (Zanosar), if the low sugar is refractory or recurrent. These drugs work by suppressing insulin release from the pancreatic beta cells.
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Hypoglycemia - Effective Treatments
What kinds of treatments have been effective for your hypoglycemia?
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Hypoglycemia »
Hypoglycemia is a syndrome characterized by a reduction in plasma glucose concentration to a level that may induce symptoms of low blood sugar.
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