Did You Say Mr. Hyde or Hypoglycemia?

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or hypoglycemic? This is the question with which I was faced when my husband was diagnosed with an insulinoma on his pancreas. For several weeks before his diagnosis I had noticed unusual behavior, in some instances down right abuse, in this usually teddy-bear of a man. It came to a head when we went to breakfast one morning and he threw his wallet at me in the parking lot, jumped back into the car, peeled a wheel into the road and drove off. By the time I got home, he was sweating , out of energy, and begging forgiveness for his behavior. I called our physician and said, “Look, I don’t know what the problem is but you’d better find out before one or the other of us kills the other one.”

This began a very long process of going to doctors and his eventually having a whipple procedure done on the abdominal area. After a protracted recovery, he continues to have to be very careful of what he eats and what he does. Hypoglycemia or hyperinsulinism is a condition that results in the presence of above-normal amounts of insulin which means below-normal levels of sugar. This can lead to headaches, dizziness, weakness, and emotional instability. Did you say emotional instability? Sounds familiar to me. He is not cured but we have learned to deal with the ups and downs (literally) of the condition.

We have learned some very valuable tips during this process concerning eating and exercise. The first and most important for him, is to eat every 3 hours. This especially includes making sure to get up during the night for snacks. Before I realized this it was not unusual to find his blood sugar at a very dangerous low level of 20-25 during the early morning. Plus the type of foods he eats plays an important role in balancing his blood sugar. High-fiber foods have really helped to regulate the level between the three-hour meals or snacks. Also, he has to be very careful about the degree of exercise in which he participates. Eating before exercising is critical to keeping his blood sugar level normal during the activity.

This encounter with an insulinoma in my husband has also given me a different perspective on my relationships with people. Before this experience, I was often very short in my dealings with people who exhibited rude and outrageous behavior. While every person who demonstrates these tendencies is certainly not hypoglycemic, I do always wonder about their sugar level. Hummmm – what about Britney Spears?