Suggest Treatment For Dizziness, Nausea And Blurred Vision While Having Hypoglycemia

Posted on Mon, 13 Jun 2016

Question: I was doing a bit of yard work and I suddenly felt dizzy and my vision blurred. I tried to walk to a lawn chair and stumbled before I made it. I sat and felt nauseous. I made it back inside and passed out on the couch for a few minutes? I awoke and fell asleep for over an hour. I tried to type and send a message, but now I look at it and it doesn't make sense. I'm 60, female....possibly low blood sugar?

I received an email saying response is "almost" instant but I have not received a response.

Answered by Dr. Ishu Bishnoi (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Consultation

Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXX, thanks for asking from HCM.

I can understand your concern. Your symptoms were suggestive of "sudden blackout". It usually occurs after mental or physical straining due to

: Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar - As you rightly pointed out it. If you are a known diabetic or you have not had any food before work, it could be the possibility.

It could have been confirmed by blood sugar measurement at the time of incident and improvement in symptoms after taking high sugar food/drink. You can consult doctor for blood sugar monitoring for few days to check for low sugar. Usually low sugar occurs due to poor intake of food, high dose of sugar lowering drug/Insulin in night, damage of autonomic system by raised blood sugar impairing warning signs.

: Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) - It is sudden decrease in blood supply of brain. It occurs due to
; Arterial narrowing like carotid artery, vertebral artery. It can be confirmed by angiography of vessels or doppler study.
TIA usually occurs in more than 60 years age, diabetic, known case of cardiac disease, obese person.

You should consult doctor to investigate it. It is managed by lipid lowering drugs, stenting of narrow vessel or surgical removal of narrow segment.

: Dehydration - It can be suspected if you sweated a lot while working and all other factors are negative. Dehydration leads to decrease in water and electrolyte amount. It can be corrected by drinking lemon-sugar-salt water, juice mixed with salt and rest.

To prevent it, avoid work empty stomach.
Drink at least 3 litre of water daily.
Gradually increase your stamina.

Hope it will help you. If still any doubt, kindly let me know or consult doctor.

Thanks. Take care.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee