<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

In the Feb 2000 issue of the University of California Berkeley Wellness
Letter, on page 7, is a statement about hypoglycemia -- a caveat:

In summary they insist that true hypoglycemia is exceedingly rare and is
not a disease, but a symptom of some other *severe problem such as liver
disease, stomach surgery, or a tumor of the pancreas.

Then it goes on to say that "reactive hypoglycemia" is a catch all
diagnosis that many doctors erroneously give to cover a complex of symptoms
that may not have much to do with blood sugar levels at all.

A short while after a meal some people may feel "dizzy, shaky, anxious and
otherwise unwell." Or they may feel faint or ill if they go several hours
without eating. Some docs call this "hypoglycemia" and recommend special
diets etc.

The glucose tolerance tests they use to detect hypoglycemia are designed to
detect diabetes and have "no value for hypoglycemia." A better test
involves taking a blood sample at the onset of symptoms, and these blood
tests almost always show that the dizziness etc., are not related to blood
sugar levels. Most people with these symptoms have normal blood sugar
levels. In summation: "Be skeptical about a diagnosis of reactive
hypoglycemia."

When I described exactly these symptoms to my internist a few years ago and
suggested that I might have hypoglycemia, he explained very plausibly that
what I had was a reaction of too much acid, which, as I've mentioned
before, can take forms other than just the heart burn so many of us are
familiar with. -vance

I might also mention that we celiacs must be getting popular since a
pharmaceutical company now offers a drug to make people into temporary
artificial celiacs. That new fat blocker (is it Zanical or something like
that?) for dieters that is advertised so much on TV warns that it will
cause most of the fat to pass straight through the intestines without being
digested, causing diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and the inability to absorb
vitamins and minerals. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery :)