I have hypoglycemia, and I recently read something about hypoglycemia can cause anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. I realize that WE cause our own anxiety, but I am wondering if I DIDN'T have hypoglycemia, would I still struggle with this condition ? Anyone have some knowledge about this ?

Hi becbeliever:
Here is what I know about hypogylcemia:
First, the only way to determine if the symptoms you are experiencing are from hypoglycemia is to measure your blood glucose levels when you have the symptoms. Unless you have Diabetes, there is only a small group of people who actually have hypoglycemia (of non-diabetic origin). Hypoglycemia (of non-diabetic origin) is difficult to accurately diagnose because the symptoms of hypoglycemia are symptoms that can be experienced because of a variety of other health problems. An example, is stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety causes adrenaline to be released and can trigger the symptoms of hypoglycemia (Mahar & Escott-Stump, 2004). So you might think you have hypoglycemia when actually you are only dealing with stress and anxiety.

Now if you trully have hypoglycemia, here is some information that may be helpful to know. Hypoglycemia is a stimulus for the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine (Silverstone, 1998).

The exact causes of panic disorder are not known, so I couldn't tell you why you have the disorder. Here is an article from the American Psycological Association that explains panic disorder, including theories as to why people get it: http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/panic.html .

I hope this is helpful.

REFERENCE
Mahar, L. Kathleen & Escott-Stump, Sylvia (2004). Krause's Food, Nutrition, & Diet
Therapy. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Science.

Silverstone, Dee Unglaub (1998). Human Physiology. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Prentice Hall, Inc.

THANK YOU for that article and message. I read the entire thing, and it was very educational.