About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffIf you experience symptoms of hypoglycemia several times a week, schedule an appointment to see your doctor. He or she will consider what triggered the hypoglycemia and help you make changes to prevent future episodes of low blood sugar.
Because appointments can be brief, and because there's often a lot of ground to cover, it's a good idea to be well prepared for your appointment. Here's some information to help you get ready for your appointment, and what to expect from your doctor.
What you can do
- Be aware of any pre-appointment restrictions. If your doctor is going to test your blood sugar, he or she will ask you to refrain from eating or drinking anything but water for eight hours for a fasting glucose test or four hours for a pre-meal test. When you're making an appointment, ask if fasting is necessary.
- Write down your symptoms and how often they occur. It may help to keep a record of any low blood sugar reactions so that you and your doctor can see patterns leading to hypoglycemia and find ways to prevent them.
- Write down key personal information, including any major stresses or recent life changes. If you're monitoring your glucose values at home, bring a record of the glucose results, detailing the dates and times of testing.
- Make a list of all medications, as well as any vitamins or supplements.
- Create a record of metered glucose values. Give your doctor a written or printed record of your blood glucose values, times and medication. Using the record, your doctor can recognize trends and offer advice on how to prevent hypoglycemia.
- Write down questions to ask your doctor. Be clear about aspects of your diabetes management that you need clarification on.
- Be aware if you need any prescription refills. Your doctor can renew your prescriptions while you're there.
For diabetic hypoglycemia, questions you may want to ask include:
- How often do I need to monitor my blood sugar?
- What is my goal range?
- How do diet and exercise affect my blood sugar?
- How can I prevent low blood sugar?
- Do I need to worry about high blood sugar? What are the signs and symptoms I need to watch out for?
- Do I need a prescription for the emergency injection of glucagon?
- What kind of follow-up, if any, should I expect?
In addition to the questions that you've prepared to ask your doctor, don't hesitate to ask questions during your appointment at any time that you don't understand something.
What to expect from your doctor
Your doctor is likely to ask you a number of questions, such as:
- What symptoms do you notice when you have low blood sugar?
- How often do you experience these symptoms?
- What steps do you take to raise your blood sugar levels?
- How often do you test your blood sugar?
- What medications are you taking, and how often?
- What's a typical day's diet like?
- Are you exercising? If so, how often?
- Do your family, friends and co-workers know what to do if you experience severe hypoglycemia?
- Cryer PE. Glucose homeostasis and hypoglycemia. In: Kronenberg HM, et al. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier Saunders; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/172399185-6/0/1555/204.html?tocnode=54108916&fromURL=204.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2911-3..50035-2_3179. Accessed Nov. 19, 2009.
- McCulloch DK. Management of hypoglycemia during treatment of diabetes mellitus. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 9, 2009.
- Hypoglycemia (low blood glucose). American Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/hypoglycemia-low-blood.html. Accessed Nov. 19, 2009.
- Hypoglycemia. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/hypoglycemia/hypoglycemia.pdf. Accessed Nov. 19, 2009.
- A1C. American Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/a1c/. Accessed Dec. 2, 2009.
Find Mayo Clinic on