Abstract
A psychosomatic approach to two patients with reactive hypoglycemia was presented. This approach enabled them to improve their symptoms and laboratory data. In general, reactive hypoglycemia is classified into seven types. In the course of treatment of one patient, however, we detected that an apparent transition occurred from one type to another, that is, alimentary reactive hypoglycemia to idiopathic reactive hypoglycemia.Case 1. The patient was a 30-year old man who was a mechanical engineer. He had complained of recurrent spells of palpitation, sweating, tremor for three months prior to the admission to our hospital. On the basis of a glucose tolerance test, the diagnosis of idiopathic reactive hypoglycemia was confirmed. Several psychological tests showed that he had a tendency to be aggressive but could not express his aggression. In the treatment, he learned to relax himself by Autogenic Training and discharge his aggression by participating in a group therapy of Transactional Analysis.Case 2. The patient was a 26-year old nurse. For two years prior to the admission, she had noted the onset of attacks of tachycardia accompanied by sweating, hunger, and anxiety which appeared about two or three hours after meals. After she was admitted to our hospital, the diagnosis of alimentary reactive hypoglycemia was confirmed by a glucose tolerance test. Her symptoms were relatively well controlled by Autogenic Training. After she had been discharged from our hospital and followed up as an outpatient, she had hypoglycemia attacks again. She was readmitted to our hospital with the diagnosis of idiopathic reactive hypoglycemia. She participated in a group therapy of Transactional Analysis, and by busing a chair technique she became able to control her irritability and aggression. She was discharged from our hospital with no symptom and the glucose tolerance test was found to be normal.
