Headache and vertigo associated with hypoglycemic tendency

Migraine and the Limbic System

“…Considering that in this examination nervous stimuli (hot and cold water) are used, the altered results obtained lead us to consider that the vestibular alteration is central rather than peripheral; it may become peripheral be-cause of the adding up of stimuli that interfere with a malfunctioning limbic system. Hypoglycemia has always been considered one of the causes of headache, 15,18,26,30,45 but we observed that patients with diabetic or flat curves also fared badly during or after the GTT. We venture to say that it is not the fall in blood glucose that causes headache, but the stimulus glucose itself.20 It must be remembered that screening tests for detection of diabetes in a general population show a positivity of 3.5 to 4.5%, and that in our series we obtained 17.6% diabetic curves in all age groups excepting the group ranging from 6 to 10 years of age.…”

“…Hypoglycemia has always been considered one of the causes of headache, 15,18,26,30,45 but we observed that patients with diabetic or flat curves also fared badly during or after the GTT. In some patients whose first EEG was normal, a second or third EEG confirmed the existence of an irritative focus homolateral to the directional preponderance already found at the first otoneurological examination.…”

Hearing Loss, Dizziness, and Carbohydrate Metabolism

“…Harril, 3 in 1951, described hypoglycemia as a cause of migraine and vertigo. Tintera and Goldman 4 (1956), Goldman 5 (1962), and Powers 6 (1972) analyzed cases of Menière's disease associated to hypoglycemia.…”