Test Overview of Insulin Tolerance

With the patient in a fasting state, blood sugar is measured followed by IV injection of 0.1 units of insulin/Kg body weight. Blood sugar is subsequently measured at 20, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 minutes post injection. In a normal response, blood sugar should drop about 50% within the first 20 minutes, without development of any symptoms, and then slowly rise back to the previous fasting level by 120 minutes. In hypoglycemic individuals, the drop is more precipitous and the recovery slower, and various signs of hypoglycemia may manifest.

In the event of excessive drop in blood sugar leading extreme symptoms or unconsciousness, the doctor must be prepared to immediately administer IV glucose in order to prevent brain damage or death. Individuals with adrenal insufficiency may be more sensitive to insulin, and in this case the insulin dose should be reduced by half [Barnes1999]; [Escamilla1954]; [Starr2005, pg 141].

References regarding Insulin Tolerance

  • [Barnes1999] Broda O Barnes & Charlotte W Barnes Hope for Hypoglycemia, Revised Edition. America Book Company (1999). Go to Amazon Amazon

    Cited by [Starr2005].

    Cited by [Starr2005].
  • [Escamilla1954] Escamilla RF. Laboratory Aids in Endocrine Diagnosis. Charles C. Thomas (1954).
  • [Starr2005] Mark Starr. Hypothyroidism Type 2: The Epidemic Columbia, MO: Mark Starr Trust (2005). Go to Amazon Amazon

    Updated 2011 added: Hashimoto's & Grave's diseases.

    • Unless specifically noted above, references used in the construction of this web page include the following:

    [FMU] Lecture notes from Functional Medicine University.

    [SCNM] Lecture notes from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine.

    [UT] Lecture notes from the University of Tennessee graduate programs in Chemistry, Microbiology, and Biochemistry.