Case report of functional medicine: functional hypoglycemia with continuous glucose monitoring and adrenal fatigue

Functional hypoglycemia has not yet been clearly defined, however, it is generally understood as a condition in which hypoglycemic symptoms occur, predominantly postprandially, in the absence of glucose-related diseases or identifiable organic causes, such as diabetes mellitus, alcoholism, insulinoma, or insulin autoantibodies. The management for functional hypoglycemia is also not well established. Dietary modification, such as eating small, frequent meals, reducing carbohydrate intake, and increasing dietary fiber, is important, and regular physical activity is also useful. But other treatment options are limited and well not established. From a functional medicine perspective, functional hypoglycemia is thought to be associated with impaired insulin counter-regulatory response, particularly involving adrenal hormone function. A functional medical approach may be beneficial in managing patients with diminished adrenal capacity. In this context, we aim to explore the functional medicine-based diagnostic and therapeutic approach to functional hypoglycemia by presenting a case in which a suspected functional hypoglycemia was evaluated using continuous glucose monitoring and showed clinical improvement following dietary interventions and adrenal support therapy.