I am writing with a question about whether there is a difference between hypoglycemia (as linked to diabetes, etc.) and simply having low blood sugar. It's become very obvious to me over the past five years living with my partner that he is excessively moody when he hasn't eaten. He wakes up in the mornings and is practically a nervous wreck until he eats his first meal. Then, throughout the day, he'll often get hungry all of a sudden between meals, quite urgently. This intense hunger is sometimes accompanied by headaches, and other times he holds out a bit longer and then just starts acting extremely irritable, mean, abusive, and depressed. This is always resolved by eating, preferably by eating a solid, well-rounded meal.

But I worry about him because 1) sometimes he doesn't listen to the signs his body seems to be sending, 2) perhaps this is the sign of something more serious that could be treated better with professional care and 3) his behavior when suffering low blood glucose is clearly misunderstood by people around him (including myself at times), resulting in problems at work and in other social situations and making him miss out on some good chances in life.

He and I are both confronting this lately, but we're wondering if there is anyone knowledgeable out there about whether this sounds like typical hypoglycemia or if there are other conditions related to low blood sugar/metabolism, etc. that could be a problem here-- and/or if this kind of condition is easily treated.