Severe Gastroparesis Leading to Hypoglycemia and Subsequent Seizures

Gastroparesis is a known complication in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). This disorder has been known to make glycemic control difficult due to diabetic autonomic neuropathy, resulting in an increase in hypoglycemic episodes. On occasion, gastroparesis may be so severe that prokinetic medications and gastric pacemakers are not sufficient to control the symptoms, in which case some patients need to supplement their diet through a jejunal tube (J-tube) to bypass the stomach. Severe or long-lasting hypoglycemia may rarely be associated with epileptic seizures. We present a case of a 47-year-old female with a history significant for type 1 DM complicated by gastroparesis requiring a gastric pacemaker and J-tube placement who presented to the emergency department after having a witnessed seizure. Her glucose at that time was 27 mg/dl (normal 70-110 mg/dl) and she was treated appropriately with dextrose 25% solution and her glucose recovered to 110 mg/dl. Subsequently, seizure activity ceased.