Q: I have a query related to excess insulin usage. My sister-in-law is not a diabetic and has no family history either. However, she was given high dosage of insulin during a particular treatment for infertility. Can this high insulin dosage affect her becoming pregnant and if at all she conceives, what are the probable dangers.

A:Since your sister-in-law is not a diabetic and as it appears that she has one episode of excess insulin, I personally feel that there should be no problem of her future fertility being affected due to this. What amazes me is why would a non-diabetic be administered insulin and that too in excess! I am sure that the subsequent hypoglycaemic attack may have scared the wits out of her and her family!! What is more pertinent is that both she and her husband be investigated thoroughly for the common causes of female and male infertility. An estimation of glycosylated haemoglobin would be helpful to know her immediate past blood sugar status, and if found abnormal, a glucose tolerance test be considered. This is important, as abnormally high blood sugar levels if present during the periconceptional and immediate postconception period, have shown to be associated with an increased incidence of congenital anomalies in the fetus.