How Does Low Blood Sugar Make You Feel

How To Stabilize Your Blood Sugar Overnight

The most important thing you can do to stabilize your blood sugar is monitor your glucose levels at bedtime, during the night, and when you wake up to look for patterns. This will help you determine whats going on in your body and how you can fix it. While there are many strategies people use to stabilize blood sugar at night, every person is different youll have to look for trends in your body, experiment with ways to lower glucose levels over a period of time, and learn what works best for your body.

• Check your blood sugar before bed. If its already high, your blood sugar levels may remain high throughout the night. To address this, youll want to start by adjusting when you eat your evening meal and what it consists of, and how much mealtime insulin you take to cover it.

• Avoid eating lots of food close to bedtime. For diaTribe writer Adam Brown, the key to staying in range overnight is low-carb, early dinners, with no snacking after dinner.

• Consider eating less food at night and taking more basal insulin to cover your evening meal.

Treating Low Blood Glucose If You Take Medicines That Slow Down Digestion

Some diabetes medicines slow down the digestion of carbohydrates to keep blood glucose levels from rising too high after you eat. If you develop low blood glucose while taking these medicines, you will need to take glucose tablets or glucose gel right away. Eating or drinking other sources of carbohydrates wont raise your blood glucose level quickly enough.

Hypoglycemia In Children: Pediatric Ketotic Hypoglycemia

Some children experience pediatric ketotic hypoglycemia, involving low blood sugar levels and high levels of a substance known as ketones.

Doctors do not know exactly why this happens, but causes may include:

• metabolism problems that the child was born
• conditions that lead to excess production of certain hormones

Symptoms usually appear after the age of 6 months and disappear before adolescence.

They include:

• mood changes
• clumsy or jerky movements

If a child shows any of the above signs or symptoms, they should see a doctor as soon as possible.

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What Is The Underlying Cause Of Epileptic Seizures

Seizures occur because the brain becomes irritated and an “electrical storm” occurs. This “electrical storm” occurs because the normal connections between the cells in the brain do not function properly. This causes the brain to try to shut down because of the electrical surge. Irritation of the brain tissue has many causes such as lack of oxygen before, during or after birth, brain tissue malformations, brain infections, and other chemical, genetic and metabolic problems.

Stages Of Low Blood Sugar

You will notice certain signs when your blood sugar begins to drop. These signs arise in stages, ranging from mild to moderate to severe. Each stage is characterized by a specific set of symptoms.

Nausea is one of the signs that occur in the mild stage, but it can also be present in later stages. Many organizations like the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases combine the mild and moderate stages into one.

Other signs of mild to moderate low blood sugar include:

• Blurred vision

Signs of severe low blood sugar include:

• Unable to eat or drink
• Seizures or convulsions

Symptoms of hypoglycemia during sleep include:

• Crying out or having nightmares
• Sweating enough to make your pajamas or sheets damp
• Feeling tired, irritable, or confused after waking up

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Low Blood Sugar Levels In Diabetes

People with diabetes can have low blood sugar levels because of the medicines they have to take to manage their diabetes. They may need a hormone called or diabetes pills to help their bodies use the sugar in their blood.

These medicines help take the sugar out of the blood and get it into the body’s cells, which makes the blood sugar level go down. But sometimes it’s a tricky balancing act and blood sugar levels can get too low.

People with diabetes need to keep their blood sugars from getting too highor too low. Keeping blood sugar levels in a healthy range means balancing when and what they eat, and when they exercise with when they take medicines.

What Are Examples Of Good Food Choices For A Prediabetes Diet

Choosing quality fats and proteins means choosing real food rather than processed versions. Believe it or not, a serving of organic full-fat Greek yogurt with real raspberries will be much more satisfying, and better for your blood sugar and weight, than the fat-free fruity version.

Good protein choices include:

• Dark meat from pastured poultry

Check labels because hydrogenated fats are often are used in packaged bakery products.

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Exercise Food And Alcohol

For people with type 1 diabetes, maintaining the correct blood glucose level involves balancing how much insulin you inject, the amount of food you eat, and how much energy you burn during exercise.

Hypoglycaemia may occur if you’ve taken your dose of insulin as usual, but your carbohydrate intake is lower than normal or has been used up more quickly. This may happen if you delay or miss a meal or snack, don’t eat enough carbohydrate, or exercise more than usual.

People with diabetes who’ve drunk too much alcohol, or drank alcohol on an empty stomach, can also get hypoglycaemia.

However, it’s not always possible to identify why a particular episode of hypoglycaemia has occurred, and sometimes it happens for no obvious reason.

Symptoms Of High Blood Sugar

Depending on the cause of your high blood sugars, the symptoms could develop quickly or gradually.

People with undiagnosed type 1 diabetes will develop nearly all of the symptoms of high blood sugar very quickly, over the course of a few weeks, because their blood sugar levels are rising rapidly while insulin production is declining rapidly.

People with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes may not notice these symptoms for months or years because gradually increasing insulin resistance and beta-cell dysfunction can take a long time to become severe enough to produce noticeable symptoms.

Earlier symptoms:

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Ask Your Doctor How Often You Should Be Checking Your Blood Sugar

Blood sugar control is crucial when youre living with type 2 diabetes. Dips and spikes can not only make you feel cranky and sluggish, but they can also wreak havoc on your personal health.

The most serious effects of blood sugar swings are a higher risk for diabetes-related health complications such as stroke, heart disease, and nerve damage .

For the record, the American Diabetes Association notes that you have diabetes if one of the following applies to you:

• Your blood glucose after fasting is 126 milligrams per deciliter or higher.
• Your blood glucose two hours after eating a meal is 200 mg/dl or higher.
• Your hemoglobin A1C is 6.5 or higher.

The tricky part is that with type 2 diabetes you may not feel it when blood sugar levels are too high, according to the ADA. It feels different for everyone. Not everyone will have the same symptoms, and some individuals will have no symptoms at all, says Lori Zanini, RD, CDE, a Los Angelesbased former spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

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Because blood sugar management is so important to your overall health with type 2 diabetes, you need to take action if you think your levels may be out of control, even if youre feeling totally fine.

How Is It Treated

If you often have symptoms of hypoglycemia, you should see your healthcare provider. Your provider can help you determine the cause. Your provider will also give you guidelines for treating low blood sugar when you are having symptoms.

When you see your provider, be sure to take your notebook or glucose meter with all of the results of your recent blood sugar checks. This helps your provider know whether you are on the right medicines and are taking the right dose at the right time of day. Without this record, it is harder for your provider to help you figure out the cause of your symptoms.

Here are some examples of guidelines your provider may give you:

• If you have diabetes and you think your blood sugar may be too low, check it with your home meter before treatment, if possible.
• Always carry some form of sugar you can eat as soon as you have any symptoms of hypoglycemia. The following amounts and types of foods will bring your blood sugar level up:
• 2 to 5 glucose tablets
• 1/2 cup fruit juice
• 1/2 cup regular soda
• 6 to 8 ounces of skim milk
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup of raisins
• 5 to 7 pieces of hard candy like Lifesavers
• a tube of glucose in gel form
• 1 tablespoon of molasses, corn syrup, or honey

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What About A Low Carb Diet For Prediabetes

A low-carb diet is a great option for prediabetes because it will improve blood sugar, help you lose weight, and help you feel more energetic. Carbohydrates are digested into glucose very easily. A person with prediabetes already has too much sugar in the blood so you donât want to add any more.

To feel satisfied on a low carb diet you have to eat healthy amounts of protein and fat. Many people continue to try to follow a low-fat or fat-free diet while also trying to make low carb choices, and understandably, feel hungry and frustrated because there is nothing tasty to eat. Recent research published in the British Medical Journal debunked the low fat hypothesis .2 People actually are not at a lower risk of prediabetes.

What is the glycemic index?

The easiest way to choose quality carbohydrates by following a low glycemic index diet. With a low glycemic index diet you balance the carbohydrate/sugar content of a meal with enough fiber, fat, and protein so that the meal is digested and absorbed slowly. This gradually releases glucose into the bloodstream, and thus the body does not require a large amount of insulin. It also provides the body with good, steady energy over many hours.

Tips To Prevent Blood Sugar From Dropping At Night

Sulay Shah, M.D. contributes to topics such as Diabetes.

Hypoglycemia, also known as low blood sugar or low blood glucose, occurs when blood glucose levels drop below normalwhich is typically below a level of 70 milligrams per deciliter . With levels more commonly dipping at nighttime, otherwise referred to as nighttime hypoglycemia, this condition affects mostly patients with diabetes.

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Some Seizures Are A Medical Emergency And 911 Should Be Called

Most seizures aren’t an emergency. They usually stop on their own with no permanent ill effects, but there are times when 911 should be called such as: – If this is a person’s first seizure- If the seizures are longer than normal- If the seizures repeat over a few minutes- If consciousness is not regained

How To Treat A Low Blood Sugar Level Yourself

Follow these steps if your blood sugar level is less than 4mmol/L or you have hypo symptoms:

You do not usually need to get medical help once you’re feeling better if you only have a few hypos.

But tell your diabetes team if you keep having hypos or if you stop having symptoms when your blood sugar level is low.

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When To Call 911

Your friend, relative, or coworker should call 911 for help if:

• You pass out and no glucagon is available
• You need a second dose of glucagon
• You had glucagon, but are still confused
• Your blood sugar stays too low 20 minutes after treatment or doesnt respond to your usual treatments

The emergency medical technicians can give you IV sugar . This raises your blood sugar level right away. You might need to stay in the hospital for a few hours.

NEVER be afraid to call 911 or ask someone to call 911 for you if you are concerned .

Other things to know about hypoglycemia:

It takes time for blood sugar to rise after eating, and its important to give your first treatment time to work. Use the table above to guide your treatment and timing instead of eating until you feel better, which will almost always lead to eating too much.

Hypoglycemia can be common with certain types of exercise. Managing blood sugar during and after physical activity is important and is something that a lot of people with T1D have questions about. JDRF has a number of resources available for people with T1D and their families, many of which can be found here.

Overdose Of Diabetes Medication

A common cause of hypoglycaemia is taking too much insulin for your current needs. Insulin is a medication that helps control your blood glucose levels. It’s commonly used to treat type 1 diabetes and is also recommended for some people with type 2 diabetes.

A fall in blood glucose levels can also occur after taking too much oral hypoglycaemia medication, such as sulphonylurea, which causes a release of insulin. This medication is often used to lower blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

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What You Can Do

Most of the sugar or glucose in your blood comes from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the sugars and starches in grains, beans, vegetables, fruit, milk and milk products, honey, and sugar. If you dont have diabetes and youre feeling the unpleasant effects of a drop in blood sugar, eat or drink something with carbohydrates. Good choices are a piece of fruit, a few whole wheat crackers, a glass of milk, or a carton of yogurt.

In people with diabetes, hypoglycemia can come on suddenly and needs to be treated right away so it doesnt get worse. Eat or drink a quickly digested carbohydrate food, such as:

• ½ cup fruit juice

• ½ cup of a regular soft drink

• 1 cup of milk

• 5 or 6 hard candies

• 4 or 5 saltine crackers

• 2 tablespoons of raisins

• 3 to 4 teaspoons of sugar or honey

• 3 or 4 glucose tablets or a serving of glucose gel

Each of these choices provides about 15 grams of carbohydrate. Wait for 15 or 20 minutes, then check your blood sugar with a blood glucose meter. If your blood sugar is still low, have another portion of carbohydrates.

What Causes High Blood Sugar Levels

Managing diabetes is like a three-way balancing act because you have to watch:

All three need to be balanced. If any one of these is off, blood sugar levels can be too. In general, higher than normal blood glucose levels can be caused by:

• not taking your diabetes medicine when youre supposed to or not taking the right amounts
• having an illness, like the flu
• stress
• taking other kinds of medicines that affect how your diabetes medicines work

A single high blood sugar reading usually isnt cause for alarm it happens to everyone with diabetes from time to time. But if you have high blood sugar levels a lot, let your parents and your diabetes health care team know. Insulin or meal plans may need adjusting, or you may have an equipment issue, like an insulin pump that isnt working right. Whatever the case, make sure you get help so you can get your blood sugar levels back under control.

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Your Diabetes Devices And Hypoglycemia

Several insulin pumps are now available that make managing blood sugar levels easier, particularly when connected to a glucose meter or a CGM.

Some of the most important advantages of CGM devices are the improved insulin control and the ability to detect trends and lows early. With improved technology, it is now possible for parents to track blood sugar trends in their kids even when they are hundreds of miles apart .

In addition, automated insulin delivery systems, also known an artificial pancreas or a hybrid closed-loop system, will automatically adjust insulin to match your bodys need to help you spend more time in your target range.

Resources that provide people with T1D and their families with more detailed information about pumps and CGM devices are available through JDRF here. For people looking for a deeper understanding of technology that helps people with T1D better manage their blood sugar, JDRF resources are available here.