What Does Low Blood Sugar Mean

What To Do If You Have Low Blood Sugar Symptoms

If you have diabetes and are experiencing mild to moderate hypoglycemia symptoms, you need to immediately eat or drink 15 grams of easily digestible carbohydrates.

Very low blood sugar is a medical emergency. If you or someone else with diabetes is experiencing severe symptoms, such as unconsciousness, its important to administer a medication called glucagon and contact emergency services immediately.

If youre at risk for low blood sugar, its important to talk with your doctor about getting a prescription for glucagon.

You should never give an unconscious person anything by mouth, as it could cause them to choke. If you have diabetes, make sure your family and friends know not to do this if you lose consciousness.

Low blood sugar can occur for a number of reasons. Its usually a side effect of diabetes treatment.

Check Your Blood Sugar Often

Regularly checking your blood sugar level can help you keep it in your target range. If youve had low blood sugar episodes in the past, you may want to check your blood sugar levels before driving or operating machinery.

Talk with your doctor about when and how often you should check your blood sugar.

Other Causes Of Sugar In Urine

A rare condition called renal glycosuria can cause a person to have sugar in their urine even if their blood sugar levels are normal. This condition occurs when the kidneys filtration system doesnt work correctly and the kidneys eliminate glucose through urine, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders17.

Renal glycosuria rarely causes side effects. In fact, it is typically asymptomatic, meaning that it has no symptoms at all, and is therefore usually not a cause for concern.

• A rare condition called renal glycosuria can cause a person to have sugar in their urine even if their blood sugar levels are normal.

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What Causes Low Blood Sugar Without Diabetes

While hypoglycemia is often related to people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes – particularly if the person needs insulin to help in controlling their blood sugar, it can also occur in those without diabetes.

In very rare cases, certain drugs and conditions can cause low blood sugar in people who dont have diabetes – this is known as non-diabetic hypoglycemia. There are two forms:

• Reactive hypoglycemia: This refers to low blood sugar within a few hours after eating a meal
• Fasting hypoglycemia: This refers to low blood sugar that occurs after a long period of not eating

Although the actual cause of both forms of hypoglycemia isnt yet clear, there are some possible causes associated with both.

Some possible causes of reactive hypoglycemia include:

• Alcohol

Some possible causes of fasting hypoglycemia include:

• Certain medications
• Illnesses that affect the heart, kidneys, or liver
• Tumor in the pancreas

If you are frequently experiencing hypoglycemia symptoms, its important to reach out to your doctor to find out more and to rule out any other underlying conditions or causes.

See also:Is Diabetes Genetic, Hereditary, or Both?

If youre interested in monitoring your blood sugar levels, you can do so from the comfort of your own home with an at-home lab test.

You should consider taking the test if:

• You have diabetes type 1 or type 2
• You have a family history of diabetes
• You are presenting with symptoms of diabetes

What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia tends to present as a cluster of symptoms, and they often occur together. The most common signs of dangerously low blood sugar include:

• Dizziness, disorientation, light-headedness, and an inability to think clearly
• Hunger, especially if youve just eaten
• Heightened irritability, confusion, and anxiety
• Clamminess and sweating, with cold hands and feet
• Drastic mood swings

If you have one or more of these symptoms contact your doctor.

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Preventing Low Blood Sugar

Preventing low blood sugar is better than having to treat it. Always have a source of fast-acting sugar with you.

• When you exercise, check your blood sugar levels. Make sure you have snacks with you.
• Talk to your provider about reducing insulin doses on days that you exercise.
• Ask your provider if you need a bedtime snack to prevent low blood sugar overnight. Protein snacks may be best.

DO NOT drink alcohol without eating food. Women should limit alcohol to 1 drink a day and men should limit alcohol to 2 drinks a day. Family and friends should know how to help. They should know:

• The symptoms of low blood sugar and how to tell if you have them.
• How much and what kind of food they should give you.
• When to call for emergency help.
• How to inject glucagon, a hormone that increases your blood sugar. Your provider will tell you when to use this medicine.

If you have diabetes, always wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace. This helps emergency medical workers know you have diabetes.

Can You Prevent Low Blood Sugar

Hypoglycemia might sound a little scary, so you might wonder if you can avoid it. No matter how well they take care of themselves, kids with diabetes will sometimes have low blood sugar levels. But taking these steps can help:

• Try to eat all your meals and snacks on time and don’t skip any.
• Take the right amount of insulin.
• If you exercise longer or harder than usual, have an extra snack.
• Don’t take a hot bath or shower right after an insulin shot.
• Stick to your diabetes management plan.

What else can you do? Wear a medical identification bracelet or necklace that says you have diabetes. Then, if you are not feeling well, whoever’s helping you even if the person doesn’t know you will know to call for medical help. Medical identification also can include your doctor’s phone number or a parent’s phone number. The quicker you get help, the quicker you’ll be feeling better.

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S For Treating A Person With Symptoms Keeping Them From Being Able To Treat Themselves

Dont hesitate to call 911. If someone is unconscious and glucagon is not available or someone does not know how to use it, call 911 immediately.

Do NOT:

• Inject insulin
• Provide food or fluids

How To Treat Someone Who’s Having A Seizure Or Fit

Follow these steps if someone has a seizure or fit caused by a low blood sugar level:

Tell your diabetes care team if you ever have a severe hypo that caused you to have a seizure or fit.

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When Blood Sugar Is Too Low

Glucose is a sugar that comes from the foods we eat, and it’s also formed and stored inside the body. It’s the main source of energy for the cells of our body, and is carried to each cell through the bloodstream. Our brains depend on glucose to function, even when we’re sleeping.

The is the amount of glucose in the blood. When these levels drop too low, it’s called hypoglycemia . Very low blood sugar levels can cause serious symptoms that need to be treated right away.

How Can I Be Better Prepared For Hypoglycemia

You can take some steps to be ready for hypoglycemia:

• Be aware of the symptoms and treat them early.
• Carry some fast-acting carbs with you all the time.
• Check your glucose levels frequently, especially around meals and exercise.
• Inform family, friends and co-workers so they know what do if you need help.
• Talk to your healthcare provider regularly to make and update your plan.
• Wear a medical bracelet that lets people know you have diabetes. Carry a card in your purse or wallet with instructions for hypoglycemia.

A note from Cleveland Clinic

Hypoglycemia is quite common in people with diabetes. If not treated, it can cause troubling symptoms, and even serious health problems. Fortunately, you can avoid hypoglycemic episodes by monitoring your blood sugar. You can also make small adjustments to eating and exercising routines.

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Treating Low Blood Sugar

You are at risk of having a low blood sugar reaction if you:

• Skip or delay a meal or snack
• Take too much insulin or eat too few carbohydrates
• Exercise
• Drink alcohol, especially without eating carbohydrates

Check your blood sugar if you have any of these symptoms:

• Weakness and/or fatigue

If your blood sugar is less than 70 milligrams per deciliter :

• Eat 15 to 30 grams of carbohydrate
• Wait 15 minutes and then recheck your blood sugar
• If your blood sugar is still less than 100 mg/dl, take another 15 grams of carbohydrate and retest your blood sugar in another 15 minutes. Repeat if necessary.

Important: If you have frequent low blood sugars speak to your doctor. You may need changes in your medication and/or meal plan.

Nighttime Low Blood Sugar

While low blood sugar can happen at any time during the day, some people may experience low blood sugar while they sleep. Reasons this may happen include:

• Having an active day.
• Being physically active close to bedtime.
• Taking too much insulin.
• Drinking alcohol at night.

Eating regular meals and not skipping them can help you avoid nighttime low blood sugar. Eating when you drink alcohol can also help. If you think youre at risk for low blood sugar overnight, have a snack before bed.

You may wake up when you have low blood sugar, but you shouldnt rely on that. A continuous glucose monitor can alert you with an alarm if your blood sugar gets low while youre sleeping.

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What Are The Complications Of Low Blood Glucose

Mild-to-moderate low blood glucose can be easily treated. But severely low blood glucose can cause serious complications, including passing out, coma, or death.

Repeated episodes of low blood glucose can lead to

• high blood glucose levels, if worry or fear of low blood glucose keeps you from taking the medicines you need to manage your diabetes8
• hypoglycemia unawareness, a condition in which you dont notice any symptoms of low blood glucose until your blood glucose level has dropped very low

What Are Target Blood Sugar Levels

While your target blood sugar levels may be different from another person’s, the ADA tells most adults with diabetes to shoot for a blood glucose level of 80 to 130 milligrams per deciliter before a meal and less than 180 mg/dL one to two hours after a meal.

Doctors can also measure your average blood sugar levels with an A1C test, which can give you an idea of how high or low your glucose levels have been over the past few months. Most people with diabetes will want to keep their A1C levels to less than 7 percent, according to the ADA.

Read more:What Are Normal Blood Sugar Levels and What Happens If They’re High?

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What Drinks And Foods Raise Blood Sugar Fast

• 4 teaspoons of sugar
• 1/2 can of regular soda or juice

Many people like the idea of treating low blood sugar with dietary treats such as cake, cookies, and brownies. However, sugar in the form of complex carbohydrates or sugar combined with fat and protein are much too slowly absorbed to be useful in acute treatment.

Once the acute episode has been treated, a healthy, long-acting carbohydrate to maintain blood sugars in the appropriate range should be consumed. Half a sandwich is a reasonable option.

If the hypoglycemic episode has progressed to the point at which the patient cannot or will not take anything by mouth, more drastic measures will be needed. In many cases, a family member or roommate can be trained in the use of glucagon. Glucagon is a hormone that causes a rapid release of glucose stores from the liver. It is an injection given intramuscularly to an individual who cannot take glucose by mouth. A response is usually seen in minutes and lasts for about 90 minutes. Again, a long-acting source of glucose should thereafter be consumed to maintain blood sugar levels in the safe range. If glucagon is not available and the patient is not able to take anything by mouth, emergency services should be called immediately. An intravenous route of glucose administration should be established as soon as possible.

Nighttime Low Blood Sugars

You may experience a low blood sugar night. The low blood sugar might wake you up and your symptoms might be similar to those you have during the day. However, the symptoms may be different. You might have nightmares, sleep poorly, perspire, or feel hot and cold. In the morning you may have a headache, feel nauseated, or feel confused. Notify your doctor if this happens. Check your blood sugar at the time you have the symptoms.

Treatment for a low blood sugar that occurs at night is the same as described earlier.

Your doctor may request that you check a 3:00 a.m. blood sugar 1 to 2 times per week in order to detect any low blood sugars during the night.

Disclaimer: This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a health care professional.

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Treating Mild To Moderate Hypoglycemia

If you start feeling any of the symptoms listed above, check your blood sugar as soon as possible, then follow the chart below to treat low blood sugar. If you have any concerns, or cant test immediately, its best to treat first and check when possible.

How The Fasting Blood Sugar Test Is Done :

If your doctor wants Fasting blood sugar test on you, you may need a Fasting blood sugar blood test. During the Fasting blood sugar blood test, a pathologist will put a needle into your veins and take out a small quantity of blood. A pathologist is a physician in the medical field who thoroughly studies the causes and effects of disease. Within a few hours you will get your Fasting blood sugar Test report by your pathologist.

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What Is The Outlook For People With Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia can be managed when you and your healthcare provider understand what causes your blood sugar to go down. Give your healthcare provider as much information as possible about any hypoglycemic episodes. Fixing the problem may be as simple as changing the times you take medication, eat and exercise. Minor changes to the types of food you eat may also help.

How Do I Treat An Episode Of Hypoglycemia

The American Diabetes Association recommends the 15-15 rule for an episode of hypoglycemia:

• Eat or drink 15 grams of carbs to raise your blood sugar.
• After 15 minutes, check your blood sugar.
• If its still below 70 mg/dL, have another 15 grams of carbs.
• Repeat until your blood sugar is at least 70 mg/dL.

If you have symptoms of hypoglycemia but cant test your blood sugar, use the 15-15 rule until you feel better.

Note: Children need fewer grams of carbs. Check with your healthcare provider.

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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.

Talk To Your Doctor Or Nurse

If you use insulin and your blood sugar is frequently or consistently low, ask your doctor or nurse if you:

• Are injecting your insulin the right way
• Need a different type of needle
• Should change how much insulin you take
• Should change the kind of insulin you take

DO NOT make any changes without talking to your doctor or nurse first.

Sometimes hypoglycemia can be due to taking the wrong medicines. Check your medicines with your pharmacist.

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