What is hypoglycemia?

Hypoglycemia is a condition when your blood sugar becomes lower than the normal, that is <70mg/dl.

What are the causes of hypoglycemia in a diabetic patient?

A diabetic patient can sometimes experience hypoglycemia due to following causes-

1. Missing/ Delaying a meal
2. Taking less than usual food
3. Excessive exercise/ physical activity
4. Too much dose of medicines or insulin
5. An intermittent illness like any infection, even some medicines can also cause hypoglycemia
6. Any concomitant disease jaundice, kidney failure etc can also cause hypoglycemia

What are the symptoms of hypoglycemia?

Generally, the symptoms caused by hypoglycemia are-

a. Nervousness or anxiety
b. Tremolousness (shakiness)
c. Sweating, chills
d. Irritability or impatience
e. Confusion
f. Fast heart beat
g. Dizziness or lightheadedness
h. Increased hunger
i. Nausea
j. Sleepiness
k. Blurring of vision
l. Weakness / Fatiguability
m. Headache
n. Tingling / numbness in the lips or tongue
o. Sadness / anger
p. Difficulty in coordination
q. Nightmares / crying out during sleep
r. Seizures
s. Loss of consciousness

What to do if you notice any of the above symptoms?

If you notice any of the above symptoms-

1. Check your blood sugar to confirm the diagnosis.
2. Consume 15-20 gm glucose or simple carbohydrate-
a. Glucose tablet ( called hypotab)
b. Half cup juice or regular soda
c. 1 tablespoon sugar or honey
d. One cup milk
e. Candy, toffee etc
3. Recheck your sugar after 15 minutes.
4. If your sugar is still low, then again take 15-20gm glucose
5. Continue repeating the above till your sugar is normal.
6. Then, eat a snack or meal depending upon the time of day.

Glucagon

A diabetic patient can keep an injection called glucagon if he/she is prone to hypoglycemias.

If a patient is unconscious due to hypoglycemia, someone (a family member or a co-worker) can inject it as per instructions given below –

1. Inject it into the buttock, arm or thigh.
2. This can cause nausea or vomiting after patient regains consciousness.
3. Always consult a doctor after that to make necessary changes in the treatment to prevent severe hypoglycemic episodes in future.
4. Do not try to put food or hands in patient’s mouth while he/she is unconscious.

Remember…

a. Every person may have different symptoms due to hypoglycemia. So it is important for you to learn your symptoms of hypoglycemia.
b. It is very important to confirm low blood sugar by checking whenever you have symptoms suggestive of hypoglycemia.
c. You may have hypoglycemic unawareness ( that means you may not get any symptoms even at a very low blood sugar). This can be dangerous. So consult your doctor if you think you have hypoglycemic unawareness.

d. If you experience recurrent episodes of hypoglycemia, then you need to consult a doctor to get yourself investigated for other diseases and get your medicine adjusted.

All the best!!