Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia, also known as low blood sugar is a condition where the blood sugar lowers to below normal levels, there is not enough sugar in the blood. Hypoglycemia is not actually referred to as a disease, but it is thought of as more of a symptom of another medical illness. Hypoglycemia is very common in people who suffer with diabetes. People with diabetes need to take insulin or other medication to bring their blood sugar down. However, if a diabetic person takes too much insulin, this results in their blood sugars dropping excessively low. Other causes of hypoglycemia can be due to liver diseases, such as hepatitis, a tumour in the pancreas or other parts of the body which cause an over-production of insulin, eating disorders, such as, anorexia can cause low blood sugars, heavy drinking, kidney infections or disorders, increasing activity and certain medications.

SYMPTOMS OF HYPOGLYCEMIA

At the beginning, someone will only experience mild symptoms which include, excess sweating, heart palpitations as well as a faster heart rate weakness and dizziness, they may feel more hungry than usual, trembling and tingling lips. If it progresses to severe hypoglycemia (also referred to as diabetic shock), this can result in irrational behaviour, confusion and they will not be able to eat or drink. If this goes untreated it will cause seizures and even make someone fall into a coma.

Treatments

Initial Treatment

This all depends on your symptoms. If you have early symptoms of Hypolycemia you may be treated by taking fifteen to twenty grams of fast-acting carbohydrates. The carbohydrates are easily turned into sugar once inside the body and can be taken in the form of glucose tablets or get, fruit juice, non-diet soft drinks and sugary sweets. If you have hypoglycemia, try to avoid foods that contain fat or protein as these foods can affect the body’s absorption of sugar.

Once you have taken some carbohydrates you must check your blood sugar levels fifteen minutes afterwards. If they are still under 70 mg/dL (3.9mmol/L) have another fifteen to twenty grams of carbohydrates and recheck again in another fifteen minutes. You can repeat this until your blood sugar levels are back to normal — above 70 mg/dL.

It’s important to then stabilise your blood sugar level once they are back to normal and this can be done by having a snack or meal. This meal can also aid in the replenishment of glycogen stores that might have been depleted during hypoglycemia.

Injections

It may be the case that your symptoms are more severe to the point where you cannot take sugar by the mouth. This mean you may have to have an injection of glucagon or take it through intravenous (IV) glucose. If you witness someone with severe hypoglycemia and they are unconscious, do not try to give them food as they may choke on the food.

A glucagon kit is a good solution for those who suffer with severe episodes of hypoglycemia and can be given to you by your doctor. Even if you don’t suffer from severe hypoglycemia you should have a glucagon kit just in case, and your family and friends should know where this kit is and how to access it if there ever is a case in which it might be needed.

Underlying Condition

Your doctor may try to identify and treat the underlying cause for your hypoglycaemia and attempt to prevent it recurring. These treatments may involve.

The use of medication could be the cause of your hypoglycemia, and your doctor will attempt to change this medication or adjust the dosage to avoid episodes.
Hypoglycemia may be caused by a tumour in your pancreas and this is treated by surgically removing the tumour or in some cases removing part of the pancreas.

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