High Blood Sugar Levels

The condition known as hypoglycemia is when blood-sugar levels plummet below an acceptable level. And if you are on diabetic medication; tablets or insulin, you may find you do experience episodes of hypoglycemia.

Recognising the symptoms, understanding why it happens, and how to prevent these low blood sugar levels, as well as knowing what remedial action to take is vital?

Why It Happens

A diabetic taking medication to control high blood sugars is at risk of going too far the other way because the medication is designed to lower the normally high blood sugar levels that a diabetic has. This is because a diabetics body does not create sufficient insulin or cannot use the insulin it does have efficiently enough to keep blood sugar levels stable.

As a diabetic you can experience hypoglycemia - sometimes called ?hypo? for short - if you?ve taken more insulin than you need;, if you?ve had unexpected physical exertion or perhaps done some physical exercise which has created low blood sugar levels. If you are currently trying to get the right balance of carbohydrate in your diet you may experience hypoglycemia if you?ve not eaten enough carbohydrate to support your physical activity.

And of course, missing a meal is likely to give you low blood sugar levels. It can also occur during illness if you?ve stopped eating but you?re still taking your medication, especially if you are on tablets.

Drinking alcohol can induce hypoglycemia, although often not until a few hours later.

Symptoms

There are a wide range of symptoms you could experience as your body reacts to the drop in blood sugars. And the combination of symptoms can be very different from one person to the next. It?s important you know what symptoms you personally experience when your blood sugar levels drop so you can take immediate action to remedy it.

Amongst the symptoms you might get are:

Feeling hungry

Trembling

Color drains from your face

Lips tingling

Impaired balance or vision

Impaired thinking ? a general ?fuzziness? in your head

Mood changes; anxiety, irritability or anger

Excessive sweating

Hot flushes

Slurred speech (sometimes giving the impression of inebriation)

A symptom I get ? although I?ve never seen it listed anywhere - is my tongue feels numb, as if it?s ?gone to sleep?.

Low blood sugar can be just as dangerous as continuous high-blood sugar levels although for different reasons. Because you sometimes ?can?t think straight? during a hypoglycemic episode it?s important you don?t put yourself at risk when you are doing any potentially dangerous activity alone; such as driving, swimming, operating machinery or working at heights. When you are about to do any of these do make sure you have an emergency supply of glucose with you, in an accessible and easily digestible form. Glucose tablets are probably the best.

If you are on insulin you may go hypoglycemic at night, during your sleep. If this happens it is unlikely you will awaken. Your spouse or partner may realise what is happening if you are restless or perspiring excessively and can wake you to administer a glucose boost.

If you wake in the morning and have had vivid dreams or nightmares or are feeling ?hung-over? you may have had a hypoglycemic episode. This may mean you need to adjust your insulin regime. Please discuss this with your diabetic medical team who are in the best position to advise you.

What To Do

If you feel any of these symptoms coming on you must stop what you are doing and take immediate action to bring your blood-sugar levels back up. Take glucose tables or a sweet drink, such as orange juice. Make sure your family and friends know what to do and where you keep your emergency supply, which should be with you at all times, in case you are unable to administer to yourself.

Do not ignore the symptoms ? extreme hypoglycemia can result in unconsciousness, in which case emergency medical treatment will be needed.

If you experience frequent occurrences of hypoglycemia please consult your diabetes medical team.

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Having diabetes myself, I know what the symptoms of low blood sugar can be like. Often times it feels like you have no control of your body and you can’t figure out what or why is happening. Let’s take a closer look at the symptoms of low blood sugar, and how it can affect your health.

Did you know that many people have symptoms of low blood sugar, yet don’t know it? Think of how many times you’ve felt tired and worn out between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM? It’s a tell tale sign of low blood sugar. Here is how most people handle it. When they begin to feel a tired and worn down, or maybe even depressed and irritable, they will usually down a soda, some coffee, or eat a sweet snack of some kind. Boom, now all of a sudden they feel like they have been re-energized. Well, it’s caused by a spike in their blood sugar.

So, what’s the problem with that? While this may appear to be normal for a lot of folks, it is not normal. The reason for the tiredness at lunchtime is because of your diet. Most likely, you ate a high carbohydrate, high sugar, high starch breakfast. Next, the lack of energy at 3:00 PM is from the same type of lunch you ate. Can you see how this is just a vicious cycle? It’s a roller coaster ride that you need to get off of in order to maintain your health.

Are you a smoker? Are you aware that smoking cigarettes will create a rise in your blood sugar level? It’s due to the nicotine in the cigarette mixing together with the adrenal system. When this happens, blood sugar levels go higher.

The symptoms of low blood sugar can last all day and evening. Keep track or what happens when you eat a sweet snack, or drink a cup of coffee, etc. You’ll notice your energy level immediately rising. But, it doesn’t last long, maybe an hour or so tops. This is why you see people who drink 10 cups of coffee a day, or are constantly drinking soda all day, or have to smoke a cigarette every hour.

We all know that coffee, soda, tea, etc., contain sugar, but they also contain caffeine. The two of these ingredients can be brutal to our bodies health structure. Our blood sugar goes up at the expense of our liver glycogen. It depletes liver glycogen levels, while the lack of proper nutrition doesn’t replenish it. This is just one of the many reasons why a proper diet is so important in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Spotting the symptoms of low blood sugar isn’t difficult when you know what to look for. Here’s another good example. The early mornings are usually the absolute worst times for your blood sugar level. It’s due to them being at there lowest levels. Have you known people who were so irritable in the morning that you didn’t even want to speak to them until they had their cup of coffee, or ate breakfast? You can also take note that the vast majority of marital spats happen during the morning hours. Why is that?

Because of low blood sugar. Now, give these same people 2 cups of coffee, or a nice breakfast, and notice what happens. It’s like they are completely different. Their personality changes and they are happy. They have energy to go tackle the day. Most of all, you’ll notice that often times they will forget the fact that they just hurt your feelings earlier. It’s like Jekyll and Hyde.

When you notice your loved one having the symptom of low blood sugar, keep an eye on it. It could be due to having pre-diabetes, or even from being a diabetic and not being aware of it. Have them see their doctor and get checked out. Having your blood glucose tested only takes a second, and it’s a simple test. Don’t let the symptoms of low blood sugar take control of your health.

Copyright 2006 - Terry Edwards. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active and do not edit the article in any way.