Dealing with low blood sugar when you have gestational diabetes
Introduction
Most women with gestational diabetes do not have problems with low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Only women who take insulin shots are at risk for low blood sugar levels. If your blood sugar (glucose) drops very low, it is very important to be treated immediately so that neither you nor your baby is harmed.
Key points
- Low blood sugar occurs when the sugar level in the blood drops below what the body needs to function normally. Women who take insulin may get low blood sugar if they do not eat enough food, skip meals, exercise more than usual, or take too much insulin.
- These steps can help you avoid a life-threatening emergency from low blood sugar:
- Test your blood sugar often so that you don't have to guess when your blood sugar is low.
- Know the signs of low blood sugar (sweating, shakiness, hunger, blurred vision, and dizziness).
- Keep some hard candy, raisins, or other sugary foods with you at all times. Eat some at the first sign of low blood sugar.
- Teach your friends and co-workers what to do if your blood sugar is very low.
What is a low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) emergency?
Why is it important to quickly deal with low blood sugar emergencies?
How to deal with low blood sugar emergencies
Where to go from here
More information about diabetes can be found in these topics:
- Type 1 Diabetes
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Type 2 Diabetes: Recently Diagnosed
- Type 2 Diabetes: Living With the Disease
- Type 2 Diabetes: Living With Complications
- Gestational Diabetes
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| Author: | Colleen Cronin Christine Wendt, R.D., L.D. | Last Updated: April 28, 2006 |
| Medical Review: | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Hanan Bassyouni, MD - Endocrinology and Metabolism Lois Jovanovic, MD - Endocrinology Jill Milliken, RN, CDE - Diabetes Educator | |
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