Dealing with low blood sugar from insulin for diabetes
Why do I need to deal with low blood sugar emergencies?
If untreated, very low blood sugar can lead to serious illness and death.
When your blood sugar level falls below 3.6 mmol/L (3.05 mmol/L if you are pregnant), your body reacts like it does when you feel very afraid, angry, or anxious. You may feel weak, shaky, and/or sweaty. However, if you eat something that contains sugar, your blood sugar level most likely will rise. An emergency likely will not develop, and you will not have any long-lasting effects from having low blood sugar.
If your blood sugar continues to drop (below 2.2 mmol/L ), your brain may receive too little sugar to work properly and your judgment and muscle coordination will be affected. These are symptoms of moderate low blood sugar. You may not realize your blood sugar is too low and you may not be aware that you need to eat food with sugar to raise the level. Someone else may have to help you eat or drink something to raise your blood sugar level. If you do not get help, you could get in an accident if you are driving a car or operating other machinery. If you are pregnant, low blood sugar can harm your baby.
If your blood sugar continues to drop (below 1.1 mmol/L ), you can lose consciousness. If you do not receive prompt emergency care, you may have a stroke and possibly die. These are symptoms of severe low blood sugar. If you are pregnant and taking insulin, very low blood sugar levels are dangerous for your baby.
A low blood sugar level may soon recur, even though it has been treated. Check your blood sugar often after a low level has been treated to make sure your blood sugar returns to normal.
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Complete the following statement.
If my blood sugar level drops very low (below 1.1 mmol/L):
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How to deal with low blood sugar emergencies
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| Author: | Merrill Hayden Carrie Henley | Last Updated: April 28, 2006 |
| Medical Review: | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Hanan Bassyouni, MD - Endocrinology and Metabolism Matthew I. Kim, MD - Endocrinology & Metabolism David C.W. Lau, MD, PhD, FRCPC - Endocrinology & Metabolism Jill Milliken, RN, CDE - Diabetes Educator | |
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