Treating Low Blood Sugar
You are at risk of having a low blood sugar reaction if you:
- Skip or delay a meal or snack
- Take too much insulin or eat too few carbohydrates
- Drink alcohol, especially without eating carbohydrates
Check your blood sugar if you have any of these symptoms:
- Weakness and/or fatigue
If your blood sugar is less than 70 milligrams per deciliter :
- Eat 15 to 30 grams of carbohydrate
- Wait 15 minutes and then recheck your blood sugar
- If your blood sugar is still less than 100 mg/dl, take another 15 grams of carbohydrate and retest your blood sugar in another 15 minutes. Repeat if necessary.
Important: If you have frequent low blood sugars speak to your doctor. You may need changes in your medication and/or meal plan.
When Should I Check My Blood Sugar
How often you check your blood sugar depends on the type of diabetes you have and if you take any diabetes medicines.
Typical times to check your blood sugar include:
- When you first wake up, before you eat or drink anything.
- Two hours after a meal.
If you have type 1 diabetes, have type 2 diabetes and take insulin, or often have low blood sugar, your doctor may want you to check your blood sugar more often, such as before and after youre physically active.
Causes Of Low Blood Sugar
There are many reasons why you may have low blood sugar, including:
- Taking too much insulin.
- Not eating enough carbs for how much insulin you take.
- Timing of when you take your insulin.
- The amount and timing of physical activity.
- Drinking alcohol.
- How much fat, protein, and fiber are in your meal.
- Hot and humid weather.
- Unexpected changes in your schedule.
- Spending time at a high altitude.
- Going through puberty.
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Low Blood Sugar With Type 2 Diabetes: Is It Possible
6/26/2015 by mySugr
Can you have low blood sugar with type 2 diabetes? The answer is yes! People with type 2 diabetes who take certain types of medication are more at risk for lows . But dont worry, if you know about the reasons, symptoms, and treatment, theres no need to be afraid!
How To Tell If Your Blood Sugar Is Low

Symptoms of hypoglycemia are different for everyone and can occur at different blood sugar levels.
Early-stage symptoms of hypoglycemia include:
- Increased heartbeat
- Confusion or irritability
Early symptoms may be subtle or hard to detect. Sometimes you may not experience any symptomsthis is known as hypoglycemia unawareness. People who have had diabetes for five to 10 years, who have low blood sugar often, or who take certain medications are more likely to have hypoglycemia unawareness. Hypoglycemia unawareness is also common for people who have nocturnal hypoglycemialow blood sugar in the middle of the night that often goes undetected.
Young children and the elderly are also vulnerable to low blood sugar because of their reduced ability to recognize symptoms and communicate them.
Not knowing you have low blood sugar can delay treatment, causing your blood sugar levels to drop to more dangerous levels.
The symptoms of later stages of hypoglycemia are more serious and obvious:
- Loss of coordination
- Loss of consciousness
If you have diabetes and are using insulin or taking other medications that can cause your blood sugar to drop, you should have access to a blood glucose monitor. People with diabetes also use various forms of continuous glucose monitors to track their blood sugar. If you suspect you have low blood sugar based on symptoms or your CGM is alerting you that your levels are low, you can test with the blood glucose monitor to confirm.
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What Causes Hypoglycemia In A Child
Hypoglycemia can be a condition by itself. Or it can be a complication of diabetes or other disorder. Its most often a problem in someone with diabetes. It occurs when theres too much insulin. This is also called an insulin reaction.
Causes in children with diabetes may include:
-
Too much insulin or oral diabetes medicine
-
The wrong kind of insulin
-
Incorrect blood-glucose readings
-
Tingling feelings around the mouth
-
Nightmares and confusion on awakening
The symptoms of hypoglycemia can be like other health conditions. Make sure your child sees his or her healthcare provider for a diagnosis.
How Is Hypoglycemia Diagnosed In A Child
The healthcare provider will ask about your childs symptoms and health history. He or she may also ask about your familys health history. He or she will give your child a physical exam. Your child may also have blood tests to check blood sugar levels.
When a child with diabetes has symptoms of hypoglycemia, the cause is most often an insulin reaction.
For children with symptoms of hypoglycemia who dont have diabetes, the healthcare provider may:
-
Measure levels of blood sugar and different hormones while the child has symptoms
-
See if symptoms are relieved when the child eats food or sugar
-
Do tests to measure insulin action
Your child may need to do a supervised fasting study in the hospital. This lets healthcare providers test for hypoglycemia safely.
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How Can I Help My Child Live With Hypoglycemia
Children with type 1 diabetes or other conditions that may cause hypoglycemia need to follow their care plan. Its important to test blood glucose often, recognize symptoms, and treat the condition quickly. It’s also important to take medicines and eat meals on a regular schedule.
Work with your child’s healthcare provider to create a plan that fits your child’s schedule and activities. Teach your child about diabetes. Encourage them to write down questions they have about diabetes and bring them to healthcare provider appointments. Give them time to ask the provider the questions. Check that the answers are given in a way your child can understand. Work closely with school nurses, teachers, and psychologists to develop a plan that’s right for your child.
Why Doctors Order It
A fasting blood glucose test is done to screen for prediabetes and diabetes. It also helps doctors monitor diabetes and determine if medications and dietary changes are having an effect .
Your fasting blood glucose level is the lowest your blood sugar can be because the influence of recent meals is minimized .
Fasting blood sugar is often checked alongside HbA1c , which is a measure of your blood sugar levels over the past three months. The more sugar there is in the blood, the more it will attach to hemoglobin, raising HbA1c .
Taken together, the two offer more information than each test alone. For example, even if your blood sugar levels are very high at one random point, they may have been mostly low over the past couple of months . On the other hand, HBA1c could be higher but your glucose levels at the moment lower.
Apart from diabetes, abnormal levels can point out issues such as insulin resistance, hormonal imbalances, and pancreatic, liver, or kidney disease.
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Is 66 Too Low For Blood Sugar
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Normal blood sugar levels vary from person Is 66 Too Low For Blood Sugar to person, but a normal range for fasting blood sugar is between 70 and 100 milligrams per deciliter mg DL , according to the World Health Organization.
Diabetes treatment includes managing Is 66 Too Low For Blood Sugar your blood sugar levels to control your symptoms.
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Basic technologies such as blood glucose measurement should be readily available in primary health care settings.
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Treating Low Blood Glucose If You Take Medicines That Slow Down Digestion
Some diabetes medicines slow down the digestion of carbohydrates to keep blood glucose levels from rising too high after you eat. If you develop low blood glucose while taking these medicines, you will need to take glucose tablets or glucose gel right away. Eating or drinking other sources of carbohydrates wont raise your blood glucose level quickly enough.
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Maintaining Healthy Blood Sugar Levels
- Eat a healthy breakfast containing fiber and protein within an hour of waking up to prevent hypoglycemia.
- Always eat healthy fats, protein, and fiber with each meal, as this slows the digestive process and the number of carbohydrates released into the bloodstream, keeping blood sugar levels stable.
- Exercise regularly to burn off extra blood sugar.
- Drink plenty of water and avoid sugary drinks, such as soda, sports drinks, and juice, as these quickly raise blood sugar levels.
- Keep a supply of hard candy, juice boxes, or glucose tablets on hand in case of low blood sugar crashes. If your loved one has hypoglycemia, he or she should consume a sugary snack or drink as soon as possible and then recheck his or her levels.
The Dangers Of Low Blood Glucose

At some time, most people with diabetes experience the sweating and shakiness that occurs when blood glucose levels fall below 70 mg/dl a condition known as hypoglycemia. The average person with type 1 diabetes may experience symptoms of low blood glucose up to two times a week. However, not all are aware that these symptoms can rapidly progress to seizures, coma and even death if hypoglycemia is severe. Though hypoglycemia can be common and occur repeatedly in some people with diabetes, symptoms of low blood glucose should always be taken seriously. People with diabetes and their families, friends or coworkers should be prepared to act quickly and responsibly at the earliest signs of low blood glucose.
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How Does Blood Sugar Level Work
With a lack of nutrients and food that contain glucose, the blood sugar level will begin to decline. This is known as hypoglycemia.
After blood sugar becomes low, the pancreas releases a peptide hormone called glucagon. When this happens, the glucose that is stored in the body for energy is instructed to release due to the liver. This causes the glucose to turn into glycogen, known as the glycogenesis process. This is what can help a body to regain energy as the readily stored glycogen, in the liver and muscles, will release into the body.
On the other hand, the blood sugar can also rise and become too high which is known as hyperglycemia.
When the body does not produce enough of the insulin hormone, blood sugar levels begin to increase. This is because glucose relies on the insulin hormone to help it absorb into the bloodstream. Usually, this occurs when the body cannot produce enough insulin, known as type 1 diabetes, or does not respond to insulin correctly, known as type 2 diabetes.
Eating too many processed foods can also cause your blood sugar level to rise. If there is not enough insulin present in the body, too much bad food can cause your blood sugar level to build up.
For those with a normal blood sugar level, this will be due to eating the right foods and your body being able to produce and respond to insulin.
You may be wondering what exactly causes an imbalance in blood sugar levels, so here is a roundup:
What Can I Do To Prevent Hypoglycemia In My Child
Not all episodes of hypoglycemia can be prevented. Most children with type 1 diabetes will have hypoglycemia. The chances of severe hypoglycemia go down as your child gets older. But you can help prevent severe episodes by:
-
Testing your childs blood glucose often, including at night
-
Checking that the glucose test strips are not outdated and match the glucose meter
-
Recognizing symptoms
Other ways to minimize or prevent hypoglycemia include making sure your child:
-
Takes medicines at the right time
-
Eats enough food
-
Doesnt skipping meals
-
Checks blood glucose before exercising
-
Eats a healthy snack if needed. The snack should include complex carbohydrates and some fat, if possible.
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How Common Is Low Blood Glucose
Low blood glucose is common among people with type 1 diabetes and among people with type 2 diabetes who take insulin or some other diabetes medicines. In a large global study of people with diabetes who take insulin, 4 in 5 people with type 1 diabetes and nearly half of those with type 2 diabetes reported a low blood sugar event at least once over a 4-week period.2
Severely low blood glucose, defined as when your blood glucose level drops so low you cant treat it yourself, is less common. Among U.S. adults with diabetes who take insulin or some diabetes medicines that help the pancreas release insulin into the blood, 2 in 100 may develop severely low blood glucose each year.3
No Symptoms Be Alarmed
Surprisingly, the most dangerous episodes of hypoglycemia occur with little or no warning. When low blood glucose occurs on a regular basis, the body can become used to the warning signs and the person may stop noticing symptoms. This is a particularly dangerous condition known as hypoglycemic unawareness. People with this condition might not realize they have low blood glucose until it’s dangerously low seizures and coma are sometimes the first indication of a problem. The good news is that this condition can often be reversed allowing people to once again notice the signs of low blood glucose if hypoglycemia is avoided for a few weeks through careful monitoring of blood glucose.
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Prehospital Blood Glucose Analysis
Most commonly, hypoglycemia occurs in patients taking insulin. While textbooks often outline very specific hypoglycemia signs and symptoms, they are, in reality, very non-specific.
Many patients will have tremors, palpitations, sweating, and/or hunger. These actually have a behavioral effect of encouraging the patient to eat. Blood pressure and heart rate will usually increase, but not significantly.
There may be observable behavioral changes, loss of awareness and, at very low glucose levels, seizures or unconsciousness3. While signs and symptoms vary tremendously between patients, they remain consistent in any single patient from episode to episode.
Many times, patients are unaware of their symptoms even though they may be obvious to others around them. Because patients often have amnesia, they may have trouble describing an episode. For this reason, it is important to obtain information from family, friends or bystanders when possible.
The primary fuel for the brain is glucose, yet it can neither make nor store it. Our survival mandates that the body tightly regulate glucose levels and prevent hypoglycemia.
Ordinarily, this happens effortlessly. When blood glucose levels fall into the 80 to 85 mg/dL range, the body slows or stops secretion of insulin. The lower limit of normal blood glucose levels in adults is 70 mg/dL .
When blood glucose levels fall into the 65 to 70 mg/dL range in people without diabetes, there is an increased release of counter regulating hormones .
What To Do If Blood Sugar Is Too High
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Find educators near you that can Is 66 Blood Sugar Too Low help to manage your diabetes.
The large display also Is 66 Blood Sugar Too Low makes this one of the best glucose meters for people with sight issues, as the numbers are easy to read, and .
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How Can I Treat Low Blood Sugar
If youve had low blood sugar without feeling or noticing symptoms , you may need to check your blood sugar more often to see if its low and treat it. Driving with low blood sugar can be dangerous, so be sure to check your blood sugar before you get behind the wheel.
Carry supplies for treating low blood sugar with you. If you feel shaky, sweaty, or very hungry or have other symptoms, check your blood sugar. Even if you dont have symptoms but think you may have low blood sugar, check it. If your blood sugar is lower than 70 mg/dL, do one of the following immediately:
- Take four glucose tablets.
- Drink four ounces of fruit juice.
- Drink four ounces of regular soda, not diet soda.
- Eat four pieces of hard candy.
Wait for 15 minutes and then check your blood sugar again. Do one of the above treatments again until your blood sugar is 70 mg/dL or above and eat a snack if your next meal is an hour or more away. If you have problems with low blood sugar, ask your doctor if your treatment plan needs to be changed.
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