Migraine And Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes mellitus , usually referred to as diabetes, is a chronic lifelong disorder caused by reduced pancreatic production of insulin or the inefficiency of the generated insulin, referred to as insulin resistance. This deficiency leads to increased glucose concentrations in the blood, damaging many systems of the body. There are two primary forms of diabetes: type 1 diabetes , an autoimmune disease that occurs most often in children and adolescents, and T2D due to the bodys failure to respond adequately to insulin triggered by the pancreas. T2D impacts all ages, with a global prevalence of 9.3% . The possible association between migraine and diabetes remains unknown due to conflicting findings. Some studies reported diabetes to have a protective effect for migraine, some studies suggest diabetes increased the risk for migraines, while other studies report no association between the two conditions.
High Blood Sugar Symptoms
The typical blood sugar target for someone with diabetes who has not yet eaten is 80 to 130 milligrams per deciliter . Within two hours of starting a meal, the level should be less than 180mg/dL. Blood sugar is typically considered high when the levels are over these thresholds.
Keep in mind that your blood sugar targets may be different based on factors like age and other health conditions you may have. The targets are also different for people without diabetes.
Testing your blood sugar levels, such as with a glucometer, is the main way to tell if your blood sugar is too high. However, even before you check your levels, you may experience symptoms of high blood sugar.
Cut Down On Caffeine And Sugar
If youre looking to prevent hypertension headaches, one of the best things you can do is cut down on caffeine and sugar.
Caffeine is a stimulant that raises blood pressure. So if youre drinking coffee or tea every day, you may be contributing to your hypertension.
Likewise, sugar is a known cause of high blood pressure. If youre consuming more than three teaspoons of added sugar per day, thats too much for your body to handle.
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What Can You Do
If you have a headache, either by itself or combined with other typical symptoms of hyperglycemia, check your blood glucose. You may find that the higher your blood glucose, the worse the headache. Drinking water to lessen the chance of dehydration is important, and depending on how high your blood sugar is or if you have ketones in your urine, doing some physical activity can help to lower your blood sugar level. To lessen the frequency of hyperglycemia, follow your diabetes treatment plan as closely as possible. Talk with your health-care provider if your blood sugars are still high despite taking your medicines as directed, as you may need a change in your dose or an additional medicine.
How Does Low Blood Sugar Cause Headaches
Low blood sugar, also called hypoglycemia, is a medical condition that can result from a number of different factors including taking too much insulin or not eating enough.
It can cause headaches because your body needs glucose for energy.
The symptoms of hypoglycemia differ from hyperglycemia in the fact that hypoglycemia symptoms come about more suddenly. Other typical symptoms of hypoglycemia include:
- Sweating both during the daytime and while you sleep
If these additional symptoms occur, it is important to drink plenty of fluids and eat or drink something that will raise your blood sugar level such as simple carbohydrates that will break down quickly into glucose.
Glucose tablets are another option and can raise your blood sugar in 15-20 minutes. You can also talk to your doctor about changing your insulin dose.
When the symptoms of hypoglycemia become severe you need to seek medical attention as it can cause coma, seizures, and even death. To prevent hypoglycemia and the headaches that can come with it, you can eat small meals throughout the day and also check your blood sugar levels often.
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Is Hypoglycemia Causing Your Migraines
Your body runs on glucose. You break down the carbohydrates you eat into glucose for your cells to use for energy. You can probably guess what happens when there is not enough glucose in your system.
When hypoglycemia occurs, the body has several ways to tell you it needs more fuel, not all of them pleasant. For some unfortunate people, the low-on-gas message is received as a migraine. We are here to tell you more about hypoglycemia, its connection to migraines, and how you can treat and prevent these problems now and in the future.
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How Does Diabetes Affect Your Heart Eyes Feet Nerves And Kidneys
Blood vessels are located throughout our bodys tissues and organs. They surround our bodys cells, providing a transfer of oxygen, nutrients and other substances, using blood as the exchange vehicle. In simple terms, diabetes doesnt allow glucose to get into cells and it damages blood vessels in/near these organs and those that nourish nerves. If organs, nerves and tissues cant get the essentials they need to properly function, they can begin to fail.Proper function means that your hearts blood vessels, including arteries, are not damaged . In your kidneys, this means that waste products can be filtered out of your blood. In your eyes, this means that the blood vessels in your retina remain intact. In your feet and nerves, this means that nerves are nourished and that theres blood flow to your feet. Diabetes causes damage that prevents proper function.
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Is There Such Thing As A Sugar Migraine
Theres no confirmed relationship between sugar and migraine.
A small research review of 25 studies, for example, found no significant link between chocolate and migraine, discouraging doctors from advising patients not to eat it. And most chocolate, unsurprisingly, contains a bunch of sugar.
So, can sugar cause migraine? Possibly. The causes of migraine are still pretty mysterious, and everyone who experiences them has different triggers. A small study found that people who experience migraine tend to be insulin resistant. That means the body has a harder time regulating blood sugar.
This study doesnt imply that sugar causes migraine. But if people with migraine are more likely to have unstable blood sugar, its possible that added sugars in the diet could be more likely to disrupt sugar levels and link to bodily stress. This might result in a migraine attack.
But if you live with migraine, try and take notice of any patterns. If you find you have migraine attacks shortly after eating or when you go a long time between meals, sugar might be part of the problem.
How To Treat Hypoglycemia
For people with diabetes, its advisable to try the following when experiencing low blood sugars that may or may not be causing dizziness:
- Treat the hypoglycemia by bringing glucose levels up: A standard response is to use the rule of 15. Eat or drink 15 grams of fast-acting carbohydrates . Then wait 15 minutes to check your glucose levels again. Repeat as needed until glucose levels are above 70 mg/dL.
When glucose levels are extremely low or dont respond to the 15-15 treatment, a dose of glucagon may be needed. If glucose levels dont respond to glucagon or no glucagon kit is available, you may need medical attention.
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Can Hypoglycemia Cause Dizziness
Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugars can also cause dizziness.
When the brain experiences low glucose levels, it doesnt receive enough fuel to function as it should. This can lead to mental confusion as well as feeling dizzy.
This effect can be experienced by people with type 1, type 2 diabetes, or LADA . Its also possible for people without diabetes to experience hypoglycemia, which includes dizziness as a symptom.
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How To Treat Someone Whos Having A Seizure Or Fit
Follow these steps if someone has a seizure or fit caused by a low blood sugar level:
Tell your diabetes care team if you ever have a severe hypo that caused you to have a seizure or fit.
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Early Signs And Symptoms Of Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is a disease in which your body doesnât make enough of a hormone called insulin or doesnât use insulin the way it should. Insulin helps carry glucose to your cells. So when thereâs a problem with the insulin, glucose builds up in your blood. Youâve probably heard this called high blood sugar.
About 90% of people who have diabetes have type 2. The other two main ones are type 1, in which your body stops making insulin, and gestational, which happens in pregnant women.
You can usually control type 2 diabetes with lifestyle changes. Some people also need medication.
You might not know that you have type 2 diabetes until it affects your health. About 1 in 4 people with the condition donât know that they have it.
Symptoms can come on slowly. They may include:
Who Is Prone To Sugar Headaches
Migraine Sufferers
Not all migraine sufferers have the same triggers. However, one common trigger of migraines is sugar. And its not just sugar that is a trigger for these intense headaches, but also sweeteners like sucralose. That means your Splenda could be a potential trigger for a migraine attack.
People With Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease where the body doesnât produce enough insulin or cannot use it correctly. This causes blood sugar levels to rise in the blood. Continuously having high or low blood sugar levels can lead to many life-threatening conditions. It can also lead to headaches.
Not everyone with diabetes will experience headaches however, those who have trouble managing their fluctuating blood sugar levels may develop headaches. The more the blood sugar levels fluctuate, the more likely these headaches will occur.
Depending on whether the headache was caused by too much blood sugar or too low , there are different ways to treat the headache. For example, if your blood test confirms too low of blood sugar, eating a small amount of simple carbohydrates may help. Speak with your doctor or pain clinic specialist for more specific information on treating your headaches.
People Who Consume Too Much Sugar
Finding Help with Your Headaches
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Preventing And Treating Headaches
Medical interventions
Pharmaceutical treatments are recommended for many migraine sufferers that have persistent and severe disorders. While such treatments are not the focus of our report, readers may note that a 2021 JAMA publication analyzed the efficacy of most current medication therapies, reporting that migraines can be treated acutely with analgesics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, triptans, gepants, and lasmiditan. Consult with your medical provider for further information.
When Your Blood Sugar Is High
Its easy to forget that your brain isnt getting the proper fuel it needs when your blood sugar is high, too, because while there is plenty of glucose in the bloodstream, it requires insulin to help your body actually make use of it.
While the effect of high blood sugar levels doesnt feel as emergent as the symptoms of low blood sugars, your body is still struggling in other ways.
Flooded with glucose but without adequate insulin quickly leads to varying levels of:
Diabetes-related ketones are the result of your body being forced to burn fat for fuel in a very dangerous way, producing ketones at a very dangerous rate and quantity. It is a state of stress for your entire body including your brain.
Additionally, when your blood sugar is high, your body will become dehydrated. The higher your blood sugar is and the greater the length of time its high, the more dehydrated youll become.
Dehydration even in those without diabetes is an obvious and well-known cause for a headache. But keep in mind that dehydration can also lead to high blood sugars. The less water there is in your bodily tissue and bloodstream, the more concentrated the glucose in your bloodstream becomes.
Drinking enough water as a person with diabetes ought to be considered as critical as taking your medications, but its an easy one to overlook.
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How Can You Tell If Diabetes Is Affecting Your Eyes
Diabetes can lead to swelling in the macula, which is called diabetic macular edema. Over time, this disease can destroy the sharp vision in this part of the eye, leading to partial vision loss or blindness. Macular edema usually develops in people who already have other signs of diabetic retinopathy.
Causes Of Dizziness And Vertigo
A wide range of conditions and diseases can cause dizziness, including:
- inner ear problems disorders of the inner ear account for about half of all cases of persistent dizziness. Such disorders include Menieres disease, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and vestibular neuritis
- anxiety disorders stress or anxiety may play a role in causing dizziness or, more commonly, may be a contributing factor in dizziness from other causes, such as inner ear disease
- brain disorders a common cause of dizziness is migraine, even without the headache that most people associate with a migraine. Very rarely, other causes of dizziness can include stroke or other brain diseases
- other conditions some cases of dizziness are due to underlying medical conditions such as low blood pressure, infection, some heart problems and hypoglycaemia . Medications that are used to treat conditions such as epilepsy, coronary heart disease and high blood pressure can also cause dizziness in some people
- unknown causes although a cause may not be found in some people, it does not necessarily mean that these people cannot be helped by the appropriate treatment.
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Hypertension Headaches: 4 Things You Need To Know
Everybody gets headaches, and most of us know what its like to have a pounding one. But theres a type of headache thats different from other headachesand it can be deadly. Hypertension headaches are a common problem for people with high blood pressure. They can range from mild to severe in intensity and affect individuals of all ages and genders.
In this article, well look at the four things you should know about hypertension headaches.
S Of Cellular Respiration
if you have questions on your health This content material is supplied as a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, a half of the National Institutes of Health.
You can work with Can High Blood Sugar Levels Cause Dizziness your doctor to set a personal A1C aim Meeting your A1C goal might help forestall or manage diabetic retinopathy Blood glucose curves are the best approach to monitor blood sugar .
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Reduce The Frequency Of Your Low Blood Sugars
For people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes who take insulin and other medications that lower blood sugar levels, low blood sugars are something well always have to deal with.
First of all, make sure you are treating low blood sugars with fast-acting carbohydrate food items that dont contain a great deal of protein or fat. The protein and fat slow down the digestion and absorption of glucose, which means your blood sugar will drop further and stay low longer.
Regardless, if lows are happening frequently, that means your medications are definitely in need of some fine-tuning.
For patients with type 2 diabetes, its not uncommon for doctors to prescribe a set insulin dose for all your meals without teaching you how to count carbohydrates and make sure your insulin matches what youre eating.
For anyone taking insulin, remember that our insulin needs change throughout our life. If you lose 10 pounds or suddenly stop eating dessert, your insulin needs may decrease. If you dont adjust your doses, youll start experiencing a lot of low blood sugars!
And exercise which can be incredibly challenging if you take insulin has plenty of logic to learn around it, too. Dont accept frequent hypoglycemia as an inevitable part of exercising with diabetes. You can prevent those lows by learning more abouthow different types of exercise impact your blood sugars.
Is Nausea A Symptom Of Diabetes
Nausea and vomiting are common symptoms of diabetes for a variety of reasons, mostly related to blood sugar and digestive issues.
Potential causes of diabetes-related nausea and vomiting may include:
- Hypoglycemia also known as low blood sugar
- Hyperglycemia also known as high blood sugar
- Diabetic ketoacidosis, when ketones in your blood increase to dangerous levels
- Pancreatitis, which is swelling of the pancreas
- Gastroparesis, or partial paralysis of the stomach
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Toomuch Sugar Can Cause Low Sugar
When you eat carbohydrates, your body converts the carbs to glucose, which is the medical term for sugar. Glucose travels through your body to be used as energy.
High glucose itself is not the problem, says Michael Doerrler, DO, assistant professor of neurology and a headache specialist at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago. When you load up on sugar, your body produces more insulin to use up the sugar. Your blood sugar can drop rapidly. This is called reactive hypoglycemia.
As he explains, anything that upsets the delicate balance of the brain can trigger a headache and other low-sugar symptoms.
Low sugar can cause a migraine headache, and it also may be why some people with migraines crave sugar just before or during a migraine attack, according to The Migraine Trust. Migraine headache symptoms include intense and throbbing pain on one side of the head along with nausea and vomiting, according to Harvard Medical School.
For people who dont get migraines, a low-blood-sugar headache can cause a dull, throbbing headache on both sides of the head over the temples, according to the National Headache Foundation.
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