Diabetic hypoglycemia is the result of the blood sugar of an individual with diabetes going too low. It can make their body begin to shut down.
Low blood sugar can have many symptoms. Diabetes patients should always be checking their blood sugar with a meter and test strips.
In addition, they should always carry glucose tablets, as this help raise blood sugar quickly. However, if an individual wait too long, they may need medical assistance.
Thus, diabetes patients need to know the signs their sugar is going too low and what to do if it happens. Otherwise, there are significant health-related issues that can happen.
Most Common Diabetic Hypoglycemia Symptoms
Here are some of the things to be on the lookout for when blood sugar is too low.
1. Shakiness and Dizziness
Low blood sugar can often result in shakiness and dizziness. Patients may feel like they need to sit or lie down because they feel dizzy.
The dizziness could be very dangerous because it could happen when driving or even walking. If an individual becomes too dizzy, they could fall and hurt themselves.
So, diabetes patients should make sure to put themselves in a safe place and test their blood sugar if they feel this way. The shaking feeling mimics the sensation of insides vibrating.
If blood sugar is too low (under seventy), patients may be able to see the shaking in their hands. Patients will not be able to control it, and it will become worse as their blood sugar keep going down.
Once an individual realizes their symptoms may be a sign of diabetic hypoglycemia, they need to act because it will just continue to go down and more significant medical situations may occur because of it.
2. Difficulty Speaking
Another symptom of diabetic hypoglycemia is difficulty speaking. When blood sugar goes too, it can affect the part of the brain that handles speech. As the body cannot function properly, it affects the body in many different ways.
Patients may feel like they cannot form words properly and they are slurring their speech. It is important for patients to test their blood sugar if they experience any problems with speech.
Difficulty speaking and slurred speech can be an indicator of other serious problems, like a stroke. Therefore, it is important to get checked out by a medical professional.
This is especially important because medical emergencies need to be dealt with as soon as possible.
3. Irritability or Anxiety
Just having symptoms during a period of hypoglycemia can bring on irritability or anxiety. Anxiety often results as patients can feel their body failing them, yet they don’t know why.
The anxiety can be caused by the other symptoms or be a primary symptom. Furthermore, experiencing blurry vision, slurred speech, or any other symptoms, it can cause irritability as well.
An underlying mental or physical condition can cause anxiety and irritability. Therefore, it is important to test blood sugar to either eliminate or confirm it as a result of hypoglycemia.
Regardless, it is important to discuss these symptoms with a doctor.
4. Blurry or Double Vision
A scary symptom of hypoglycemia is blurry or double vision. Diabetes patients already know high blood sugar can cause vision problems.
This happens because the lens of the eye gets swollen and it changes the shape and vision can become distorted. However, with hypoglycemia, this is not the case, and patients should be aware vision changes can happen with both low and high blood sugar.
In cases of hypoglycemia, low blood sugar is making it hard for the systems of the body, including the brain, to function properly. So, vision problems are the result of the brain not being able to process and focus on what the eye is viewing.
Thankfully, once blood sugar is under control, this symptom usually resolves itself without much medical intervention.
5. Convulsions or Seizures
The scariest diabetic hypoglycemia symptoms are convulsions or seizures. Patients who experience these symptoms need to make sure to get medical attention immediately.
This can be the result of not realizing other symptoms they may have been experiencing. Therefore, the low blood sugar went without treatment, causing a convulsion or seizure. This can result in a loss of consciousness, which is very dangerous.
Depending on where the patient is at the time of the seizure, they can cause injury to themselves or others. These seizures can happen out of the blue, with no warning. So, it is important to communicate with a doctor, so they can take measures to try to recognize if a seizure is coming on.
But sometimes they can happen with no warning, which is very scary. This is why developing a plan with a doctor is crucial.
Via: VeryWellHealth | WebMD | EverydayHealth
