low blood sugar

For more information about: low blood sugar visit the Diabetes site DiabetesFAQ.org today.

Q: is it possible to have diabetes if you have low blood sugar?
is it possible to have diabetes if i have low blood sugar or is diabetes only found in people with low sugar?

im 16 years old and for the past couple years, ive been having faint spells where i feel really dizzy at first, then my vision gets really blurry, i become unconscious for a few seconds and i dont know what is happening around me. i have low blood sugar and my blood pressure is a little low. could this be diabetes? if not, what could it be?
sorry, i meant to ask if it was only found in people with high blood sugar.

A: HyperGLYCERMIA is high blood sugar
Hypoglycermia is low blood sugar

HyperINSULINEMIA is too much insulin
Hypoinsulinemia is not enough insulin

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fainting spells can be caused by many things besides low blood sugar,
If you haven’t discussed this with your doctor, you need to.

Low blood sugar can develop into diabetes, depending on the exact cause of the low sugar problem.

Q: Can a diabetic have too low blood sugar?
Diabetics take insulin to eliminate excess blood sugar which can kill them or cause serious health complications. But is it called diabetes when someone’s blood sugar is dangerously low? Or a different condition entirely? Are the complications of too low sugar as lethal as it being too high?

A: testing

Q: Does low blood sugar cause me to have ‘repetitive negative thoughts?
Just wanted to know if ‘low blood sugar will cause me to have repetitive/obsessively negative thinking? I’ve got diabetes 2 and I am on metformin and i don’t really have any low sugar symptoms except for this problem.

A: Bridget,

Low sugar can cause a person to feel very negative, gloomy, fearful, opressed. So those kinds of thoughts may be a part of it.

But most people have trouble with those kind of thoughts at certain times and it can have nothing to do with diabetes. It can be an emotional matter or even a spiritual matter. Sometimes I have to pray, listen to good, upbeat music or read something spiritually uplifting to help myself when I hear persistent, nagging negative thoughts. If you believe in prayer, I would suggest you pray and have someone you trust to do so with you and see if you can’t lift this obsessive negativity! You shouldn’t have to live like this every day!

Q: How can you increase my LOW BLOOD SUGAR?
i am 14 years old and i think i have low blood sugar. i usually don’t eat much …so i get lightheaded alot when i am really stressed about something (like when i am getting a shot) .Because of my low sugar blood i have almost fainted many times like 4-5 times because i might have low blood sugar

SO….how can i increase my LOW BLOOD SUGAR?
and how DANGEROUS is it to have low blood sugar?

A: Eat complex carbohydrates. Have oatmeal for breakfast or whole grain toast and orange juice. Make sure to have a little carbos every 2-3 hours.
If your blood sugar drops below a certain amount you will in fact die! This usually occurs with diabetics.
Have a physician examine you to make sure you are not diabetic.
Otherwise just eat a little more.

Q: Can being a vegetarian cause low blood sugar?
I’ve been a vegetarian for 6 months now, and I was wondering if being a vegetarian can make your blood sugar lower. My mom thinks so. She was a vegetarian for 7 years, and she had low blood sugar.

A: No. It would rely more on what you eat than the subgroup of your diet. Any diet designation can be an underlying cause.

Your Mom is using flawed logic. It’s like saying she’s a swimmer and became pregnant, so swimming causes pregnancy.

Q: Can low blood sugar cause a person to act “disattached” and not have a good understanding of theirsurroundings?
Can alcohol contribute to this? And why would someone with low blood sugar drink alcohol? What about driving?

A: Yes, low glucose levels cause confused state, dizziness, sweating, all kinds of other nasty feelings.

Yes, anyone who drinks alcoholic beverages should eat first and while drinking as alcohol first raises glucose then crashes it. Why they would do that: who knows! They are idiots I would guess.

Do not drive unless glucose level is 100 or above! Meters are not all that accurate so having a snack before driving is recommended. If the person goes HYPO and crashes or kills someone else the HYPO person is very guilty of premeditated mayhem and will likely loose their license for the rest of their life.

Q: How can you tell if you have low blood sugar?
I went to the doctors because I have been having irregular periods, and they took my blood. The results said that I have low blood sugar, but he said not to worry about it. However, when I had my blood taken a second time, it still said that I have low blood sugar. How can I tell? What are some of they symptoms and causes?

A: If you didn’t eat anything prior to seeing your Doctor, then most likely that is what caused your low blood sugar. IWas the second time your blood was taken during the same visit?

You can tell your blood sugar is low if you start feeling Howweak, shaky, feeling like you need to throw up and having a headache. It is possible not to feel any symptoms and still have low blood sugar.

Q: What should you eat when your blood sugar is low, and you’re trying to lose weight?
Every once in a while, my blood sugar gets really low and I start feeling weak or sick. I’ve actually fainted 3 times from low blood sugar in my life. It was always when I got hungry but couldn’t eat for whatever reason. Anyway, I want to lose 5 pounds, but sometimes when I get hungry, my blood sugar falls and I end up on a binge. What are foods that will get my blood sugar back up quickly without too many calories?

A: Have a glass of orange juice, and then follow it within 20 min with a sandwich of protein. The carbs/protein mix will help keep your blood sugar level till your next meal. Have you ben tested for hypglycemia? Or diabetes? Take care.i

Q: How can you tell the difference between morning sickness and low blood sugar in the morning?
I have a tendancy to feel nauseous in the morning due to low blood sugar. But I now I have the feeling that I could be pregnant (if I had conceived, it would have been around Nov 14. But I had my period which came late and lasted only 3 days last week) How can you tell the difference between morning sickness and just low blood sugar?

A: You don’t puke from low blood sugar.

Coach

Q: if you have low blood sugar does that mean you have diabetes?
Sometimes all of a sudden i will get really nauseous, sweaty, and dizzy, i turn very pale,and I have to sit down right away and have something to eat otherwise i feel like i will black out. I have been told that because diabetes runs in my family that i have low blood sugar or diabetes.Does this sound like low blood sugar? If I have low blood sugar does that mean i also have diabetes?

A: Identify the early symptoms ofHypoglycemia (low blood sugar) affects persons with diabetes as well as persons without the disease the symptoms include shaking, dizziness, pale skin, sudden irritability) before they become severe (mental confusion, headache, fainting, seizure). Make sure those close to you (spouse, friends, coworkers) know the symptoms, in case you are not able to recognize them. Stay prepared. Know what foods or activities are likely to cause a spike or a drop in your blood sugar. Know your own body. Symptoms often fall into a pattern you can recognize, such as irritability before meals, dizziness after strenuous activity, going pale in the face and others. Stay aware of your situation. Know how long it has been since you ate, if something has prevented you from eating properly or if the activity you are engaged in may require you to stop for a snack. Watch for changes in your symptoms. For a long period of time you may experience, for example, profuse sweating as your first sign, and then it might change to a rapid, pounding heartbeat (palpitations). Ask a spouse or friend to keep track of you. If you tend to get so deeply involved in things that you are unaware of passing time, ask someone to remind you when it is time to eat.

Q: What are some ways to help my low blood sugar?
I think I might have low blood sugar…I feel nauseated alot, especailly in the morning, have headaches and feel dizzy and tired. Does that sound right?

A: It sure does sound like some classic symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). But it could be something else too, see your doctor.
Eating more smaller meals throughout the day can help. I carry peanuts, peanut butter crackers, or a jar of peanut butter with me, as the protein binds better and longer than traditionally eating a piece of candy or drinking orange juice.
I would however prefer you see your doctor and have the testing done as if you are, they can get you on the right track with diet and such. See your doctor.

Q: Can low blood sugar increase your blood pressure?
It’s true for some people, if they haven’t had something to eat, they get grouchy and are easily irritated by others. Is this due to low blood sugar, or is something else causing the outbursts?

A: With the absence of food to assimilate, there is an excess of heat in the digestive tract which can also lead to hot emotions, like anger and irritability.

Q: What would happen if you had a low blood sugar level?
Okay. If you had a low blood sugar level and you didn’t know you were diabetic, what would happen? How long would you stay in hospital for, and what medication would you have (including that for your diabetes)? Are there any complications that may arise and cause you to stay in hospital for more than the usual time? Thanks heaps!

A: You could have seizures, faint and/or go into a comatose state. When you’re blood sugar hits too high, and your diabetic, your pancreas releases too much insulin and causes it to drop. Depending on what kind of reaction you had when your sugar dropped would be about how long you would remain hospitalized. As for medication, you could be put on an insulin regime which will manually control your sugar levels. You will need a glucose monitor to check your blood sugar regularly throughout the day, especially around meals, and your diet will be either slightly or significantly restricted. Complications can arise being as minor as hot flashes during the night to having to have your feet amputated.

Diabetes can be the result of diet, lifestyle, and genetic family history. To see if you’re at risk, consult your doctor and see what measures you can take to see if your diabetic, and if you’re not, what you can do to prevent from becoming it. Take care of yourself.

Q: What are the most dangerous effects of low blood sugar?
I know the basic things that can happen, headaches, dizziness, irritability, depression, confusion, passing out, siezures… but what, if any, are the long-term risks of low blood sugar? I always hear about the damage high blood sugar causes, but what can low blood sugar do to you in the long run?
Ok, I guess I could have figured out it could be fatal, but I guess I’m wondering about chronic illness… such as how high blood sugar can cause peripheral neuropathy.

I have just been diagnosed as a diabetic, and I have not realized many times I had a headache or disorientation/depression before, usually after not eating a long while, or working out intensely, was usually an instance of low blood sugar.

So, my question is, would repeated times of hypoglycemia, let’s say where I become disoriented a few times a week because my sugar is too low, cause any long term damage?

A: If you dramatically and *quickly* drop your blood sugar (usually when a diabetic administers more insulin than they need) your brain is now suddenly deprived of a necessary energy source (glucose) required for its metabolism and goes through several stages. The first is a decreased level of consciousness, then unconsciousness, then seizures, then death. These stages occur normally when blood glucose levels are lower than 40 mg/dL.

A “normal” person who experiences long-term low blood sugar either by restricted dieting or other causes is not in danger of many serious complication. People on low carbohydrate diets usually have low blood sugar because they aren’t taking in foods that readily converted into glucose. People who are fasting obviously aren’t taking in anything that can be converted to glucose, and yet they survive for long periods of time on water alone. The fact is, as long as the body isn’t *suddenly* deprived of blood sugar (i.e. by zapping it all away with too much insulin), it will recognize decreasing levels of glucose and begin to metabolize more of it from other products (fatty acids, protein, etc) in a process called gluconeogenesis (gluco = sugar, neo = new, genesis = creation). This will help maintain levels sufficient to support normal brain function.

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If you’re becoming disoriented multiple times a week then you are allowing your sugar to drop too much and should work with your doctor to adjust your medication or diet so that this doesn’t happen. It won’t be too long before you accidentally go past disorientation and into unconsciousness or worse, since the two have a very small range between them.

Episodes of profound hypglycemia, even temporarily, cause stress to the body in the form of increased sympathetic tone as the body attempts to compensate for its depleting energy supply (heart rate goes up, blood pressure increases and the circulatory system begins shunting to the core). I suppose lots of these episodes over time may be harmful, but that would depend on the frequency and severity of each. Of course, if become a “frequent flyer” to the hospital because you routinely and regularly drop your blood sugar (as many regular patients of mine do), there’s no telling how many brain cells you’ll cook cumulatively over all those episodes. Again, if you get disoriented often due to hypoglycemia, you need to work with your MD to keep you blood sugar at least over 60mg/dL and preferably over 80mg/dL.

Q: What are the symptoms of having low blood sugar?
I don’t know why, but I have never been a fan of sugar… I rarely eat chocolate, sweets, etc. But I notice, that sometimes, when I miss lunch, I become dizzy… Or, that I can not fall asleep without eating anything. But, I don’t see this problem in anyone else in my family.

If I have low blood sugar, is that why I have to eat right before I go to sleep? I don’t know… Thoughts?

A: what ur experiencing is a condition called ‘hypoglycemic’ which means ur body dont have enough sugar.
symptoms of hypo include
-dizziness
-hunger
-shaky hands
-lethargic
-blurred vision

and to ans ur q, yes, i should eat something light b4 going to sleep. like 2 pieces of wholemeal cracker, or a glass of milk. that should help

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