How Does Diabetes Lower Glucose Levels?

Diabetes itself does not lower glucose (sugar) levels. On the contrary, the body of a diabetic person cannot process glucose properly, resulting in an elevated blood-glucose level. Yet people with diabetes do experience hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), so how does this occur?

Facts

• Diabetics walk a tightrope of sorts when it comes to their blood-glucose levels. There is a constant battle to keep the levels within a certain range: not too high, and not too low. Periodically, most diabetics will experience low blood sugars due to the medications they use to control the disease.

Insulin reactions

• Diabetics whose bodies do not produce enough insulin use insulin injections to lower their blood-glucose levels. This includes all type 1 diabetics, and some type 2 diabetics. If a person administers too much insulin, or does not eat within a certain time period, they can experience hypoglycemic episodes.

Oral medications

• Some people use oral medications, such as metformin, to keep their glucose levels in check. This medication works for people whose bodies still produce insulin. The drug works to reduce blood sugar by helping the body use insulin more efficiently. Although hypoglycemia in people on oral medications tends to occur less frequently than it does in those on insulin, low sugars can still happen.

Tight glucose control

• The American Diabetes Association advocates tight diabetes control for those who qualify. Tight control consists of calculating diet and medication so that a person's blood sugar falls within 70mg/dl and 130 mg/dl before eating, and stays below 180mg/dl two hours after meals. One of the drawbacks of tight diabetes control is an increased chance of hypoglycemia.

Considerations

• The ADA recommends routine blood glucose testing (before and after meals) via home meters in order to stay on top of blood sugars.