Can You Be Diabetic & Have Times of Low Blood Sugar?

You are considered a diabetic if your body doesn't break down sugar properly and the levels of sugar in your blood are higher than normal. Diet and medication may be necessary to keep blood sugar levels down, but you don't want it to drop too low. Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, can be as dangerous as high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia.

Identification

• Low blood sugar in a diabetic is also known as insulin reaction, or insulin shock. It occurs when insulin levels are under 70 milligrams per deciliter of blood (70 mg/dl).

Causes

• Diabetics have to eat and take medication on time. Skipping meals, not eating enough, eating later than scheduled, drinking alcohol, taking the wrong amount or type of medication or insulin, and getting an unusually high amount of exercise can all cause low blood sugar.

Time Frame

• Low blood sugar can occur at any time of the day or night. Your insulin level may drop too low anywhere from several times a day, to very infrequently.

Symptoms

• Some diabetics have no symptoms of low blood sugar until their level is extremely low. These symptoms include weakness, shakiness, feeling faint, sweating, nausea, mood swings, headache, confusion, vision and speech problems, convulsions, and passing out.

Prevention/Solution

• If you have symptoms or think your sugar's too low, test it. If it's too low, eat or drink something with sugar that will enter your bloodstream fast, such as orange juice, milk, soft drinks, candy, or fruit. There are also glucose tablets, made for this purpose, that quickly raise blood sugar levels when chewed and swallowed.