|
Hypoglycemia
Hypoglycemia, also called low blood sugar,
occurs when your blood glucose (blood sugar) level drops too low to
provide enough energy for your body's activities. In adults or
children older than 10 years, hypoglycemia is uncommon except as a
side effect of diabetes treatment, but it can result from other
medications or diseases, hormone or enzyme deficiencies, or tumors.
Glucose, a form of sugar, is an important fuel
for your body. Carbohydrates are the main dietary sources of
glucose. Rice, potatoes, bread, tortillas, cereal, milk, fruit, and
sweets are all carbohydrate-rich foods.
After a meal, glucose molecules are absorbed
into your bloodstream and carried to the cells, where they are used
for energy. Insulin, a hormone produced by your pancreas, helps
glucose enter cells. If you take in more glucose than your body
needs at the time, your body stores the extra glucose in your liver
and muscles in a form called glycogen. Your body can use the stored
glucose whenever it is needed for energy between meals. Extra
glucose can also be converted to fat and stored in fat cells.
When blood glucose begins to fall, glucagon,
another hormone produced by the pancreas, signals the liver to break
down glycogen and release glucose, causing blood glucose levels to
rise toward a normal level. If you have diabetes, this glucagon
response to hypoglycemia may be impaired, making it harder for your
glucose levels to return to the normal range.
Symptoms of hypoglycemia include:
Hunger, nervousness and shakiness,
perspiration, dizziness or light-headedness, sleepiness, confusion,
difficulty speaking, feeling anxious or weak. Hypoglycemia can also
happen while you are sleeping. You might cry out or have nightmares
find that your pajamas or sheets are damp from perspiration, feel
tired, irritable, or confused when you wake up
Hypoglycemia: A Side Effect of Diabetes
Medications
Hypoglycemia can occur in people with diabetes
who take certain medications to keep their blood glucose levels in
control. Usually hypoglycemia is mild and can easily be treated by
eating or drinking something with carbohydrate. But left untreated,
hypoglycemia can lead to loss of consciousness. Although
hypoglycemia can happen suddenly, it can usually be treated quickly,
bringing your blood glucose level back to normal.
Hypoglycemia in People Who Do Not Have
Diabetes
Two types of hypoglycemia can occur in people
who do not have diabetes: reactive (postprandial, or after meals)
and fasting (postabsorptive). Reactive hypoglycemia is not usually
related to any underlying disease; fasting hypoglycemia often is.
Symptoms of both types resemble the symptoms
that people with diabetes and hypoglycemia experience: hunger,
nervousness, perspiration, shakiness, dizziness, light-headedness,
sleepiness, confusion, difficulty speaking, and feeling anxious or
weak.
If you are diagnosed with hypoglycemia, your
doctor will try to find the cause by using laboratory tests to
measure blood glucose, insulin, and other chemicals that play a part
in the body's use of energy. In reactive hypoglycemia, symptoms
appear within 4 hours after you eat a meal.
For More Information
American Diabetes Association
National Service Center
1701 North Beauregard Street
Alexandria, VA 22311
Phone: 1-800-232-3472
Fax: (703) 549-6995
Email:
customerservice@diabetes.org
Internet:
www.diabetes.org
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
International
120 Wall Street
19th Floor
New York, NY 10005-4001
Phone: 1-800-533-2873 or (212) 785-9500
Fax: (212) 785-9595
Email:
info@jdrf.org
Internet:
www.jdrf.org
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse
1 Information Way
Bethesda, MD 20892-3560
Email:
ndic@info.niddk.nih.gov
|