Did it happen to you that one day you felt weak and tired and somebody told you that these symptoms could be related to low blood sugar?
I have received many questions about symptoms that are related to low blood sugar and how we could make sure that these unwanted symptoms don’t happen again.
Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar—typically a fasting blood sugar below 70 mg/dl (3.9 mmol/l)—has multitude of reasons. Low blood sugar can result in various clinical symptoms that could improve after the sugar level is normalized or at least elevated.
Hypoglycemia can harm an individual if it is not treated, accordingly. This condition is seen in diabetics especially type 1 diabetics as well as non-diabetic individuals. Clearly, this condition is more frequently seen in diabetic patients and the appropriate response would be to readjust the treatment.
Low blood sugar symptoms
These symptoms are very general and not specific. I have listed the most important one in the following table,
- Sweating
- Hunger
- Anxiety
- Rapid heart rate
- Impaired cognitive function
- Weakness
Individuals who don’t eat on regular basis or have anorexia nervosa (eating disorder) could also present with low blood sugars.In addition to anti-diabetic medications, many other drugs including some of the antibiotics (quinolones), blood pressure medications (ACE inhibitors) and beta blockers (metoprolol) and alcohol have been associated with low blood sugar.
What to do?
Any individual who has experienced the above symptoms—diabetics or non-diabetics—should contact his primary care doctor as soon as possible and be further evaluated, in diabetic patients the medications may need to be adjusted and in non-diabetics other causes of hypoglycemia should be ruled out.
It is also important to have regular food intake, we sometimes forget to eat in the midst of our daily stress, and however, as you already know, having a regular and healthy nutrition and food intake is essential for maintaining the health of body and mind.
Have you had any symptoms related to low blood sugar? What did you do about it?
Go to my Google plus page and let me know!