All About Low Blood Sugar
Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) is one of the most important things to know about if you’re taking medication for your diabetes. You need to know what it feels like to be low, how to test your sugar, how to treat yourself, and how to prevent it. Symptoms of low blood sugar:
- Feeling tired
- Feeling hungry
- Feeling shaky
- Breaking into a sweat
- Racing heartbeat
- Headache
- Blurry vision
- Confusion
- Not thinking clearly
- Feeling moody or angry
- Dizziness
If you have symptoms of low blood sugar, or your blood sugar is less than 70, you should follow these steps in order:
- Eat or drink something with about 15 grams of carbohydrates in it.
- Check your blood sugar.
- Wait about 15 minutes then check your blood sugar again.
- Eat or drink another 15 grams of sugar if your blood sugar is still below 70.
- Keep repeating these steps until your blood sugar is above 80.
Here are some tips to prevent low blood sugar:
- Recognize the symptoms of low blood sugar.
- Don’t skip meals and eat meals within 15 minutes of taking rapid-acting insulin.
- Don’t drink alcohol excessively.
- Always carry an emergency snack with you.
- Wear a medical alert bracelet.
If you’re having low blood sugar very often in spite of following a meal plan, an exercise routine, and taking your diabetes medications as prescribed, talk with your care team.