Do You Give Insulin If Blood Sugar Is Low

How Is Hypoglycemia Diagnosed

The only way to know if you have hypoglycemia is to check your blood sugar with a blood glucose meter. Its a small machine that measures blood sugar. Most of these devices use a tiny prick of the finger to take a small amount of blood.

People with hypoglycemia unawareness may need a continuous glucose monitor. These wearable devices measure glucose every few minutes, day and night. An alarm sounds if blood sugar drops too low.

How To Treat A Low Blood Sugar Level Yourself

Follow these steps if your blood sugar level is less than 3.5mmol/L or you have hypo symptoms:

You do not usually need to get medical help once you’re feeling better if you only have a few hypos.

But tell your diabetes team if you keep having hypos or if you stop having symptoms when your blood sugar level is low.

When Do I Take Rapid

You should inject rapid-acting insulin no more than 15 minutes before you eat. Your doctor will tell you how much insulin to inject. Remember, you should not wait more than 15 minutes to eat after you take this insulin shot.

Rapid-acting insulin can be more convenient to take than regular insulin. With regular insulin, you inject the insulin and then wait 30 to 60 minutes before eating. Many people find it hard to time their meals around regular insulin injections. Sometimes they end up eating too soon or too late. Then they dont achieve the best blood sugar control. Since rapid-acting insulin is taken so close to mealtime, it may help you control your blood sugar more effectively.

You May Like: Signs Of Diabetes In Young Children

When Should I Check My Blood Sugar During The Night

• After a day with lots of exercise, such as swimming or sports
• If your blood sugar was low before bedtime
• When you are sick, especially if you have vomiting or diarrhea
• If you have been waking up high every morning for 3 or more days
• When your long-acting insulin dose has increased

The best times to check your blood sugar during the night is about 3 to 4 hours after your bedtime snack, then again about 3 to 4 hours after that.

Choose Carbohydrates That Keep Blood Sugar Steady

Our wide variety of food products contain different levels and types of carbohydrates making it harder to eat wisely with diabetes. In general, you will want to choose carbs that have the least impact on your blood sugar. That means selecting foods that are high fiber, low sugar foods since these are absorbed more slowly and so have little impact on blood sugar changes.

Best carb choices to promote a healthy lifestyle for people with diabetes:

• High fiber foods include: Whole grain breads and cereals, and foods made with 100% whole wheat, oats, quinoa, brown rice, corn and cornmeal
• Dried beans, lentils, and peas
• Fresh fruits like berries, apples, pears, and oranges
• Dairy products including yogurt, milk, and cheese. The best yogurt is Greek-style or strained yogurt since these contain triple the level of protein.
• Vegetables. Both starchy and non-starchy vegetables are all healthy carbs that have less effect on your blood sugar

As you might guess, sugar-sweetened cookies, cakes, doughnuts, and other baked goods made with white flour as well as candy and soft drinks that contain sugar and high fructose corn syrup have little nutritional value and are likely to send your blood sugar soaring, so should eat them only occasionally, if at all, and only in very small amounts.

Recommended Reading: How Long Does Insulin Take To Work

Do Not Inject Insulin

If a person with diabetes is having symptoms so severe that they cannot treat themselves, such as losing consciousness, others should not inject them with insulin, as this will lower their blood glucose further.

Additionally, they should not give them food or fluids, as the person may choke.

People taking diabetes medication should work with their healthcare team to develop a management plan to prevent hypoglycemia.

Additionally, the following strategies may help avoid low blood sugar:

• checking blood glucose levels
• eating regular meals or snacks
• engaging in physical activity safely

Regularly monitoring blood glucose levels may also lower a personâs risk of developing complications from hypoglycemia.

How Long Does Alcohol Affect Blood Sugar

this research, we used SUDAAN software to acquire estimates of prevalence and the standard errors in accordance with the Taylor linearisation technique Estimates have been weighted to replicate age, sex, and urban rural, distribution of provinces of the adults residing in China Weighting coefficients were derived from the 2010 Chinese inhabitants census information, and the sampling scheme of our survey was to acquire a national estimate Standard errors have been calculated Do You Give Insulin For Low Blood Sugar with applicable statistical strategies with information from the complicated survey design Categorical knowledge are offered as percentages and 95 confidence intervals and were analysed by a 2 check or Fisher s actual check, as applicable A binomial logit regression was used to examine the affiliation of threat components with the odds of whole diabetes and prediabetes.

If blood sugar levels are extremely excessive, you will likely be sent to the emergency room Compared with repeated day by day blood sugar checks, A1C testing higher indicates how well your diabetes therapy plan is working overall An elevated A1C level could signal the necessity for a change in your oral treatment, insulin routine or meal plan Everyone wants common cardio train, and individuals who have diabetes are no exception.

Recommended Reading: Cost Of Tandem Insulin Pump

What Is Low Blood Glucose

Low blood glucose, also called low blood sugar or hypoglycemia, occurs when the level of glucose in your blood drops below what is healthy for you. For many people with diabetes, this means a blood glucose reading lower than 70 milligrams per deciliter .1 Your number might be different, so check with your doctor or health care team to find out what blood glucose level is low for you.

Why Do I Need To Take Insulin

All people who have type 1 diabetes and some people who have type 2 diabetes need to take insulin to help control their blood sugar levels. The goal of taking insulin is to keep your blood sugar level in a normal range as much as possible. Keeping blood sugar in check helps you stay healthy. Insulin cant be taken by mouth. It is usually taken by injection . It can also be taken using an insulin pen or an insulin pump.

Dont Miss: When Is Insulin Needed For Diabetes

Also Check: How Do You Know Have Diabetes

What Is The First

As the main counter-regulatory hormone to insulin, glucagon is the first-line treatment for severe hypoglycemia in insulin-treated patients with diabetes.

Is insulin faster than glucagon?

The glucose-raising effect of subcutaneous glucagon delivery is faster than the effect of insulin suspension in the prevention of hypoglycemia, and thus the insulin-and-glucagon artificial pancreas is more potent in preventing hypoglycemia than the insulin-alone artificial pancreas.

Which IV fluid is best for hypoglycemia?

IV dextrose is available in different concentrations. Concentrated IV dextrose 50% is most appropriate for severe hypoglycemia, providing 25 g of dextrose in a standard 50-mL bag. It is recommended to administer 10 to 25 g over 1 to 3 minutes.

Dont Inject The Insulin Too Deep

Insulin is supposed to be injected into the fat layer under the skin using a short needle. This is referred to as a subcutaneous injection.

If you inject the insulin too deep and it enters your muscle, your body may absorb it too quickly. The insulin might not last very long, and the injection could be very painful.

Don’t Miss: Free Diabetes Tester And Strips

Tricks For Cutting Down On Sugar

GLUCOSE TOLERANCE TEST Blood samples are taken from a vein before and after a affected person drinks a thick, candy syrup of glucose and other sugars In a non diabetic, the extent of glucose in the blood goes up immediately after the drink after which decreases progressively as insulin is utilized by the physique to metabolize, or take in, the sugar.

Next, after checking blood sugar level, enter the date, time, level, and any notes within the blood sugar chart Notes within the chart will inform what food you ate, what workout routines you are doing, and the rest that you assume may affect your degree The following standard Do You Give Insulin For Low Blood Sugar suggestions are from Symptoms Of Low Blood Sugar the American Diabetes Association for individuals who have identified diabetes and aren t pregnant.

One tip to keep in mind is that having roughly the same quantity of carbs at every meal may help hold blood sugar ranges steady all through the day When it involves carb counting, there isn t any one size fits all strategy The quantity of carbs you need to eat every day is dependent upon elements like your age, weight, and physical activity level According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , people with diabetes ought to goal to get about half of their calories from carbohydrates Insulin and other diabetic medicines are Do You Give Insulin For Low Blood Sugar a must and ought to be adopted religiously.

How You Take Insulin

You can’t take insulin as a pill because enzymes in your stomach would break it down during digestion. Instead, you inject insulin under your skin through a needle in a syringe, pump, or pen.

There is also a newer inhaled version of insulin. You breathe it in through a device that looks like an asthma inhaler.

People with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin several times a day. Those with type 2 diabetes may only have to take it once a day.

You May Like: Insulin Dosing Guidelines Type 1 Diabetes

Eating Less Carbohydrate Than Anticipated

Sometimes we dont eat what we plan to, or we miscount carbohydrates because we dont know the carbohydrate content of the food. When this happens, a low blood sugar may occur.

The solution: If you eat less than expected, make up the missing grams of carbohydrate, such as by eating fresh fruit or even dextrose tablets. If you are not sure of the carbohydrate content of the food, check your blood sugar more often and be prepared to take supplemental sugar.

Treating Severely Low Blood Sugar

Blood sugar below 55 mg/dL is considered severely low. You wont be able to treat it using the 15-15 rule. You also may not be able to check your own blood sugar or treat it by yourself, depending on your symptoms. Make sure your family members, friends, and caregivers know your signs of low blood sugar so they can help treat it if needed.

Injectable glucagon is the best way to treat severely low blood sugar. A glucagon kit is available by prescription. Speak with your doctor to see if you should have a kit. Be sure to learn how and when to use it. Let family members and others close to you know where you keep the glucagon kit and make sure theyve been trained in how to use it too.

Its important to contact a doctor for emergency medical treatment immediately after receiving a glucagon injection. If a person faints due to severely low blood sugar, theyll usually wake up within 15 minutes after a glucagon injection. If they dont wake up within 15 minutes after the injection, they should receive one more dose. When the person is awake and able to swallow:

• Feed the person a fast-acting source of sugar .
• Then, have them eat a long-acting source of sugar .

Its also important that friends, family, co-workers, teachers, coaches, and other people you may be around often know how to test your blood sugar and treat severely low blood sugar before it happens.

If any of the following happens, your friend, relative, or helper should call 911:

You May Like: How To Tell If Diabetes Is Affecting Your Feet

How Is It Treated

If you often have symptoms of hypoglycemia, you should see your healthcare provider. Your provider can help you determine the cause. Your provider will also give you guidelines for treating low blood sugar when you are having symptoms.

When you see your provider, be sure to take your notebook or glucose meter with all of the results of your recent blood sugar checks. This helps your provider know whether you are on the right medicines and are taking the right dose at the right time of day. Without this record, it is harder for your provider to help you figure out the cause of your symptoms.

Here are some examples of guidelines your provider may give you:

• If you have diabetes and you think your blood sugar may be too low, check it with your home meter before treatment, if possible.
• Always carry some form of sugar you can eat as soon as you have any symptoms of hypoglycemia. The following amounts and types of foods will bring your blood sugar level up:
• 2 to 5 glucose tablets
• 1/2 cup fruit juice
• 6 to 8 ounces of skim milk
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup of raisins
• 5 to 7 pieces of hard candy like Lifesavers
• a tube of glucose in gel form
• 1 tablespoon of molasses, corn syrup, or honey

First Check Your Ketones

In people with type 1 diabetes, high blood sugars can put you at risk of developing ketones. Blood sugar levels over 250 mg/dL with too little insulin can quickly turn into diabetic ketoacidosis if it continues to rise.

Test your urine for ketones, and contact your doctor or visit an urgent care facility if you measure with moderate to large ketones. When large ketones are present, correcting a high blood sugar with insulin via pump or injection wont be effective. Instead, youll likely need intravenous fluids for a few hours to restabilize.

If you only have moderate ketones or less, you may be able to correct with insulin at home but youll likely need a larger dose than normal. Contact your healthcare team if you test positive for ketones and are unsure of how to safely manage the situation.

You May Like: Is Glaucoma Related To Diabetes

Read Also: How To Reduce Risk Of Diabetes

How Do Glucagon And Insulin Differ

Both hormones come from your pancreas alpha cells in your pancreas make and release glucagon, and beta cells in your pancreas make and release insulin. The difference is in how these hormones contribute to blood sugar regulation. Glucagon increases blood sugar levels, whereas insulin decreases blood sugar levels.

Dont Wait More Than 15 Minutes To Eat After Taking A Mealtime Insulin

Rapid-acting insulins, also known as mealtime insulins, were designed to be taken right before you eat to help control your blood sugar more effectively.

As the name suggests, rapid-acting insulin starts to work rapidly in the bloodstream. If you wait too long to eat, your blood sugar can get too low. This puts you at risk for hypoglycemia.

If you cant eat a meal after youve already taken your mealtime insulin, you should carry around a carbohydrate source to avoid hypoglycemia. These include:

• glucose tablets

Calculating the right dose of mealtime insulin can be complicated at first, especially if you dont know how many carbohydrates youre going to be eating at your next meal.

Try not to panic if you realize you took too much or too little insulin.

If you think youve taken too much insulin, eat some rapidly-absorbed carbs, like juice or glucose tabs. You may also want to contact your doctor.

If youve taken a lot more than you need, like double or triple the correct dose, have a friend or family member get you to a hospital. You may need to be observed for severe low blood sugar.

If you think youve taken too little insulin or forgot to take it at all before your meal, measure your blood sugar. If it gets too high, you may need to take short or rapid-acting insulin as a corrective measure to lower your blood glucose levels. If youre at all unsure about the dose, seek advice from your doctor or diabetes care team.

Also Check: How To Educate A Diabetic Patient

Low Blood Sugar: Warning Signs Ways To Treat And When To Call The Doctor

Physicians explain how to tell when your blood sugar is dangerously low, and how to take action to prevent complications.

KJ Callihan

KJ Callihan is a freelance writer with a background in mental health and education. Her writing often covers product reviews and lists, animals and pet care, food and hospitality, health, wellness, and culture. When she isn’t crafting the perfect sentence, you may find her bingeing true crime documentaries, browsing mid-Michigan farmer’s markets, and tasting her son’s latest homemade cuisine

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2020 National Diabetes Statistics Report, 34 million people living in the United States had diabetes in 2018 — and amazingly, 21% of adults with diabetes did not even know they had it. The scariest part is that, if left untreated, diabetes can be deadly. In fact, it was the seventh leading cause of death in the year 2017.

And while normally associated with high blood sugar , diabetic folks can also experience hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, alongside its own bevy of problems — including more severe and/or long-term effects like seizures, loss of consciousness, dementia and even death. Further, according to the Mayo Clinic, hypoglycemia can also cause low blood sugar in folks without diabetes due to a variety of conditions and medications.