By Linda Thrasybule , Reuters Health. Reuters Health - When people with diabetes experience a dangerous drop in blood sugar, glucose tablets might be a better option than a sugary food or drink, a study suggests. People with diabetes can develop hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, if they skip a meal, exercise harder than usual or take too much insulin or other diabetes medications.
Low blood sugar can cause fatigue, anxiety, rapid heartbeat, sweating, mental confusion or even coma or seizures if not treated quickly. For a new study, researchers pooled data from four papers in the medical literature that compared the effect of dietary sugars and glucose tablets on relieving low blood sugar symptoms, including three randomized trials, which are generally the most reliable kind of medical study. Severe hypoglycemia needs a quick response! The rule of 15 for treating hypoglycemia is to take 15 grams of glucose, wait 15 minutes, and retest.
If the carbs are taking 20—40 minutes to really kick in, we might end up taking 45 grams before we start to see the rise, and then it can keep pushing RIGHT into hyperglycemia land as all those carbs finally take hold! The proof is in the chart! So I set that alert relatively high, at 75, and took a few extra units of insulin with a few meals to gently push me a little low afterward. When I hit 75 and my phone beeped the meter sends information to the phone through Bluetooth , I treated the falling number.
The first time, I treated it with a cookie, and the next time, with glucose tablets. The results were pretty amazing to see! When I treated with the cookie, my blood sugar continued to dip for about 10 minutes, then start arching upwards in a gentle rise that tapered off about 30 minutes after consumption. When I treated with glucose tablets, I saw a sharp rise within 5 minutes of consumption, which peaked within 10—12 minutes and then tapered off. Both foods eventually got me to about the same number, but the glucose tablets were about three times as fast!
But if I had been 65, or 55, or 45? That lag time could have spelled real trouble! If there is not enough insulin, or your body stops responding to insulin, then you are left with a buildup of sugar in the blood.
This is what happens when you have diabetes; your blood sugar levels rise due to the fact that insulin is not helping the sugar molecules enter your cells. Your blood sugar levels may also fall to dangerous levels due to many factors. If diabetics have to monitor blood sugar levels, one might ask how much sugar is allowed or even recommended?
Yes, people with diabetes can have sugar, but you must record and pay attention to the amount of sugar you consume on a daily basis. Every meal needs to be examined with a watchful eye to make sure you are not eating too much sugar or carbohydrates. The food your body consumes is broken down into three basic structures. These structures are called, carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Some examples of carbohydrates include:.
It is best to get sugar that is naturally occurring in whole foods such as carbohydrates from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat milk. Diabetics should stick to whole foods that have not been processed such as vegetables and fruits. If you have a sweet-tooth, try sugar-free candy or dessert. Most diabetics that are diagnosed with the disorder are placed on medications to help lower blood sugar levels. Medications along with a low carbohydrate diet and exercise can manage, treat, and in some cases cure diabetes.
Hypoglycemia low blood sugar can be caused by taking too much diabetes medication, not eating enough food, exercising too much without eating a snack, exercising and not reducing your insulin dose, waiting too long to eat between meals, or drinking too much alcohol. Some people become accustomed to lower-end blood sugar levels. People with this often have more severe symptoms, because they might not know that they have low blood sugar until symptoms become severe.
Reversely, some people become accustomed to very high blood sugar levels. This is simply the body adjusting to appropriate blood sugar levels. You recognize different symptoms within your body, and will begin to develop a keen sense for danger, particularly when blood sugar levels drop.
What are the steps to treat hypoglycemia? The first thing to do if you have low blood sugar is to eat something, preferable something with sugar.
Quick sources of sugar are good to have stashed around the house, in your purse, car, work desk, or bedside tables. In case of emergencies, you should always carry quick sources of sugar, if you are a diabetic. You can treat low blood sugar by eating or drinking quick sources of sugar. Examples of quick-sugar sources include:. These sources of sugar act quickly to treat low blood sugar levels. People with diabetes who use insulin or other diabetes medicines should carry at least one of these items at all times.
We recommend glucose tablets. Step 1 : Once low blood sugar levels are detected and verified, eat 15 to 20 grams of fast-acting carbohydrates listed above. Step 5 : Once blood sugar is back to normal range, it is important to have a snack or meal to help stabilize your blood sugar.
Example of snacks include: apple and peanut butter, crackers and cheese, or cottage cheese and peaches. Glucose tablets are easy to use, cheap, consistent, fast acting and create sharp rises in glucose levels. This allows for straight, fast acting sugar to increase low blood sugar levels and peak after about 10 minutes.
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