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The word “hypoglycemia” is well known to every diabetic. Among her own, she is simply called “gipa” and is very afraid, because if this condition is not dealt with in time, the consequences can be very sad.
But a sharp decrease in blood sugar threatens not only patients with an official diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. There are reasons why an attack of hypoglycemia can occur in a nominally healthy person. Therefore, our conversation today will be of interest not only to long-term patients of endocrinologists, but also to all people with problematic health and severe endocrine heredity.
Hypoglycemic syndrome develops at lightning speed, but it is customary to distinguish three main stages in its course:
Lightweight – primary hypoglycemia, which is observed in the first 5-10 minutes and is quickly stopped by taking a small dose of “fast” carbohydrates;
Average – occurs if glucose has not entered the body in a timely manner, and can last up to half an hour. The level of sugar in the blood has to be increased in several stages;
Final – Critical hypoglycemia, characterized by convulsions, syncope and, in severe cases, hypoglycemic coma. Only an ambulance and a hospital can provide a way out of this state. Without treatment, brain death occurs within an hour.
How to diagnose hypoglycemic syndrome in time? Any diabetic with experience will tell you that he begins to anticipate this trouble even before the first symptoms appear. By the way, the signs of a sharp decrease in blood sugar levels are individual for everyone.
We list all the warning signs of hypoglycemia:
Excruciating feeling of hunger;
Lethargy and muscle weakness;
Nausea, sometimes to the point of vomiting;
Rapid and / or uneven heartbeat (tachycardia, arrhythmia);
Intensive sweating;
Small trembling of hands;
Dizziness and loss of orientation in space;
Short temper, up to violent outbursts of anger;
Visual disturbances (red or dark circles before the eyes, double vision);
Unreasonable anxiety, fear, panic attack;
Great drowsiness, desire to lie down immediately;
Slurred, confused speech with swallowed endings of words;
Rarely – hallucinations and inadequate perception of reality.
Experienced diabetics have no problems with the timely diagnosis of hypoglycemia – they have studied their body well, know all the symptoms and are able to quickly take action. But beginners are often frightened and take the usual anxiety for an approaching attack. Fear has big eyes, but you need to try to control yourself. A high-quality glucometer will always help out – it certainly knows whether your sugar level is low or not. The hardest thing is for those people who are unaware of the true causes of their painful condition. Only one piece of advice can be given here: treat yourself carefully and carefully, get examined regularly, especially if you have a history of diabetes.
A sharp drop in blood sugar should be immediately compensated. The patient will not get better if he just lies down and takes a nap. Let’s not scare you with details about how this might end. Hypoglycemia sometimes occurs right in a dream – then a person has nightmares, and he wakes up all wet with sweat.
How to raise blood sugar levels?
Let’s start with a mild form of hypoglycemia, which is characterized by a blood glucose level of 2,7 to 3,3 mmol/l. These indications should ideally be given by a glucometer, and not speculation and premonitions. Although, diabetics who have repeatedly experienced attacks of hypoglycemia, determine it according to their feelings unmistakably.
So, what to do for an emergency increase in blood sugar levels:
Eat one candy, a quarter of a chocolate bar, or three slices of a standard XNUMX-gram chocolate bar;
Drink a cup of warm tea with two tablespoons of sugar or honey;
Eat one banana or a few pieces of dried fruits (dried apricots, prunes);
Drink half a glass of sweetened fruit juice with pulp.
Here are the most affordable ways to get “fast” carbohydrates. Obviously, a slice of ripe melon and overseas figs can help you, but you are unlikely to have time to find them, and it is inconvenient to always carry such delicacies with you. A sandwich or instant porridge may well be at hand, but at the first stage of the hypoglycemic syndrome they will not suit you – these are “long” carbohydrates that will not soon enrich the blood with glucose.
Treatment of moderate hypoglycemia
If you missed the primary manifestations of hypoglycemia and did not have time to compensate for the drop in glucose levels in time, you will have to supplement the strategy. With sugar below 2,7 mmol / l you need to consume 15-20 g of “fast” carbohydrates as soon as possible (see the list above), and then twenty minutes later the same amount of “long” carbohydrates. It is highly desirable that all these actions are accompanied by measurements of blood sugar levels using a glucometer.
The described tactics are not always effective. It is best to take control measurements every fifteen minutes, and if the results are still below normal, eat 12 g of “fast” carbohydrates, and so on until the bitter end. It may take 4-5 laps until blood sugar finally returns to normal.
Help with hypoglycemic coma
If a patient with diabetes mellitus with hypoglycemic syndrome did not receive help in time and lost consciousness, in any case, he will no longer be able to eat carbohydrates on his own. No need to disturb him and try to give him sweet water or tea to drink – this can result in asphyxia (an attack of suffocation).
As a rule, patients with severe diabetes mellitus keep a dose of 1 g of glucagon with them. This substance acts on the liver and causes it to urgently release into the blood all the available reserves of starch, which, again, may not be enough to stop the attack. In the hospital, the patient will most likely be injected with a XNUMX% glucose solution – this is guaranteed to bring him to consciousness.
10 golden diabetic rules that will save your life
Let’s sum up the intermediate results and announce ten rules, the observance of which will definitely save you from a sharp drop in blood sugar and the associated unpleasant consequences:
Read qualified medical literature to clearly understand what insulin is, what are the principles of its action and the consequences of incorrect dosage. The doctor does not have time (and desire) to drive these facts and figures into your head – you yourself must be interested in your health. You need to not just follow the prescriptions, but understand why you are shown this particular dosage of insulin, and what exactly will happen if you change it.
Inform people around you in everyday life (relatives, close friends, work colleagues) about your illness. There is no need to be ashamed of illness. Instead, think about the stress people will experience if you suddenly become ill in their presence. They will be in a panic, and will not be able to competently assist you.
Make sure that your mobile phone is always with you and charged. If necessary, buy a spare battery and carry it with you. Such advice can be embarrassing or even frightening, and, believe me, we sincerely wish that you never have to frantically search for your phone in order to dial relatives or an ambulance. But let it be at hand – so the soul is calmer.
Record the frequency of episodes of hypoglycemia. If they happen twice a week or more often, you need to get tested and adjust your insulin dosage. Tell your endocrinologist what has changed in your health and lifestyle: perhaps you have begun to eat differently, or do physical work more often?
Carefully read the instructions for use of absolutely any medications before taking them. Harmless cough syrups and throat lozenges may contain sugar. And some pills enhance the action of insulin. All this can be found in the attached abstract.
Carry something sweet with you (sugar cube, candy, candy bar). Of course, it is more useful to increase blood sugar levels with the help of fruits, but this is inconvenient – they quickly deteriorate. Be sure to double-check if you took sweets with you if you plan to leave the house for a long time or go on a trip.
Measure your sugar level 4-8 times a day at the hours indicated by your doctor. Be ready to use the meter in case of a drop or rise in blood glucose – have test strips in reserve!
If you plan to play sports or work in the garden, lower your usual insulin dosage slightly, or allow yourself a little more carbohydrates that day. Discuss with your doctor the tactics of behavior in such situations.
Give up alcohol or keep it to a minimum. Remember that different types of strong drinks have different effects on blood sugar levels: beer increases, vodka lowers. If you are going to have a drink in honor of the holiday, be sure to have a snack.
Always keep your presence of mind and try to look at things positively. Diabetes is a serious disease, but it can be controlled and lead a full, happy life!
How to protect yourself from hypoglycemia?
This section is devoted not to diabetics, but to relatively healthy people who are at risk for glycemic balance. It happens that a person systematically feels weakness, dizziness and sweating, but cannot establish a causal relationship between this condition and the way he eats. They attribute the malaise to stress and fatigue due to hard work, or it may turn out that the wrong diet is to blame.
There are people who deliberately lower their blood sugar levels. More precisely, half deliberately. These are fans of “lose weight on the Internet.” After reading articles about revolutionary ways to lose weight, they do monstrous things with their bodies. They completely refuse fats, and then they suffer with brittle nails, falling hair, lack of oxygen and hormonal disorders. They are malnourished of proteins and turn into feeble, shriveled creatures with no muscles. They curse carbohydrates, and lose consciousness from a sharp drop in blood sugar levels.
All these manipulations with rigid diets do not stand up to scrutiny. Only people with severe diabetes mellitus consume 40-60 g of carbohydrates per day, because otherwise they cannot survive. And for a person with a healthy endocrine system, such nutrition will not bring anything but harm. And losing weight with a lasting result, by the way, will not bring either.
Proteins, fats and carbohydrates are equally necessary for us, and each of these nutrients has its own, very important role.
Any deviations from the principles of a balanced diet should be made on the advice of a doctor, and only when the state of health requires it. Some people have to limit their intake of fats due to liver problems, someone cannot eat a lot of protein due to kidney dysfunction, and only those people whose body does not produce enough insulin refuse the lion’s share of carbohydrates.
The desire to get rid of excess weight is very commendable, because obesity itself can lead to diabetes and many other serious diseases. But if a person has a large excess of weight, while poor health and middle age, weight loss should begin with a comprehensive examination. And you need to visit an endocrinologist. The doctor will determine for sure whether your blood sugar level is high or low, and will give recommendations on nutrition.
If you already have low blood sugar, try to follow a few simple rules:
Eat balanced and fractionally – 4-5 times a day. Long breaks between meals just cause glucose “failures”;
Don’t starve! There are foods with a low glycemic index, due to which you can gently maintain satiety throughout the day – these are sea fish, olive oil, nuts, etc. Omega 3 fatty acids contained in them are also very beneficial for health;
Make sure you don’t have a chromium deficiency and replenish if necessary. Chromium acts as a natural regulator of glycemic balance, which is why this trace element should be present in the body in sufficient quantities, especially if you have low blood sugar levels. Cravings for sweets are also suppressed by glutamic acid, which is abundant in cottage cheese;
10 minutes before an intense workout or physical work, provide yourself with “fast” carbohydrates – drink fruit juice, for example. This will help avoid hypoglycemia, when your body throws all the glucose from the blood and liver into the furnace;
Avoid high doses of carbohydrates – do not overeat chocolates and cakes, washing them down with lemonade. At first, blood sugar levels will rise sharply, but then a rapid drop will follow. And the brain, like a drug addict who liked to bathe in glucose, will again begin to demand a holiday;
Do not abuse alcohol and strong coffee, and try to stop smoking if you have such a habit. Alcohol, caffeine and nicotine interfere with adequate synthesis of the hormone insulin because they destroy the pancreas, the organ that produces it.
In conclusion, I would like to say that it is very important to diagnose a low blood sugar level in time, as well as an increased one. This will allow you to make dietary changes and push the risk of diabetes as far away as possible. Take good care of yourself and stay healthy!