Diabetes: Dealing with low blood sugar from insulin

Why do I need to deal with low blood sugar emergencies?

If untreated, very low blood sugar can lead to serious illness and death.

When your blood sugar level falls below 70 mg/dL (55 mg/dL if you are pregnant), your body reacts like it does when you feel very afraid, angry, or anxious. You may feel weak, shaky, and/or sweaty. But if you eat something that contains sugar, your blood sugar level most likely will rise. An emergency likely will not develop, and you will not have any long-lasting effects from having low blood sugar.

If your blood sugar continues to drop (below 40 mg/dL), your brain may receive too little sugar to work properly and your judgment and muscle coordination will be affected. These are symptoms of moderate low blood sugar. You may not realize your blood sugar is too low, and you may not be aware that you need to eat food with sugar to raise the level. Someone else may have to help you eat or drink something to raise your blood sugar level. If you do not get help, you could get in an accident if you are driving a car or operating other machinery. If you are pregnant, low blood sugar can harm your baby.

If your blood sugar continues to drop (below 20 mg/dL), you can lose consciousness. If you do not receive prompt emergency care, you may have a seizure, heart attack, or stroke and possibly die. These are symptoms of severe low blood sugar. If you are pregnant and taking insulin, very low blood sugar levels are dangerous for your baby.

A low blood sugar level may soon recur, even though it has been treated. Check your blood sugar often after a low level has been treated to make sure your blood sugar returns to normal.

Test Your Knowledge

Complete the following statement.

1. If my blood sugar level drops very low (below 20 mg/dL):

1. I can fall into a coma and possibly die.
2. I will act like I am okay.
3. I will be able to eat or drink something to raise it.

Continue to How to deal with low blood sugar emergencies
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Author:	Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS	Last Updated: October 3, 2008
Medical Review:	Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Matthew I. Kim, MD - Endocrinology & Metabolism
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