what happens if blood sugar level goes extremely down,as in last stage?what can i do to prevent it?scared!!=(?

Answer 1

Low blood sugar will cause weakness, lethargy (being tired) and confusion among other things.
Prevention is as easy as a good diet with regular complex carbohydrates and regular blood testing (assuming you are already diagnosed as diabetic!).
Its better to prevent it going low than to treat it when its has already gone low.
Don't panic about it, educate yourself, ask your doctor or practice nurse for help and take time to make sure you do it right. Sometimes hospitals will do a "supervised hypo" (low blood sugar) so that the patient knows what it feels like, and learns how to cope with it. Don't try this alone, it needs medical supervision!!!

Rememebr when reading the answers....UK and US blood measurements are done on different systems. So a normal blood glucose in the UK could be 6 and a 60 in the US way too low. UK uses mmol/l and US used mg/dl

Answer 2

"Last stage" symptoms would mean you're either unconscious or unresponsive, and/or there can seizure like episodes because your brain is starving for glucose. Since your brain is what controls everything in your body you can see how dangerous this can be.

It may be hard to prevent hypoglycemia completely, especially trying to keep tight control (keeping glucose levels in the normal range). However, using mulitple daily injections or insulin pump is as close as you can get to what your body does naturally. Matching fast acting insulin to what you eat is best and testing often are two things you can do to prevent extreme lows that requires intervention from someone else. Carry fast acting carbs with you like glucose tabs. Those little candies called "Smarties" are the same thing as glucose tabs, but cost a lot less. They're easier to find this time of the year, before Halloween. When your blood sugar is low chocolate is NOT good. You want pure carbs, no fat. Fat slows down digestion and therefore slows getting glucose into your blood stream...not a good combination! Here are some better choices...
2 or 3 glucose tablets
1/2 cup (4 ounces) of any fruit juice
1/2 cup (4 ounces) of a regular (not diet) soft drink
1 cup (8 ounces) of milk
5 or 6 pieces of hard candy
1 or 2 teaspoons of sugar or honey
Wait 15 minutes and check your blood sugar. If it's still low, eat another 15 grams of fast acting carb foods like those above, wait again, test again. Try not to overeat a low because then you end up too high. It's scary, but you can do it and you'll be fine. Take care.

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

Some good answers here and some very poor ones too.

Blood sugar = blood glucose
It is dependant on carbohydrate (of which sugar / glucose is one type) intake, insulin action (either natural from the pancreas, enhanced by medication for diabetes or injected) AND excercise.

You can prevent getting a very low blood sugar by eating low glycaemic index carbohydrates regularly. These break down and release sugar slowly but continuously into the blood.

IF your sugar level gets very low you need a rapid acting sugar / glucose source. Fruit juice is OK, so is chocolate etc but lucozade is best (liquids are absorbed faster than solids) Hypostop is a kind of concentrated sugar gel and it works too- it doesnt really matter but it needs to be as close to pure sugar (without fat or protein) as possible. THEN eat other food with long acting carbs in.

Answer 5

Hi Adam,

Don’t be scared :) If you have diabetes or a low blood sugar disorder you'll know that if your blood sugar gets too low you get hypo symptoms like shaking, tingling, etc. etc. If you did nothing there is a chance that you could have a fit or even go into a coma (this is more likely if you took heaps too much insulin than just with a normal hypo). But your body stores glucose in your liver, and eventually when your blood sugar is really low it will make a hormone called glycogen that tells your liver to release that sugar into your blood, so you'd be ok. You know if you've been hypo and are really high and feeling a bit sick afterwards? - that's because your body's made glycogen, when your blood sugar's high like that it's sometimes called a hypo rebound.

Hypos are more dangerous because something could happen to you while you're hypo - when you're unable to think straight cos of a hypo you're pretty vulnerable.

The times that hypos are seriously dangerous is if your liver doesn't have any glucose in it (eg. if you took your insulin just after a rebound but didn't eat anything - your liver might not have enough sugar in it to improve your blood sugar a second time round), or if you have been drinking. Alcohol keeps your liver busy (or so the story goes) so it cant put out glucose - if you've been drinking always eat a good long acting carb snack before you go to bed - hypos after drinking alcohol are the most likely hypos to be dangerous, esp. when you're asleep cos you could sleep through it.

I have a friend who went into hospital with extremely high blood sugar and the dr gave her too much insulin - she was still sleeping (had been in a coma) from high blood sugar and her blood sugar was down at 0.6! (Don’t worry I'm sure docs don't make those mistakes every day!). Anyway, they gave her some glucose and she was fine. My worst hypos have been when I've forgotten to take emergency carbs with me - once my boyfriend found me outside my flat wondering about - apparently all I kept saying to him was lucozade!!! - I was lucky it was him who found me - I was stupid to forget my glucose tablets, but I guess we all make mistakes or get careless at times.

On an every day basis, you really shouldn't worry - if you have a condition where you could have low blood sugar remember to keep your blood meter and emergency carbs (eg. sweets) with you. It's hard to prevent hypos, and good control is more important than no hypos - you shouldn't let your blood sugars run high to try to prevent them or nothing like that!! Just pay extra attention if you're doing an unusually high amount of exercise etc..

I know hypos suc, but don't worry about them being dangerous - they're normally more hastle than anything else. But diabetes can be a scary thing - I was scared of hypos when I first had them. Just remember you're not alone :)

Answer 6

presumably you are diabetic -and this is a very good question - particularly if you are newly diagnosed this is called hypoglycaemia. It can make you feel cold, sweaty, clammy shakey, vague, forgetful, ill, -all signs you should learn to recognise. They can come on quickly and can be frightening - but can easily be controlled. Carry a small piece of chocolate around with you in case you need it. But..if you follow the advice of your doctor and specialist nurse, you should be OK. Don't miss meals - as soon as you have your insulin, eat something, else you will be in trouble for sure.
It is CARBS you need- so DON'T abstain from them as previously mentioned!! It is about balancing carbs with the correct insulin dose.
Carbs keep your blood sugar up and right - and the blood sugar of 60 is wrong too - the normal level is between 5.0 -7.5
You can buy glucometers at Boots or a good chemist - then you can check you blood sugar as often as you need to. It is only a finger pin prick test, easy to do.
Bear in mind that night time is a long time to go and you don't want to go 'hypo' in your sleep! - so eat carbs, toast or digestive biscuits with milk before bed and you will be fine. It all seems too much and scary - but it is totally controllable, and I bet you will do really well at coping with this. Good Luck and remember there are always specialists to help you

Answer 7

The answer given by Rose-Merri is perfect. I have been a type 1 diabetic for over 40 years so should know the correct answers.
Hypo's can be fatal if left untreated. As well as immediate relief by taking chocolate or a glass of coke, you should also consume something like a sandwich which releases carbs gradually into the bloodstream thus preventing a re-occurance

Answer 8

i have gone as low as 24 and still been able to talk and chew if you cannot do either of these keep a tube of icing and always have it near you and let someone or yourself squeeze it into your mouth if you are able to swallow this will bring up your blood sugar fast if you go unconscious they have a shot called Glucagon that some one can give you that will bring you back in about 15 minutes. I can tell you some of the signs that you are going low and one is you will feel lethargic and start shaking uncontrollably another is you will get really sleepily fast the best thing to do is to check your blood sugar fast and get some carbs in you really fast.

Answer 9

when your blood sugar is low you need apx. 15 grams of fast acting sugar (w/out any fat or protein) Juice of any type works well. (i use skin milk sometimes) Fat will slow down the progression of the sugar. Sugar will enter your body as sugar then your liver will convert this into gluccose. Fat with your sugar (such as a candy bar) will take longer time and you can't wait long. After about 15 minutes then you need a little fat/Protein to keep your blood sugar steady. Or you'll just "crash and burn " again

Answer 10

My 3 year old is diabetic. I find the best thing for her if she has a hypo is a handful of sultanas or raisins followed by a few biscuits. The sultanas/raisins are high in natural sugar. Failing that a teaspoon of sugar with water and again somethin starchy like biscuits or a slice of bread.

I avoid using the hypo stop and prefer using more natural ways of treating hypos. Plus my daughter hates the hypo stop and i have problems administering it.

If you have regular hypos you should consider reducing your insulin. Just a bit at a time. Best to speak to your diabeties specialist nurse for advice about this.

Hope that helps.