Yes, symptoms of hypoglycemia are very
individual. One individual may have one feeling and another person
may have different sensations. Some of the more common symptoms
include extreme hunger, nervousness (shakiness or tremors), excessive
perspiration (sweating), rapid heartbeat (tachycardia), headache,
fatigue, mood changes, blurred vision and difficulty concentration
and completing mental tasks.
Some of the less common ones are a cold
feeling, seizures, loss of consciousness and a few others. What the
symptoms are telling you is that your brain is not receiving enough
blood glucose (sugar), and it is signaling your body for more. Now
be aware that these symptoms are not specific to hypoglycemia. There
may other causes and the only way to be sure is to use your blood
glucose meter and test. If the meter says you are below 70 mg/dl
(3.9 mmol/L) then you need to be concerned about hypoglycemia and
take corrective action.
People with type 2 diabetes do need to
be concerned about hypoglycemia. I often see people complaining
about having some of the symptoms shortly after they are diagnosed
with diabetes. They are wondering why they have these feelings but
their blood glucose readings are still in the 100's. This is
generally because they have had a rapid drop from a higher reading
that their body has been accustomed to and their brain is telling
them it needs more glucose. This should still be of concern, tested
for, and not ignored.
I can remember this shortly after I was
diagnosed and I would test every half hour for several hours until I
knew that I had not gone below 70 mg/dl. Many people with type 2
diabetes never experience true hypoglycemia, but this false
hypoglycemia can still become serious if ignored. Those of us with
type 2 on insulin even need to be more careful. A small percentage
of people with type 2 diabetes can become hypoglycemia unaware. It
is more of a concern for people with type 1 diabetes.
Hypoglycemia unaware is the term used
to describe the complete lack of symptoms when blood glucose is going
low. This does happen to some people with type 2, but not that
frequently. Once it does happen, much care needs to be taken. A
continuous glucose monitor should be necessary. If your insurance
will not allow one, then take time to learn BGAT (blood glucose
awareness training), it just may save your life. You will need to
learn this on your own as the CDEs refuse to waste time on it. Too
much to learn and it will not improve their paycheck.
If you are on oral medications, this web site should be one that you read. It discusses the oral
medications and how they can affect your blood glucose and cause
hypoglycemia.
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