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Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)


Low blood sugar may result if you are taking medication to treat diabetes such as insulin if you forget to eat or exercise before eating or exercise more than usual.

  How can I get low blood sugar?

  • Too much medicine

  • Not enough food or snack

  • Skipping meals or snacks

  • Delayed meals or snacks

  • Too much exercise

 

How will I feel when I have low blood sugar?

  • Feeling shaky

  • Dizziness

  • Feeling anxious or irritable

  • Fast heartbeat

  • Sweating

  • Hunger

  • Blurred vision

  • Weakness or feeling tired

  • Headache

  • Numbness or tingling around the mouth


How will diabetes affect me?


Problems that may occur for pregnant women with diabetes may include: an unexpected miscarriage, high blood pressure (preclampsia) pre-term labor (PTL) and delivery, too much amniotic fluid around the baby (polyhydraminos), a kidney infection and/or cesarean birth. If you develop severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (hyperemesis) when you have diabetes, you may become severely dehydrated, which may harm you and your unborn baby.

The good news for women who develop diabetes during pregnancy is that the diabetes will most likely go away after you give birth.  However, you will have a greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life.  You may also develop gestational diabetes if you become pregnant again.  You can lower your risk by reaching and maintaining your ideal body weight (IBW) and by walking or by doing some other form of exercise that you enjoy.

What should I do if my blood sugar might be low?

  • Sit down and ask for help.

  • Test your blood sugar. If your blood sugar is less than 60, eat or drink 15 grams of carbohydrate or take 3 glucose tablets. If your blood sugar is less than 40, drink 8 ounces (1 cup) of grape or apple juice.

  • Retest your blood sugar in 15 minutes. If you blood sugar has not increased by at least 20 points, take another rams of carbohydrate.

  • Repeat step 2 and 3 until your blood sugar is greater than 60, two or more times.

  • Continue to monitor how you feel and retest your blood sugar if needed.

 

The following foods have about 15 grams of fast-acting carbohydrates:

  • 1/2 cup of grape or apple juice

  • 3-4 glucose tablets (with water)

  • 1 tablespoon jam or jelly (not diet)

  • 1 tube glucose gel

  • 1/2 cup regular soda (not diet)

  • 8 Life Savers

  • 1/3 cup regular Jell-o (not diet)

  • 4 Starbursts

  • 1 Tbsp. honey or sugar

Always consult your personal physician about your plan of care. The above information is for educational purposes only and is not to be used for individual treatment or diabetes self-management recommendations.