Have low blood sugar without symptoms? You may need to check your blood sugar more often.
Blood sugar levels change often during the day. When they drop below 70 mg/dL, this is called having low blood sugar. At this level, you need to take action to bring it back up. Low blood sugar is especially common in people with type 1 diabetes.
Knowing how to identify low blood sugar is important because it can be dangerous if left untreated. Read more about what causes low blood sugar and common symptoms.
Causes of Low Blood Sugar
There are many reasons why you may have low blood sugar, including:
- Taking too much insulin.
- Not eating enough carbs for how much insulin you take.
- Timing of when you take your insulin.
- The amount and timing of physical activity.
- Drinking alcohol.
- How much fat, protein, and fiber are in your meal.
- Hot and humid weather.
- Unexpected changes in your schedule.
- Spending time at a high altitude.
- Going through puberty.
- Menstruation.
Symptoms of Low Blood Sugar
How you react to low blood sugar may not be the same as how someone else with low blood sugar reacts. It’s important to know your signs. Common symptoms may include:
- Fast heartbeat
- Shaking
- Sweating
- Nervousness or anxiety
- Irritability or confusion
- Dizziness
- Hunger
If you’ve had low blood sugar without feeling or noticing symptoms (hypoglycemia unawareness), you may need to check your blood sugar more often to see if it’s low and treat it. Driving with low blood sugar can be dangerous, so be sure to check your blood sugar before you get behind the wheel.
You may not have any symptoms when your blood sugar is low (hypoglycemia unawareness). If you don’t have symptoms, it will be harder to treat your low blood sugar early. This increases your risk of having severe lows and can be dangerous. This is more likely to happen if you:
- Have had diabetes for more than 5-10 years.
- Frequently have low blood sugar.
- Take certain medicines, such as beta blockers for high blood pressure.
If you meet one or more of the above and you have hypoglycemia unawareness, you may need to check your blood sugar more often to see if it’s low. This is very important to do before driving or being physically active.
Types of Low Blood Sugar
Nighttime low blood sugar
While low blood sugar can happen at any time during the day, some people may experience low blood sugar while they sleep. Reasons this may happen include:
- Having an active day.
- Being physically active close to bedtime.
- Taking too much insulin.
- Drinking alcohol at night.
Eating regular meals and not skipping them can help you avoid nighttime low blood sugar. Eating when you drink alcohol can also help. If you think you’re at risk for low blood sugar overnight, have a snack before bed.
You may wake up when you have low blood sugar, but you shouldn’t rely on that. A continuous glucose monitor (CGM) can alert you with an alarm if your blood sugar gets low while you’re sleeping.
Severe low blood sugar
As your low blood sugar gets worse, you may experience more serious symptoms, including:
- Feeling weak.
- Having difficulty walking or seeing clearly.
- Acting strange or feeling confused.
- Having seizures.
Severe low blood sugar is below 54 mg/dL. Blood sugar this low may make you faint (pass out). Often, you’ll need someone to help you treat severe low blood sugar.
People with diabetes may experience low blood sugar as often as once or twice a week, even when managing their blood sugar closely. Knowing how to identify and treat it is important for your health. Learn how to treat low blood sugar.
Causes of (hypoglycemia) low blood sugar in non-diabetics include some medications, drinking too much alcohol, hypothyroidism, side effects of weight loss surgery, liver or kidney problems, anorexia nervosa, problems in the pancreas, and certain genetic disorders.
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is when the level of sugar (glucose) in a person's blood gets too low, usually below 70 mg/dL.
Low blood sugar causes in diabetes
Hypoglycemia in people with diabetes is caused by:
- Taking too much medicine, including insulin or certain oral diabetes drugs
- Not eating enough food
- Waiting too long between meals
- Drinking too much alcohol
- Too much exercise without eating a snack or reducing insulin dosage
Most cases of low blood sugar occur in people who have diabetes. It is very uncommon in people who are not diabetic.
Low blood sugar causes without diabetes
Causes of low blood sugar in non-diabetics includes:
- Some medications
- Diabetes medicines, including insulin
- Beta-blockers
- Sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim (Bactrim)
- Haloperidol
- Pentamidine
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
- Quinidine
- Sulfonylureas
- Drinking too much alcohol
- Hypothyroidism
- Side effects of weight loss surgery
- Liver or kidney problems
- Anorexia nervosa
- Problems in the pancreas
- Certain genetic disorders
What Are Symptoms of Hypoglycemia?
Early symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can include:
- Shaking/trembling
- Sweating
- Feeling hungry
- Feeling worried
Untreated low blood sugar levels can lead to severe symptoms of hypoglycemia, such as:
- Dizziness
- Weakness
- Headache
- Blurred vision/other vision problems
- Fast heartbeat
- Lightheadedness
- Fainting
- Trouble walking
- Tingling or numbness in the lips, tongue or cheeks
- Confusion
- Not thinking clearly
- Acting strangely
- Seizure
How Is Hypoglycemia Diagnosed?
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is diagnosed when a person has symptoms of low blood sugar and:
- Low blood sugar levels are present when symptoms occur
- Measured with a blood test from a blood glucose meter (usually less than 60 mg/dL)
- The person feels better after eating something that raises blood sugar levels to normal
To determine the cause of hypoglycemia, tests may include:
- Blood tests
- Computerized tomography (CT) scan
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan
- Ultrasound
What Is the Treatment for Hypoglycemia?
Treatment for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) includes:
- Consuming quick sources of sugar
- Glucose tablets or gel
- Sugary candy such as jelly beans, gumdrops, or hard candies
- Honey
- Fruit juice
- Regular soda
- Corn syrup
- Diabetics should carry a quick source of sugar at all times
- Glucagon, a hormone, used to quickly raise blood sugar levels and stop severe symptoms
SLIDESHOW
Diabetes: What Raises and Lowers Your Blood Sugar Level? See SlideshowFrom
Reviewed on 10/12/2021
References
//www.uptodate.com/contents/low-blood-sugar-in-people-without-diabetes-the-basics?search=Hypoglycemia&source=search_result&selectedTitle=3~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=3
//www.uptodate.com/contents/low-blood-sugar-in-people-with-diabetes-the-basics?search=Hypoglycemia&source=search_result&selectedTitle=2~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=2
//www.diabetes.org/diabetes/medication-management/blood-glucose-testing-and-control/hypoglycemia