What is hypoglycemia?
Hypoglycemia is a condition in which your blood sugar (glucose) level is lower than normal.
Glucose is your body's main energy source.
Hypoglycemia is often related to diabetes treatment. But other drugs and a variety of conditions — many rare — can cause low blood sugar in people who don't have diabetes
Hypoglycemia needs immediate treatment when blood sugar levels are low.Treatment involves quickly getting your blood sugar back to normal either with high-sugar foods or drinks or with medications. Long-term treatment requires identifying and treating the cause of hypoglycemia.
Symptoms
If blood sugar levels become too low, signs and symptoms can include:
- An irregular or fast heartbeat
- Fatigue
- Pale skin
- Shakiness
- Anxiety
- Sweating
- Hunger
- Irritability
- Tingling or numbness of the lips, tongue or cheek
As hypoglycemia worsens, signs and symptoms can include:
- Confusion, abnormal behavior or both, such as the inability to complete routine tasks
- Visual disturbances, such as blurred vision
- Seizures
- Loss of consciousness
Seek a doctor's help immediately if you have what might be hypoglycemia symptoms and you don't have diabetes.
Also when you have diabetes and hypoglycemia isn't responding to treatment, such as drinking juice or regular soft drinks, eating candy, or taking glucose tablets.
Seek emergency help for someone with diabetes or a history of hypoglycemia who has symptoms of severe hypoglycemia or loses consciousness.
Causes
Hypoglycemia occurs when your blood sugar (glucose) level falls too low. There are several reasons why this can happen; the most common is a side effect of drugs used to treat diabetes.
Too much insulin or other diabetes medications may cause your blood sugar level to drop too low, causing hypoglycemia.
Hypoglycemia can also occur if you eat less than usual after taking diabetes medication, or if you exercise more than you normally do.
Hypoglycemia in people without diabetes is much less common. Causes can include the following:
- Medications.
- Excessive alcohol drinking.
- Severe hepatitis or cirrhosis.
- Insulin overproduction.
- Hormone deficiencies.
Hypoglycemia usually occurs when you haven't eaten, but not always.
Sometimes hypoglycemia symptoms occur after certain meals high in sugar because your body produces more insulin than you need. This type of hypoglycemia, called reactive hypoglycemia or postprandial hypoglycemia, can occur in people who have had stomach bypass surgery.
Source:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hypoglycemia/symptoms-causes/syc-20373685
