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Diabetes - Juvenile Community
This patient support community is for questions related to juvenile diabetes including celiac disease, depression, diabetic complications, hyperglycemia / diabetic keto-acidosis, hypoglycemia, islet cell transplantation, nutritional issues, parenting a diabetic child, pregnancy, pump therapy, school issues, and teens with diabetes.
what do you mean by 'prolonged' hypoglycemia can cause...?
by brookies, Feb 17, 2004 12:00AM
Please clear this up for me. In your website, it says that prolonged hypoglycemia can cause seizures or loss of consciousness? By "prolonged" do you mean within the moment or do you mean prolonged meaning as in years? I hope you mean in the moment because one has hypoglycemia for life,right?Also, that doesn't happen often does it? If your blood sugar drops and you eat,and then feel better, that stuff should not happen right?
Doctor's Answer
by JDRF-Team-dm, Feb 17, 2004 12:00AM
Dear brookies,
Thank you so much for contacting the JDRF website. Please understand that I am a volunteer and not a physician.
To answer your question, hypoglycemia happens in the moment. At the time of an episode, prolonged (continued dropping of blood sugars)can cause the symptoms you read on the website and if not treated with fast-acting sugar can then cause loss of consciousness. This is why it is very important to always carry glucose with you. The "seizures or loss of consciousness" you are referring to would be an extreme insulin reaction. As you said, you normally feel a low coming on and then can eat and bring your bs up. With good control of your diabetes hypoglycemia episodes should be few. You do have to be especially careful with excercise, illness etc.
I hope this helps clear things up a bit. Best of luck to you and if you need more information please come back. Also watch for other comments.
dm
Thank you so much for contacting the JDRF website. Please understand that I am a volunteer and not a physician.
To answer your question, hypoglycemia happens in the moment. At the time of an episode, prolonged (continued dropping of blood sugars)can cause the symptoms you read on the website and if not treated with fast-acting sugar can then cause loss of consciousness. This is why it is very important to always carry glucose with you. The "seizures or loss of consciousness" you are referring to would be an extreme insulin reaction. As you said, you normally feel a low coming on and then can eat and bring your bs up. With good control of your diabetes hypoglycemia episodes should be few. You do have to be especially careful with excercise, illness etc.
I hope this helps clear things up a bit. Best of luck to you and if you need more information please come back. Also watch for other comments.
dm
Post Comment
I also not a physician, but from what I understand treating your low glucose episodes is similar to treating them in diabetics. One important difference is that Type 1 diabetics produce NO insulin in our bodies adn thus, if we eat TOO much sugar to treat the low, we won't cause a worse one.
It would be great for you to discuss the best food/beverage to treat your lows with because, if I understand it correctly, your body sometimes produces too much insulin in response to the presence of glucose. My friend with the same condition you have also eats very few (if any) "sugary" foods and uses fruit to treat that awful low glucose feeling.
I hope you continue to take interest in keeping yourself well. It really is worth all the time & effort.