What Causes Low Blood Sugar Levels ?

Last weeks’ Mindset Letter was about some of the most common causes of high blood sugar levels.

Today I will be explaining some of the most common causes of Low blood sugar levels.

Again, the main challenge we all face as diabetics is having in range or controlled blood glucose levels.

Or let me put it this way, in very simple terms:

The main problem diabetics deal with is a pancreas that doesn't produce insulin. Our body is unable to process the glucose from the foods we eat; so this results in uncontrolled blood sugar levels. That's it.  

Everything that we do from eating, injecting insulin, doing exercise, and the daily habits we all have aim to have good diabetes management so we can avoid any future health complications. 

How do you feel when your sugar is low ? 

You feel useless. You can not function. You can’t do shit. 

-Sweaty

-Confused

-Weak

-Irritated

–Fast heartbeat

-Can't think clearly

Here are some common causes of Low blood glucose levels:

Injecting too much insulin. 

Insulin in excess or in a dose larger than what you need to cover your meals or long acting insulin; will cause your sugar levels to drop.

Your primary doctor or endocrinologist needs to tell you based on your specific condition and lifestyle how much insulin you should be taking per day.

Whether you are using MDI or a pump you need to adjust and know your insulin to carb ratios and long acting doses.

This is something you need to test and it involves trial and error.

In diabetes there is no one-size fits all.

My lifestyle and yours are very different. 

You might eat 500 grams of carbs per day and I might eat 200 grams.

Based on this and physical activity and other factors our insulin doses will vary.

The point is that if you are experiencing frequent lows you might be using too much insulin, either long acting or bolus insulin (insulin to cover your meals).

You need to adjust accordingly.

You need to learn about counting the carbs you eat and adjusting insulin doses based on this. 

Your weight, age, sex and lifestyle also affect your insulin needs.

Make sure you get medical blood tests and labs from your doctor so you can start with the best insulin treatment plan for you.

Delaying or missing meals/ snacks. 

This actually happened to me today, lol.

Perfect example.

I was out running errands and went about 5 hours without eating. 

I usually eat breakfast around noon and lunch around 3 pm.

Today I ate breakfast at 11 am and ate lunch at 4 pm.

As soon as I got home I felt it.

My sugar dropped to 60 mg/dl because I was starving and didn't have anything to eat in those 5 hours.

In order to function your body needs glucose.

When you skip meals or go too long without eating you don't have any glucose available so the sugars start dropping.

Not fun at all.

I ate my normal lunch, had a banana and waited a few minutes and I was back in range. 

Always try to have snacks between larger meals in order to avoid lows.

Some ideas are cheese, nuts, and apples. Or a protein shake.

This will help you stay in range and avoid sugars from dropping to low.

Anyways diabetes is very unpredictable and you don't know when a low is going to happen, but it is better to be prepared. 

Keep some snacks handy if possible.

Too much physical activity.

Yup.

Depending on your workout routine or physical activities you need to test what works and what doesn't.

Long session activities like running, or biking can lower blood sugars so you always need to keep something handy for these types of exercises.

Your body needs glucose in order to perform any physical activity.

Again, this all depends on the time of the day you workout, the type of activity and for how long you exercise.

I always recommend keeping glucose tablets or any sports drink handy in case you start going low during any activity.

Make sure to know your sugar levels before, during and after any exercise.

In my case I lift weights so I make sure that my meal and insulin were taken at least 1 or 2 hours before exercise.

My workout is about 1 hour long. So I don't need to have any food during the workout.

This allows me to exercise with in-range glucose levels.

If I were to go running, I would need to eat something like a banana before and keep glucose tablets with me during my run.

Again, this is trial and error.

Drinking too much alcohol.

Take it easy with alcohol.

Here's what happens when you drink alcohol.

When you drink alcohol, your liver needs to prioritize that alcohol because it has to process it. Your body is very smart and it needs to get rid of that toxic substance you are putting in your system first. When this happens your food is not processed as it should be because the stomach slows the rate of digestion.

So, if you are using insulin when drinking and eating food, that insulin starts working faster but the food you ate is not being digested because of the alcohol you drank. This is what causes your glucose levels to start dropping faster.

Now, what happens when you have a drink high in carbs or sugar in it? 

This is more complicated since you are calculating the insulin dose for that drink with carbs and food, but remember that the insulin will work faster and the food will be digested slower.

The more alcohol you drink, the more likely you will experience low blood sugars in the hours after drinking.

What I recommend and this is obvious are low carb and low sugar drinks.

When I used to drink, I would get the beers with the lowest amount of carbs available, some of these were: Bud light, Coors lite, Miller lite. There are more. Look them up.

There are also dry wines with low carbs: cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, merlot, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc. (Keep in mind the amount per serving)

Liquor has 0 grams of carbs. Tequila, whiskey, vodka, well; of course if you don’t mix them with mixers which can have a lot of sugar. If you drink any liquor you can order them with sparkling water, club soda or just a diet soda.

Be aware of the type of alcohol or drink and of course how many drinks you plan to drink.

I recommend checking glucose levels before, during and after drinking. Always make sure you are monitoring your sugars while drinking. And always try to drink some water for every 2-3 drinks you have.

Make sure to eat while drinking in order to avoid dangerous low glucose levels. Always carry something to treat low sugars. (Snacks)

How to treat low blood sugar levels ?

There’s a rule called: the rule of 15.

If your  blood sugar is 50 -70 mg/dL, you eat 15 gr of carbohydrates.

If your blood sugar is less than 50 mg/dL, you eat 30 gr of carbohydrate.

You wait 15 min and then re-check your blood sugar. If the blood sugar is still less than 70 mg/dL, take another 15 gr of carbohydrates.

Fast acting carbs:

Dex 4 Glucose Tabs; Serving: 4 Tabs Carbs (grams): 16

Welch’s Fruit Gummies; Serving: 0.8 Ounce Pouch Carbs (grams): 19

Fruit Juice/ Soda; Serving: 1/2 Cup or 4 ounces Carbs (grams): 15

White Sugar; Serving: 4 Teaspoons Carbs (grams): 16

Honey; Serving: 1 Tablespoon Carbs (grams): 17

So to close this letter:

Some common causes of Low blood glucose levels:

-Injecting too much insulin. 

-Delaying or missing meals/snacks.

-Too much physical activity.

-Drinking too much alcohol.

I’ve been a type 1 diabetic for the past 10 years of my life and I wrote THE MANUAL with all information, practical tips and tools you can use to gain in-range blood sugar levels so you can live an active, healthy and happy life without diabetes complications.

Whenever you are ready heres the link: THE MANUAL

More Ways I can help you:

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Take care,

DIE-A-BEAST