Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, occurs when glucose levels in the blood drop too low. Symptoms include tiredness, shakiness, hunger, and irritability. Left untreated, it can lead to seizures or loss of consciousness. Hypoglycemia is most common in diabetics taking insulin, but can also occur in non-diabetics due to an overproduction of insulin from the pancreas in response to eating carbohydrates. Managing hypoglycemia involves eating smaller, more frequent meals with a balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats to help maintain steady blood sugar levels.

1. Hypoglycemia - The Symptoms and the
Diabetes Connection
Hypoglycemia is a medical term. It basically means low blood sugar.
Cells fuel themselves with glucose, the simplest form of sugars. The
main purpose of digestion is to turn everything we eat into this high
energy fuel so the cells can do their job. Also know more about signs of
hypoglycemia
So what happens if the source in your blood runs low because it's been
too long since you ate, or you went swimming or jogging and didn't
prepare for the extra exercise by eating something first? Hypoglycemia.
What Should You Watch For?
The symptoms are clear. You get tired and lose focus easily. You might
feel shaky and anxious. And you feel thirsty or hungry. If you ignore
these symptoms you will begin to sweat and get blurred vision.

2. What's the worst that could happen if a diabetic ignores hypoglycemia
and tries to push past it? Seizures, coma and even death. But that is the
extreme, and it happens most often in people who have untreated type
1 diabetes. It can also happen when a type 2 diabetic takes too much
insulin.
The possibility of hypoglycemia is the biggest reason diabetics wear
special jewelry, necklaces or bracelets to alert people around them of
their condition.

3. The Grouch Factor
But most of the time hypoglycemia just makes you a grouch. You wake
up in the morning grouchy because it's been a long time since you ate.
That's why it's called breakfast; you've become fasting, which is
something hypoglycemic do not tolerate well.
Then about an hour before lunch, or in the middle of the afternoon you
have another spell of the grouchier, or you get tired, sleepy, and can't
concentrate.
The worst part of hypoglycemia is how quickly it affects the brain. Your
brain does not store or make glucose, so it is sensitive and reacts to low
blood sugar faster than any other part of you.

4. What Causes Hypoglycemia in People Who Don't Have Diabetes?
Nobody knows for sure. It comes and goes, and it's often difficult to
convince your doctor you have it. Many doctors will only consider
hypoglycemia with a blood sugar consistently below 50. They use
criteria from something called the Whipple Triad.
But many who suffer from the symptoms of hypoglycemia do not fit the
doctors' criteria. So they are remaining undiagnosed. From my own
experience with a glucose monitor, the effects of hypoglycemia can
show up with a blood sugar closer to 70.
But not many people who don't have diabetes happen to have a
glucose monitor lying around when they get the shakes. That makes it
difficult to prove hypoglycemia.

5. In no diabetics hypoglycemia seems to be caused by an overreaction of
the pancreas to eating sugars and carbs. If the beta tissues release too
much insulin into the blood stream, the glucose gets transferred out,
causing the blood sugar too low. That's when the symptoms appear.
There is more going on but that is the short version.
Does It Mean You Are Borderline Diabetic?
The symptoms of shaking, tiredness and irritability in a non-diabetic are
the same as those in diabetics. but that does not mean you are diabetic
or even borderline. Many people who have hypoglycemia never
become diabetic. And some people are not hypoglycemic at all.
You might have symptoms that look like low blood sugar, but the cause
is not hypoglycemia. The list of possible conditions is very long. There

6. are at least 50 possibilities and they include anemia. That's why it's
important to go to your doctor and get yourself checked out before you
decide you have hypoglycemia. Don't self-diagnose.
But if your doctors can't see any reason for your symptoms, then you
might try the things others have used to help them with hypoglycemia.
If those things help you, you may have found the problem.
Some of the Things You Can Do
The good news is that there are lots of people who have hypoglycemia
and found ways to feel better. Here are some of the do's and don'ts
from the hypoglycemia discussion boards.
Do eat smaller, more frequent meals. That continues the pancreas from
putting out too much insulin at once, and it smooth’s the lows that
make you grouchy.

7. Don't eat carbohydrate snacks by themselves. Add some fiber, protein
and/or fat (like nuts) to slow down the digestion of the carbs.
Do eat a healthy snack with carbs and protein before you exercise.
Don't drink high sugars sodas. Hypoglycemic say they are the worst for
causing highs and then crashes. They are packed with sugar and many
have caffeine, and some hypoglycemic say caffeine make things worse.
Do get your blood sugar checked to see if you are borderline diabetic.
One friend of mine suffered with grouchiest every morning. She learned
to keep a plate of cheese by her bed so in the morning before her fat
hit the floor she could grab a quick snack. It kept her on an even keel
while she got her kids ready for school. She never had diabetes, but she
did have hypoglycemia.
Hypoglycemia in Diabetics
Diabetics on insulin watch for low blood sugar as much as for large
blood sugar, because we are artificially managing insulin amounts. The
diabetes symptoms you need to watch for include sugars lows, and it's
good to know the way your body reacts to them as part of your journey
with the disease.

8. If you get weak and sweaty and begin to see places before your eyes,
your blood sugar has probably dropped close to or below 50 and it's
time to do something. Orange juice, milk or a quick bowl of cereal
brings blood sugar up quickly.
Hypoglycemia is dangerous for a type 1 or type 2 diabetic. It can
happen fast, and it is always unexpected. If you get a stomach virus, if
for some reason your insulin level rises during the night, or if you
exercised more than typical and did not adjust your medication to
account for it - there are plenty of factors to consider if you are taking
insulin.

9. It helps to have family around at a time like that. You're not always
thinking clearly and it's good to have someone else there to take you to
the emergency room if factors don't normalize. You shouldn't be shy
about asking for help. And make sure you use a diabetic identification
bracelet or necklace constantly.
If you are hypoglycemic but not diabetic, there are hypoglycemia
groups ready to welcome you and sympathize with the problems you
are facing. Sometimes my hypoglycemic buddies felt left out in the cold
because they were not taken seriously by the medical area.
But there are individuals who have been helped and want to pay it
forward. They will share the things that have helped them, and they'll
support and encourage you when nothing seems to be working. Find a
hypoglycemia forum online and join it. Reach out.