Symptoms | Diabetes Healthy Solutions

Just How Low Is Low Blood Sugar

How low is low blood sugar?

Generally speaking, your blood sugar should never dip to 70 mg/dL or lower. When a person’s blood sugar dips lower than it should, this is known as hypoglycemia. It is a dangerous condition that could even be life threatening if not attended to. While hypoglycemia is more of a problem for diabetics than for non-diabetics, it should be noted that 70 mg/dL is the standard limit for what constitutes low blood sugar.

Causes and Symptoms

Hypoglycemia can be caused by one or more factors. It is often brought on if either glucose or insulin is released into the bloodstream too quickly. Taking insulin or diabetes medication at the wrong time can also cause hypoglycemia. Those who have diabetes should be sure to eat enough at mealtimes and for snack, especially if insulin has just been taken.

Skipping meals, drinking alcohol and/or changes in exercise habits can also bring about hypoglycemia if a person has diabetes type 2.

Some of the many symptoms of hypoglycemia include:

double vision
headaches
nervousness
rapid heartbeat
shaking
sweating
fatigue

However, there is also the danger of a person not feeling any of the above mentioned symptoms before more serious symptoms set in. Some of the most serious symptoms of hypoglycemia include fainting and seizures.

Blood Sugar Goals

Knowing how low is low blood sugar is not enough. A person needs to take action to ensure that his or her blood sugar levels remain stable. Generally speaking, a healthy person’s blood sugar levels should remain between 80 mg/dL and 160 mg/dL. While many diabetics have a higher range that what has been mentioned here, it is not impossible for a person with diabetes type 2 to attain to this healthy blood sugar level. However, those who have diabetes will want to consult a doctor, as one’s ideal blood sugar level range does vary from person to person.

An Introduction to Hemoglobin A1C Tests

Hemoglobin A1C tests can help to determine just how low is low blood sugar. These tests can be found in many doctor offices, but there are also home kits that can be used by a diabetic without professional medical help. The hemoglobin A1C home test should be used before mealtimes, after mealtimes and before going to bed. It will help one get a good idea of what his or her average blood sugar level is at various times of the day.

Ideally, a diabetic should strive for a blood sugar level of 80 mg/dL to 160 mg/dL. However, this goal may not be realistic for everyone, which is why consulting a doctor and using a Hemoglobin A1C home test kit is important. Knowing about blood sugar ranges, especially the low range will help keep you in good health.

Symptoms of diabetes in women

Symptoms of diabetes in women are basically the same symptoms as they are in men. Symptoms of diabetes in women can range widely such as frequent urination, having the urge to drink fruity drinks or drinks with high amounts of sugar in them, tingling extremities such as fingers and toes, continual hunger, feeling overexerted and tired all of the time, loss of energy, weight loss and blurry vision to name a few.

Symptoms of diabetes in women range from those of men because women go through more hormonal issues than men. Women go through pregnancy which makes their hormones rage which men don’t go through. Women also deal with menopause which can send their bodies into a rage and unbalance which they are not normally going through.

A woman can also show symptoms such as painful intercourse, high blood pressure, lethargic, painful urination, urinary tract infections and yeast infections are all symptoms of diabetes in women. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms which are not normal to you then you need to make sure that you consult with your doctor so that they can look into it. Chances are if your doctor hears these symptoms he or she will run a fasting blood glucose level or fasting diabetic test to see if you do in fact have diabetes. If you do indeed have diabetes your doctor will talk with you about everything you need to do from here on out so that you can safely manage your diabetes and keep a healthy lifestyle.

Symptoms of diabetes in women do run differently than men but the best way to maintain your health is by making sure that you know your body. If you know your body then you will not have any problem knowing when something is not right so that you can contact your physician and have it checked out.

What are the Early Symptoms of Diabetes?

So how do I tell if I have Diabetes?

Have you been having to go to the bathroom more frequently than normal? Can you not keep yourself hydrated? Did you know that these may be signs and symptoms of diabetes?

Symptoms of diabetes can vary from person to person but most of the time the signs and symptoms are going to be the quite similar. Type 2 diabetes usually tends to start as quite a silent disease – you can certainly not even be aware that you have it! Quite often, the early symptoms of diabetes like

fatigue,
poor vision
reduced libido
lethargy
going to the bathroom more frequently,

tend to be just put down to “getting older” or some other reasons. Quite often a person that is diagnosed with diabetes has more than likely had the disease for five to ten years, but not know about it.

Most younger age people in their early 20’s and even younger, will notice themselves wanting drink more often and feeling like that they can’t get enough to drink, while others may feel like they are staying in the bathroom all the time with frequent urination.

What do I do If I notice These Early Symptoms of Diabetes?

Once you start to notice the symptoms of diabetes, or things that you think may be diabetes such as frequent urination or constant drinking of fluids when you normally don’t, then you may want to consult with your doctor or physician and let them know what is going on so that you can be tested for diabetes as early as possible.

Oral Glucose Tolerance Test

Often times when you have contacted your doctor about having signs and symptoms of diabetes, he or she will have you come in and get a fasting blood glucose test (Known as an OGTT) Oral glucose tolerance test. This involves an initial blood test and then you will be given a large amount of glucose to drink – followed by a second blood test a couple of hours later.

This will determine the rate that the glucose is cleared from your blood and you return to normal. A fasting blood glucose test is painless and very simple to have.

The Oral Glucose Tolerance Test is normally of a morning after you have been fasting over night. Drinking water beforehand is permitted, but no tea, coffee or juice.

Healthy Persons Results : The blood sugar level from the second test, should be below 7.8mM

Indication of Prediabetes : The blood sugar level from the second test would read between 7.8mM and 11.1mM

Diabetes : The Blood sugar level from the second test would be higher than 11.1mM

If you were to have 2 random blood sugar level results coming back at higher thatn 11.1mM, OR a fasting glucose test result higher than 7.8mM on 2 separate occasions, this would certainly confirm you have diabetes mellitus.

Symptoms of diabetes are generally the same for all ages but may just be seen at various times rather than all at once. For older people it may take longer to show symptoms of diabetes while younger people may experience them all at once. Most important, is once you do recognize the symptoms, you need to get help!

Is Depression a Symptom of Diabetes?

It’s not surprising that people who have been diagnosed with diabetes would also become depressed or anxious about what is happening to them and also about developing the complications that come with diabetes.

Diabetics really need to try and stay as motivated and positive as possible in order to be able to fight their disease. Depression is something that can and will interfere with your motivating forces, so if you are feeling anxious and depressed, see your heath care professional and have it addressed.

What other Symptoms of Diabetes should I watch for?

Losing appetite
Feeling anxious and often teary
Lack of interest in your hobbies or regular activities
Lack on interest in relationships
Feeling pessimistic and sad on a regular basis
You have difficulty sleeping, or you wake very early in the morning
Having little energy and feeling constantly lethargic.

Read here for the recent advances in diabetes research!

Symptoms of diabetes

Symptoms of diabetes are different for everyone and take into consideration different underlying factors such as age, sex and heredity just to name a few. Some of the few common symptoms that come with diabetes is frequent urination, trouble quenching your thirst and sweats.

Symptoms of diabetes are typically seen as the same because there is underlying criteria that doctor’s and physicians go by before they will test a person for diabetes. For example, someone who never seems to have trouble staying thirsty all the time or keeping themselves hydrated is generally a red flag. Someone who is having to go to the bathroom a lot more often than normal, may be showing signs of being a diabetic.

For most people they are unsure if they are showing symptoms of diabetes because they are just unsure. The best way to know is by knowing your body, after all no one knows your body like you do. If you know that you are trying to drink everything in sight because you just can’t seem to get enough sugar then you need to contact your doctor or family physician and let them know. If you know you normally only go to the bathroom and urinate 5 times a day and now you are going 10 then obviously it isn’t the normal for you so you need to contact your doctor.

Symptoms of diabetes is a great way to know if you are pre-diabetic or not, a lot of times knowing your body and being able to report symptoms is a great way to prevent anything further from happening to you. If you are experiencing symptoms of diabetes and can catch it soon enough then you may be able to catch your diabetes before you are diagnosed as being a full blown diabetes.

Diabetes Symptoms in Men

Though many diseases seem to exhibit different symptoms depending on which sex has the disease, many times diabetes symptoms in men differ little from diabetes symptoms in women. Whether type 1 of type 2diabetes, men suffer from most of the same diease symptoms as women, as far as the diabetes itself is concerned. The secondary diseases that often accompany diabetes, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and kidney problems affect diabetic males in much the same way as they affect males without diabetes.

One of the chief reasons that a person should be familiar with the symptoms of diabetes, regardless of their sex, is that diabetes rates are on the rise even as the rates of diagnosis for heart disease, high blood pressure and cancer continue to decrease.

The three classic diabetes symptoms in men, and in women, are increased thirst, increased hunger, and increased urination. The best way to remember these symptoms is by understanding just a little bit about how diabetes works. Diabetes begins when either the pancreas ceases to produce a hormone called insulin, or the cells of the body become resistant to the action of insulin.

Insulin must be properly metabolized due to the fact that it is only through the action of insulin that the glucose that we get from out food can pass into the cells and be used for energy. If the glucose cannot pass into the cells it builds in the bloodstream where it can, in high levels, begin to cause damage to many body systems. Since the glucose molecule is so large it attracts water molecules to itself, this more fluid that normal out of the body during urination and leads to increased thirst.

This is compounded by the fact that when the body recognizes a glucose increases it tries to rid itself of excess glucose through the kidney and this leads to increased urination. Because the insulin is either not present or the cells are resistant to it, the cells do not get the glucose needed as fuel and this leads to increases hunger even though there is an excess of glucose already in the blood.

Diabetes symptoms in men and women have very little variance between the sexes, if you or someone you know begins to have constantly increased hunger, increased thirst, and increased urination, especially if they have a family history of diabetes, it is probably time to talk to a doctor to make sure that they aren’t developing diabetes.