“How do diabetics deal with low blood sugar?”
My brother is a diabetic and is now supposed to monitor his sugar at all times. How does he do it?
3 Answers
Featured snippet from the web:
The “rule of 15” is commonly used as a guideline for treatment: After checking your blood glucose level with your meter and seeing that your level is under 70 mg/dl, consume 15 grams of carbohydrate, wait about 15 minutes, then recheck your blood glucose level.
The “rule of 15” is commonly used as a guideline for treatment: After checking your blood glucose level with your meter and seeing that your level is under 70 mg/dl, consume 15 grams of carbohydrate, wait about 15 minutes, then recheck your blood glucose level.
With a continuous glucose monitor.
I'll try to answer both questions: 1) How does he monitor his sugar? Well, there are many ways. The simplest is, get a blood glucose monitoring machine from the drug store (they do not require a prescription) & some strips for it (they do require a script if you want insurance to pay for them). How frequently he monitors the BS depends on the type of diabetes he has & the treatment program. Monitoring is less frequent with Type 2 diabetes than for Type 1 that requires 4x/d. If he has Type 1 diabetes & is taking insulin, there are now several alternatives- Continuous Glucose Monitoring (called CGMS) which monitors the BS continuously & is read out on a "reader" or a cell phone. Also now there is a new system called Libre that has a small round devise that goes on the arm & is read by a reader. The arm piece needs to be changed every 2 weeks. The first kit with the reader & device costs about $75. The replacement set costs $25, so 2 a month is about $50 a month. This is cheaper than strips & CGMS and does not require finger-sticks. Just place the reader over the device on your arm & get a reading. It's easy & painless & cheap.
2) How to manage low BS? This is a little complex because it depends on how low the BS is & the kind of treatment he is receiving. Low BS is most common in Type 1 diabetes where the person is taking insulin. The cause of the LBS is also a factor. It can be caused by too much medication, taking taking the wrong dose, not eating properly, exercising too much, etc. The most important fact is to prevent the hypoglycemia. So, identify the cause & correct it. To treat, the first thing to do is eat, usually something with a high sugar content. If that doesn't work, or if they are not able to eat or drink, then a shot of a drug called glucagon is needed (there is now a nasal form of this). Then call 911, especially if he doesn't wake up or is convulsing. Get him to the hospital for intravenous glucose solution. BUT MAINLY find the cause & prevent it!!!
2) How to manage low BS? This is a little complex because it depends on how low the BS is & the kind of treatment he is receiving. Low BS is most common in Type 1 diabetes where the person is taking insulin. The cause of the LBS is also a factor. It can be caused by too much medication, taking taking the wrong dose, not eating properly, exercising too much, etc. The most important fact is to prevent the hypoglycemia. So, identify the cause & correct it. To treat, the first thing to do is eat, usually something with a high sugar content. If that doesn't work, or if they are not able to eat or drink, then a shot of a drug called glucagon is needed (there is now a nasal form of this). Then call 911, especially if he doesn't wake up or is convulsing. Get him to the hospital for intravenous glucose solution. BUT MAINLY find the cause & prevent it!!!
