“What is the treatment for low sugar?”
My mother-in-law has been diabetic for a long time (not sure of the exact years) and her sugar is extremely low. What should be the first few steps for us to take?
4 Answers
Your Mother should see her primary care physician and have her diabetic medications adjusted. Until then, eating small meals with frequent small snacks during the day may help.
Her medications need to be decreased.
Check her diabetic medication may need to reduce dosage and give her sugar in any form candy or drink if awake.
As with any patient that I can't see or talk to, it depends. I am going to assume she is a type 2 diabetic, which means she takes oral medications for her diabetes. 1 thing it depends on is HOW LOW the BS is. The more important question is, does the sugar get so low that she has symptoms, such as light headedness, or becoming less alert or even unconscious? Hopefully that hasn't occurred, and if she keeps good track of her blood sugars, as soon as it starts getting to around 75 or less, she needs to eat something with carbohydrates. If she is becoming less alert, but can still swallow, give her a sugary drink - OJ, Pepsi, whatever, or even some sugar. I would always rather see someone with a BS of 190, than 30. 1 thing to remember is that if she takes pills for her diabetes, these are typically long acting meds, and even if you get the sugar back up, that medication is still in her system, and there is a good chance her sugar will drop again later on. It sounds like she needs to see her doctor, and have them adjust her medications.
