Why People with Diabetes Blood Sugar Drops?

Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar level can be a side effect of the medicines that are taken to control diabetes. One may experience a drop in their blood sugar if they are taking the following medications:

• Insulin
• Glyburide (Micronase)
• Glipizide (Glucotrol)
• Glimepiride (Amaryl)
• Repaglinide (Prandin)
• Nateglinide (Starlix)
• Chlorpropamide (Diabinese)
• Tolazamide (Tolinase)
• Acetohexamide (Dymelor)
• Tolbutamide (Orinase)

Diabetes makes the blood sugar rise which can affect health. Even if a doctor prescribed these medicines to lower your blood sugar level, sometimes, if a diabetic is sensitive to medications, their blood sugar tends to fall below normal limit i.e. below 70 mg/dl.  This can be very dangerous as it can cause accidents, injuries, coma or even death.

When blood sugar level drops, one may experience:

• Fatigue or weakness
• Shivers
• Sweating
• Hunger
• Headache
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Dizziness
• Blurry vision

You may also feel faint, have a seizure or go into a coma if your blood sugar falls too low. To avoid this make sure you:

• Take your medications or insulin on time.
• Take the right doses of your medication or insulin.
• Do not increase or decrease the dose of your medicines without consulting with your doctor first.
• Eat enough food after you have taken your medication or insulin.
• Do not skip meals.
• Do not wait too long to eat after you have taken your medications.
• Do not exercise too much or at a time that is unusual for you.
• Adjust your insulin dose before you begin to exercise.
•  Do not drink alcohol.

If you experience any of the symptoms of low blood sugar, talk to your doctor as soon as possible. Also, ask your doctor about a bedtime snack to prevent your blood sugar from dropping while you are asleep.