Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia)

A word of caution about the values used below. This study was conducted using people without diabetes.  Some people with diabetes experience symptoms at higher glucose levels than the study suggests. Other people with diabetes appear to function well with blood sugars in the 30's and 40's (mg/dl). Therefore, the values in the study should only be used as an approximation. This study also used plasma glucose levels. Your values done at home might be 20 percent lower or higher than these lab values. For example, epinephrine release in someone without diabetes would begin at about 63mg/dl with a home blood glucose meter.

12 comments - 1 May 2008 -

Years from now, when we’re looking for significant milestones in the struggle to get insurers to cover the cost of continuous glucose monitors, keep this one in mind: Medtronic has just announced the sale of its one millionth sensor from its line of CGM products.

6 comments - 9 Apr 2008 -

Blood sugar control is the heart and soul of diabetes management. How you handle it determines what will be the consequences of your diabetes.

2 comments - 13 Mar 2008 -

0 comments - 4 Mar 2008 -

One of the cartoons you recently published, where a character eats chocolate because his sugar is too low, gave the wrong message. Chocolate should not be used for treating hypoglycemia. There is too much fat in it for it to be effective.

6 comments - 1 Mar 2008 -

I have been using insulin for over 29 years, and during this time I have experienced too many lows to recall. My endocrinologist informed me that insulin users who have an A1c less than 7 percent typically require emergency assistance for hypoglycemia about every six to nine months.

24 comments - 7 Feb 2008 -

I just had a frightening experience. A severe hypoglycemic, I took my regular 5 units of R Humulin 30 minutes before lunch. Instead of my normal sandwich and milk at lunch, I drank a glass of Slim Fast with milk. I carefully read the label and figured out that it was almost identical to the sandwich in calories, carbs and sugars.

6 comments - 30 Jan 2008 -

The National Athletic Trainers Association has issued a seven-element plan for helping athletes with type 1 diabetes maintain proper blood sugar levels while competing, training or traveling.

2 comments - 10 Jan 2008 -

In a recent randomized study, 69 people with type 2 diabetes who were already taking metformin were given either Byetta or Lantus for a full year. When the results were in, Byetta came out ahead on several fronts.

6 comments - 11 Dec 2007 -

In an Italian study to compare once-daily injections of insulin glargine (Lantus) with once-daily injections of insulin detemir (Levemir), 24 patients with type 1 diabetes were treated for two weeks with either one or the other in a randomized double-blind study.

12 comments - 3 Dec 2007 -