Health Plan of San Joaquin | Focus Your Health | Fall 2019

Focus Your Health 3 Stop the drop! What is low blood sugar? Blood sugar levels are too low when they fall under 70mg/dL. Low blood sugar is not safe and can be life- threatening. Spot the signs Signs of low blood sugar include: ● ● Sweating ● ● Shakiness ● ● Light-headedness ● ● Hunger ● ● Nausea (upset belly) ● ● Headache ● ● Blurry eyesight ● ● Fast heartbeat ● ● Nervousness ● ● Confusion If your blood sugar is low enough, it can even lead to fainting, seizure, coma and death. How do you prevent low blood sugar? To prevent low blood sugar: ● ● Eat your meals regularly, and do not skip meals. ● ● Pay close attention to your blood sugar when you exercise— this can lower blood sugar. ● ● Check your blood sugar often. Your doctor can tell you how often you should check your blood sugar. How do you treat low blood sugar? When your blood sugar is below 70mg/dL or you have signs of low blood sugar, follow these steps: 1 Eat or drink 15 to 20 grams of glucose (sugar). 2 Wait 15 minutes and then check your blood sugar again. 3 If your blood sugar is still too low, repeat steps 1 and 2. 4 When your blood sugar is above 70 mg/ dL, eat a small meal or snack so your blood sugar does not drop again. 5 Tell your doctor. You may need changes to your meds or lifestyle to keep you from getting low blood sugar again. When you have low blood sugar, you need to eat or drink some- thing right away. It is vital that these foods or drinks have sugar that can be quickly soaked up by your body. Avoid foods that have protein or fat. These foods take longer to raise your blood sugar. If you are taking either Precose (acar- bose) or Glyset (migli- tol), and you have low blood sugar, treat the low blood sugar only with glucose tablets or glucose gel. Glucose is a form of sugar that your body can quickly soak up. These meds stop your body from being able to soak up complex sugars in other foods. Sources: American Diabetes Association; Lexicomp; UCSF Health Try these Here are some foods and drinks with 15 grams of glucose: ● ● 4 ounces (half a cup) of juice or normal, non-diet soda Stay away from these ● ● 1 tablespoon of sugar or honey ● ● 3 to 4 glucose tablets ● ● 1 glucose gel tube ● ● 2 tablespoons of raisins Avoid: ● ● Diet soda (your body cannot take in the sugar substitute in these drinks) ● ● Chocolate ● ● Candy bars ● ● Ice cream ● ● Cookies ● ● Bread ● ● Crackers HealthReach 1506