Insulin Overdose
If you have ever heard a diabetic say that they need some sugar, it’s probably due to an insulin overdose. All diabetics have different symptoms when they have insulin reactions, or an insulin overdose. Common symptoms of an insulin reaction include:
- Shaking (almost like shivering)
- Blurred vision
- Sweating
- Numbness in tongue or lips
- Slower in processing information (almost like intoxication)
- Hunger
- Headache
- Passing out (with extremely low sugars)
People have many different symptoms, so this list is definitely not complete. Also, symptoms vary based on what your “tolerance” is for low blood sugars. I’m getting ahead of myself. So, what is an insulin reaction? It is simply when you have too much insulin in your bloodstream. A non-diabetic’s body regulates their blood sugars by producing insulin in their pancreas. They also have sugars stores available when needed. A diabetic’s pancreas does not produce inculin as well as it should, or in the case of Type 1 diabetics, the pancreas may not produce any sugar at all.
Most diabetics are taught that 80-120 mg/dL is the desired range for their sugars. However, there are many diabetics that can have pre-prandial sugars (before meal sugars) as low as 65 mg/dL without having a noticable reaction. Below that and you need to do something about it, which would normally mean eating some form of glucose to raise your blood sugar level. There are many forms of glucose that can be used. Common ones may include glucose tabs, juice, non-diet soda, or honey. There are hundreds of options, but the best are fast acting carbohydrates, such as those listed above.
Like I said before, there are various tolerance levels for low blood sugar. I mentioned that some people can have a sugar that is as low as 65 without any of the symptoms listed above, and some people will experience severe reactions at that level. In general, the tighter your control you have, and the lower your hemoglobin A1C, the more of a tolerance you will have for low blood sugars. I, myself, have never passed out, had a need for a Glucagon injection, or have ever been to the hospital for low sugars. I have experienced sugars as low as 19 without needing medical attention. I only say this to illustrate my point about some people having various tolerance for low blood glucose levels. Low blood sugars are to be taken seriously and immediately dealt with, even if you have an affinity for handling low sugars well.
There are a few reasons that diabetics have insulin reactions which include taking an insulin overdose for your meal (too much insulin relative to the the food that you ate), not eating at the right time (which mostly applies to people taking shots), having incorrect basal (long acting insulin) rates, or increased insulin sensitivity due to hormone changes or exercise.
The goal is to have as few insulin reactions as possible. They are potentially dangerous in the short term and have shown to kill brain cells in the long term. The important part is to try to optimize your regimine and insulin doses. Learn how to recognize an insulin overdose causing a reaction, and be prepared to treat them quickly.