Tag Archives: Glucose

Straight, No Chaser: Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia)

November 7, 2017Endocrine/MetabolicBehind the Curtain, Blood sugar, Conditions and Diseases, Diabetes, Diabetes mellitus, Endocrine Disorders, Glucose, health, Insulin, Pancreas, There are 72 Hours in a DayJeffrey Sterling, MD

In a previous post, I provided an overview of diabetes. Everyone knows about diabetes, and most understand how dangerous diabetes is over the long-term. However, as an emergency physician, I’m more concerned with what will kill you immediately, and on that front, low blood glucose (sugar) is usually much more concerning. I want you to know up front that a low enough blood glucose will kill you – now. As we say in the ER, a high glucose level will hurt you and may kill you, but a glucose level that goes to zero means ‘Cancel Christmas’.
Therefore I will start with a simple statement. Any diabetic (or individual known to have low glucose levels) with altered mental status needs to be given juice or if they can handle it, some soft food to chew on. If they’re in the midst of a high sugar reaction, it won’t make much of a difference, but if that glucose level was zero, you’ve just saved a life. Now let’s briefly discuss symptoms and causes.

Low glucose levels can present many different ways including dizziness, jitteriness, numbness, tingling, blackouts, seizures and other symptoms. However, it’s usually the confusion or other change in mental status that’s most predominant and concerning. Just remember, this is not something about which you should wait around to see if it gets better.
Regarding causes, unintentional overdosing of insulin or oral medication (particular the sulfonylureas class of medicines) are especially concerning and common. Sometimes a family member, particularly a child, may take such a medicine to disastrous effects. Beyond that, heavy alcohol consumption on an empty stomach is another common cause due to its effects on the liver (Alcohol locks glucose stores in the liver, preventing release to the blood; as a result you have less to use.).
Other causes are more exotic and fortunately less common; they will be evaluated upon arrival to the hospital when a rapid response isn’t seen with simple administration of glucose. Dysfunction of certain organs (the adrenal and pituitary glands, the liver due to hepatitis, or tumors of the pancreas – the organ that produces the insulin that drives glucose into your cells – can cause problems with regulating either glucose itself or insulin. These conditions can drive your blood glucose dangerously low.
So, the causes are varied, but the message is simple. Be careful with insulin administration, remember to check those blood sugar levels and act promptly in the face of mental status changes. Usually I note that time is tissue, but in this example, you’ll run out of time before your tissues are damaged.

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Straight, No Chaser: Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia)

November 21, 2016Endocrine/MetabolicPancreas, Behind the Curtain, Blood sugar, Conditions and Diseases, Diabetes, Diabetes mellitus, Endocrine Disorders, Glucose, health, InsulinJeffrey Sterling, MD

Straight, No Chaser: Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia)

September 17, 2013Endocrine/Metabolic, General Health and Wellness, Medical Treatmenthealth, Insulin, Pancreas, Glucose, Blood sugar, Conditions and Diseases, Diabetes, Diabetes mellitus, Endocrine DisordersJeffrey Sterling, MD

In the last post, I provided an overview of diabetes. Everyone knows about diabetes, and most understand how dangerous diabetes is over the long-term. However, as an emergency physician, I’m more concerned with what will kill you immediately, and on that front, low blood glucose (sugar) is usually much more concerning. I want you to know up front that a low enough blood glucose will kill you – now. As we say in the ER, a high glucose level will hurt you and may kill you, but a glucose level that goes to zero means ‘Cancel Christmas’.
Therefore I will start with a simple statement. Any diabetic (or individual known to have low glucose levels) with altered mental status needs to be given juice or if they can handle it, some soft food to chew on. If they’re in the midst of a high sugar reaction, it won’t make much of a difference, but if that glucose level was zero, you’ve just saved a life. Now let’s briefly discuss symptoms and causes.
Low glucose levels can present many different ways including dizziness, jitteriness, numbness, tingling, blackouts, seizures and other symptoms. However, it’s usually the confusion or other change in mental status that’s most predominant and concerning. Just remember, this is not something about which you should wait around to see if it gets better.
Regarding causes, unintentional overdosing of insulin or oral medication (particular the sulfonylureas class of medicines) are especially concerning and common. Sometimes a family member, particularly a child, may take such a medicine to disastrous effects. Beyond that, heavy alcohol consumption on an empty stomach is another common cause due to its effects on the liver (Alcohol locks glucose stores in the liver, preventing release to the blood; as a result you have less to use.).
Other causes are more exotic and fortunately less common; they will be evaluated upon arrival to the hospital when a rapid response isn’t seen with simple administration of glucose. Dysfunction of certain organs (the adrenal and pituitary glands, the liver due to hepatitis, or tumors of the pancreas – the organ that produces the insulin that drives glucose into your cells – can cause problems with regulating either glucose itself or insulin. These conditions can drive your blood glucose dangerously low.
So, the causes are varied, but the message is simple. Be careful with insulin administration, remember to check those blood sugar levels and act promptly in the face of mental status changes. Usually I note that time is tissue, but in this example, you’ll run out of time before your tissues are damaged.
I welcome your questions or comments.
Copyright © 2013 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: Diabetes Basics Made Simple

September 16, 2013Endocrine/Metabolic, Medical TreatmentDiabetes mellitus type 2, Blood, Cell (biology), Diabetes mellitus, Glucose, health, Insulin, PancreasJeffrey Sterling, MD

Somehow, I’ve managed not to talk much about diabetes. What an oversight that has been, and it’s one that is about to be corrected. As much as I’ve talked about the importance of your blood vessels, diabetes is a disease that further drives that point home. However, I’ll get to that later. First here’s some basic information for you.
We eat, and the process of digestion is for the purpose of converting food into glucose (sugar) that’s used by our body for energy. The blood delivers the glucose to different organs of the body where the cells take it up for use. In order for that process to work, an organ that’s part of the digestive tract called the pancreas has to produce a hormone called insulin. Insulin facilitates the glucose getting from the blood to inside the cells. Diabetes is a disease where insulin isn’t being made by the pancreas or isn’t working optimally.
Now think about what happens when you’re not getting sugar into your cells. It’s as if you’re starving (because physiologically, you might as well be). You get symptoms such as weight loss, hunger, fatigue and excessive thirst. Because your cells don’t have energy, they aren’t functioning well. In fact, blood and nerve vessels lose significant function, resulting in significant vision loss and lack of sensitivity in your extremities. Anyone who’s been a diabetic for about 10 years know this because you’re wearing glasses and because you’ve lost a fair amount of sensation, especially in your feet. There are other symptoms that are variations of the same theme, including excessive urination, dry skin, increased infection rate and slower healing from those infections – all due to poor function of your blood vessels.
Sometimes diabetes is a disease that happens to you because of unlucky genetics (or simply a family history). Other times it is a disease that you find. Risk factors for developing diabetes includes obesity, older age, and physical inactivity. Gestational diabetes (i.e. that occurring during pregnancy) is an entirely different conversation.
Let’s take a moment to discuss prevention and treatment. I haven’t discussed the different types of diabetes (but will if you ask questions), but the risk of one form of diabetes in particular can be reduced by – you guessed it – diet and exercise. In fact, diet, exercise and medications are the three legs of the diabetes treatment stool regardless of type. Some patients require regular insulin injections and others require pills. Still others who are successful with diet and exercise are able to markedly reduce, and in some instances eliminate medications.
I will have additional comments on diabetes in future posts. I welcome your questions and comments.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
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Straight, No Chaser: Your Questions on When Fainting is Fatal

August 19, 2013NeurologyBlood sugar, Conditions and Diseases, Glucose, health, Myocardial infarction, Sugar, Syncope, TennesseeJeffrey Sterling, MD

1. So are faints deadly?

Potentially. There are three separate sets of considerations. The brain can’t survive very long without adequate oxygen. Whatever caused that faint, if it continues to deny oxygen to the brain, can lead to seizures, strokes and death.
The process that caused the faint could be deadly in and of itself. Such things would include heart attacks, strokes, seizures due to bleeding inside the brain.
Significant injuries may occur after the faint. Someone who falls may subsequently suffer a head or neck injury, which could be deadly, independent of the cause of the faint. It’s worth mentioning that it’s an especially odd behavior that people seem to travel to the bathroom when they feel dizzy. All things considered, it’s better to faint in your soft bed or surrounding carpeted floor than on the hard tile of a typical bathroom with even harder sinks, toilets and tubs in close proximity.

2. My doctor always warns me about high blood sugars. You mentioned low blood sugars as a cause of faints. Am I putting myself in danger if I’m taking sugar and my sugar level is already high?

If you know all of that, yes. More often, you know none of that. Here’s the deal. Both a high and low glucose (blood sugar) count can cause altered mental status, fainting and coma. If your glucose level is especially high, say 900, and you drink some orange juice, it won’t make much of a difference. If your glucose level is 0, and you are given some orange juice, your life just got saved. In other words, it’s medically worth the risk if you don’t know what the glucose level is.

3. Can a loved one really take my breath away?
Yes. Overstimulation can lead to syncope in a variety of ways as mentioned previously.
4. What’s with the goats?
If you’re referring to Tennessee fainting goats, they exist. The goats don’t actually faint. When startled, they become stiff to the point of being unable to move their legs. Subsequently, the terrified goats can’t run and just topple over. Here you go.