Causes of Hypoglicemia

The idea of diabetes is generally automatically connected with blood glucose excess and hyperglycaemia. Little do most people know that the biggest short-term threat for us T1Ds actually comes from the opposite of this: the dangers coming from low BG values are potentially serious, and, for this reason, their treatment should be always perfected: is there a better possible way to achieve this than, firstly, knowing some of the major dynamics which can cause these situations to happen?

As usual, we always have to start from food. In this case, it's intuitive that problems are most likely to be caused not from the glycaemic effects of meals themselves, but, differently, they usually have to be ascribed to inaccuracies when we calculate our bolus. I think we all know how easy it is to overbolus when in fear of a spike: once again, our "high-wire walker" ability can only be improved proceeding by trial and error and observing with attention how our body reacts to different situations. Practice will make us perfect. Furthermore, we have to remember the importance of an accurate prebolus too: it's not difficult to end up with a severe hypo if you wait a bit too much before eating after your injection. 

Then, it's worth to linger on the role that, even in this case, physical activity plays, especially aerobic one. In fact, the beneficial effects in terms of BG management that this type of exercise provides are well-known: through the induction of catabolic and lipolitic metabolic pathways, a general and immediate hypoglicemic effect is usually observed. Even though this mechanism can be exploited to lower our insulin need (remember that insulin isn't a medicine and it doesn't harm you,it's simply easier to handle in minor doses!), we have to be extremely careful in the preparation to our trainings: trust me, it's much easier than you think to make your BG crash under desirable levels during these moments. In particular, always remember that any aerobic activity tends to exponentially implement the pace and the power at which rapid insulin works. 

I might be repetitive, but you know how important I think a correct basal insulin dosage is. And this is one of the aspects where this is even more true. Probably due to the fact that this type of insulin is only injected once a day in almost constant doses, its influence is usually underrated. But did you know that one of the main causes of overnight hypos, especially in the midst and in the early hours of your sleep, is precisely an overbolus in basal insulin? Check the link above to know more!

As for their counterpart, hyperglicaemias, the causes which can induce an hypo are nearly infinite. Here I've listed some major ones, which, in my experience, have been the most frequent ones: the whole range of factors which can cause your BG to drop can only be found by you, through everyday experience. And, of course, we have to employ this knowledge mainly for a single reason: to become masters in treating and preventing hypoglicemias. Curious? Check this article out to know more!