I have type 2 diabetes. What causes hypoglycemia, how can it be prevented and managed?

Hello,

Hypoglycemia can occur if you eat less than usual, eat later than usual, skip a meal, do physical activity more often or take too much insulin. To prevent hypoglycemia, if you haven’t done it yet, I recommend you to write down all of your blood sugars in this glucose monitoring register to observe the low sugar pattern. Next, it is important that you take insulin, snacks and meals at the same time each day to avoid imbalance. You can also measure your blood sugar more often when you are sick or doing physical activities.

If you have hypoglycemia (glycemia between 2.8-3.9 mmol/L), it is recommended to take 15g of glucose, while if the blood sugar is below 2.8 mmol/L, it is recommended to take 20g of glucose. In this hypoglycemia guide, you will find what type and proportion of food/drinks that you should take. If the blood sugar is treated after 15 minutes, you can have your usual meal or snacks if they are due in less than an hour. Otherwise, you must have a snack containing 15g of glucose and a source of protein.

If you often have episodes of hypoglycemia, it is important that you talk to your pharmacist or doctor so that he can adjust the medication.

My pleasure, 

Lan Thi Duong, pharmacy student (supervised by Alexandre Chagnon, pharmacist)