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People with type 1 diabetes mellitus who must take insulin in full replacement doses are most vulnerable to episodes of hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels). This can occur if a person takes too much insulin or diabetic medication, does strenuous exercise without eating additional food, misses meals, consumes too much alcohol, or consumes alcohol without food. [5]
In the elderly, hypoglycemia can produce focal stroke-like effects or a hard-to-define malaise. [medical citation needed] The symptoms of a single person do tend to be similar from episode to episode. In the large majority of cases, hypoglycemia severe enough to cause seizures or unconsciousness can be reversed without obvious harm to the brain.
Hypoglycemia can also be caused by sulfonylureas in people with type 2 diabetes, although it is far less common because glucose counterregulation generally remains intact in people with type 2 diabetes. Severe hypoglycemia rarely, if ever, occurs in people with diabetes treated only with diet, exercise, or insulin sensitizers.
The complications of diabetes can dramatically impair quality of life and cause long-lasting disability. Overall, complications are far less common and less severe in people with well-controlled blood sugar levels. [3] [4] [5] Some non-modifiable risk factors such as age at diabetes onset, type of diabetes, gender, and genetics may influence risk.
Additionally, people with type 1 diabetes have at least one severe hypoglyemic episode per year, requiring treatment assistance. [3] In terms of mortality , hypoglycemia causes death in 6–10% of type 1 diabetics.
The hypoglycemia can be severe and life-threatening or a minor, occasional nuisance. By far the most common type of severe but transient hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia occurs accidentally in persons with type 1 diabetes who take insulin. Hypoglycemia due to endogenous insulin Congenital hyperinsulinism
[100] [101] Hypoglycemia is associated with adverse outcomes in older people with type 2 diabetes. [102] Despite guidelines recommending that intensive blood sugar control be based on balancing immediate harms with long-term benefits, many people – for example people with a life expectancy of less than nine years who will not benefit, are ...
A severe condition that occurs when the level of blood glucose (sugar) drops too far and quickly. The signs are shaking, sweating, dizziness, double vision, convulsions, and collapse. Insulin shock may occur when an insulin reaction is not treated quickly enough. In severe cases, brain damage, nerve damage, or even death is possible.