Hypoglycemia is a condition in which a person’s blood glucose levels have dropped way below the acceptable level for the human brain to function normally. When hypoglycemia attacks happen, the brain will starve and will immediately focus all of its resources on finding alternative sources of energy while shutting down body processes that it may deem to be unessential, resulting in abnormal, alarming behavior such as intense hunger, loss of cognitive abilities, difficulty in speaking, and anxiety attacks, among others. Hypoglycemia can occur as a side effect of diabetes mellitus, as a condition itself (reactive or fasting), or through the other illnesses that disrupt the body’s natural insulin production and management.
Hypoglycemia in pregnancy is significantly riskier, with women already exhibiting symptoms at glucose levels that are higher than the 60-milligram per deciliter required for a hypoglycemia diagnosis. The signs of hypoglycemia in pregnancy do not vary that much from normal symptoms, namely shaking, profuse sweating, hot flashes, nervous and anxiety attacks, intense hunger, dizziness, extreme headache, confusion, changes in vision and sudden irritability. Usually, hypoglycemia in pregnancy is only found out during labor but symptoms may already appear months beforehand, and should be treated right away to prevent other worse effects such as neonatal pregnancy, wherein the child suffers low blood sugar and hypoglycemia after a short delay in feeding.
Hypoglycemia in pregnancy can be very hard to treat alone since pregnant women are more prone to a couple of its symptoms. Namely, dizzy spells and loss of consciousness. When these things happen, or if cases of severe hypoglycemia occur, wherein a person will be unable to take anything by mouth, someone should be present to help treat the person. A diabetes nurse will teach or train a representative or family member how to use a glucagon kit.
Pregnant women are more prone to hypoglycemia since their bodies have increased energy requirements and may burn through its store of glucose much faster than a normal person. Expecting women should plan activities well in order to ensure that they take place about an hour before a main or heavy meal. For those who are undergoing physical therapies designed to help ease labor, a woman should consult with a doctor first to have her blood glucose tested before and after the therapy, ensuring that it never goes down below 100 mg per deciliter. A dietician will also recommend snacks that will help prevent hypoglycemia attacks.
For the actual exercise or therapy, it is recommended to have a partner who is aware of your condition, and to pack a bunch of things that will help as quick fixes for hypoglycemia attacks, and a cell phone that you can use for emergency calls. If the woman shows symptoms of hypoglycemia during exercise, all activities must be stopped immediately and treatment for the affliction should begin. Upon getting better, exercise should not be resumed and a physician must be consulted for proper adjustment of activities, ensuring that hypoglycemia attacks will not happen in the future.
Quick Tip #1
Treatment of hypoglycemia is an ongoing process, remember to have a good diet with evenly spaced out meals every 2-3 hours apart. Also exercising can really help in keeping this condition under check.
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Quick Tip #2
A lot of symptoms of low blood sugar have common signs as other diseases. If you exeperience any of the hypoglycemia symptoms, do consult your doctor for treatment.
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