Hypo

When your blood sugar is too low you have a hypo (hypoglycemia). Having a hypo affects your entire body, including your brain, even though your body will do anything it can to provide your brain with glucose so it can continue to function properly. When your brain gets into trouble, your blood sugar is usually very low.

The symptoms are different for everyone; some people suffer physical symptoms and notice them quickly, while other people will not notice the physical symptoms and will only start to behave differently. The most important thing is that you learn to identify which symptoms indicate that you are experiencing a declining or too low blood sugar level.

A hypo is not nice to experience, so when you are too low you should quickly eat. A hypo can also occur during the night. For example, if you had too much insulin before going to bed or if you were playing sports too much in the afternoon or evening. It is best to always measure your blood sugar before going to bed.

Hypo = blood sugar level too low

Symptoms of a hypo on your body

• Hungry
• Feeling sick
• Shaking
• Anxiety
• Palpitations
• Numb lips, tongue, or fingers
• Looking pale
• Cold sweat

Symptoms of a hypo on your brain

• Dizziness
• Blurred vision, seeing double, changes in seeing colours
• Hearing problems
• Odd speech
• A headache
• Feeling warm or cold
• Problems with coordination (wobbly walking)
• Odd behaviour, difficulty to judge things correctly
• Being confused
• Concentration problems
• Short-term memory problems
• Fainting
• Convulsions

What causes a hypo?

There are different causes for a too low blood sugar level:

• injecting too much insulin
• injecting too deep, or too superficial
• eating differently or irregularly (for example during holidays)
• being ill
• heavy physical exertion, like intensive sports
• stress, for example, school exams
• eating or drinking too little

What if you do not feel a hypo coming?

Not everyone feels a hypo coming. Sometimes physical alarm bells are missing. This is called ‘hypo unawareness’. This is inconvenient and can be very dangerous because you cannot take precautions such as eating something.

Hyper

When your blood sugar is too high you experience a hyper (hyperglycemia), which can lead to multiple complaints.

Hyper = blood sugar level too high

• Frequent peeing, often thirsty
• Fatigue and weakness
• Feeling sick and miserable
• Nausea, vomiting
• Loss of appetite, or extreme hunger
• Stomach ache and/or chest pain
• Blurred vision
• Difficulty breathing, a smell of acetone in your breath
• Dizziness
• Diabetic coma (loss of consciousness caused by too high blood sugar)

What causes a hyper?

There are different causes for a too high blood sugar level:

• injecting too little insulin
• injecting too deep, or too superficial
• injecting at the same spot too often
• eating differently or irregularly (for example during holidays)
• being ill
• eating or drinking too much