Are My Low Blood Sugars Contributing to Weight Gain?
You know the feeling well…you feel jittery/shaky, lightheaded and you start sweating. Some people may feel dizzy or have an intense hunger
“Oh no, is my sugar too low?”
Low blood sugar (glucose) symptoms are individual to each person. The term for low blood sugar is hypoglycemia. This is when blood sugar (glucose) goes below 70 mg/dl. A low blood sugar is more likely if a person is treated with insulin or another treatment, such as a sulfonylurea (glipizide, glyburide, nateglinide, repaglinide or glimepiride).
You should not get a low blood sugar if you take any other diabetes medication, unless you also take insulin or a sulfonylurea pill with it.
Some may not even know they are having a low blood sugar. This is called hypoglycemia unawareness. The body and brain no longer produce signs that warns of a low blood sugar. When this happens, the risk of severe, life-threatening hypoglycemia increases.
Five reasons that contribute to weight gain with a low blood sugar:
1. Over treatment- this is when you consume extra calories and carbohydrates to treat the blood sugar. It can be easy to do because when your blood sugar is low your body is “screaming.” Sometimes it is easy to over do it and eat or drink too much. I had one client who drank a whole can of regular soda and ate a muffin. The can of pepsi was (150 calories and 41 grams of carbohydrates) and 1 medium muffin (345 calories and 49 grams of carbohydrate). Blood sugar was 65 and then shot up to 225 after that treatment.
2. Too many low blood sugars-. Each time a need to treat a low glucose means extra calories and carbohydrates. Although it is very important to treat a low glucose, being aware of ways to prevent a low blood sugar may help.
3. Fear of a low blood sugar- I have had some clients be so fearful of having a low blood sugar they literally eat over 500-1,000 extra calories a day to prevent a low blood sugar. Not only does this contribute to weight gain, it keeps blood glucose too high contributing to long-term diabetes complications.
4. Not having the ideal treatment for a low blood sugar- this means eating or drinking something that may not quickly raise blood sugar, which may lead to eating, or drinking more to raise blood sugar and therefore gaining weight. An example would be eating a piece of fruit. Although this will raise blood sugar, it may not raise the blood sugar quickly due to the fiber slowing down absorption of the sugar in to the blood stream. This is also why a chocolate bar is not ideal to treat a low blood sugar. The fat slows down the absorption of the sugar in to the blood stream. It’s better to treat with glucose tablets or juice.
5. Treating the symptoms of a low and not knowing what your blood sugar number is-Sometimes this is necessary if you are out without your Blood Glucose (BG) meter and you experience symptoms. Better to be safe than sorry! Some people consistently have high glucose every day so when glucose gets lower than their body is use to, the person may produce symptoms of a low sugar and their blood sugar may be normal, perhaps 100.
Tips to prevent weight gain with a low blood sugar
· Don’t over treat a low glucose. Over treating may cause blood sugar to spike high and can lead to weight gain.
There is a guideline in treating hypoglycemia. It is called the 15:15 rule to treating hypoglycemia.
Treat low glucose with 15 grams of carbohydrate (if blood sugar is less than 50 mg/dl treat with 30 grams of carbohydrate.) Make sure to retest BG in 15 minutes. If blood sugar is over 70 mg/dl and with symptoms, recheck blood sugar. If blood sugar is still over 70 mg/dl do not treat, just eat a snack or eat your meal if due to eat a meal.
Some examples 15 grams of carbohydrates = 4 glucose tablets, 4 oz of juice/or regular soda, 3 package of smarties.
· Call your doctor if you have more than one unexplained low blood sugar reaction in a week. Unexplained means you didn’t do anything to specifically cause a low blood sugar. This could mean taking insulin and not eating, taking your diabetes sulfonylurea pill and eating very few carbohydrates or going too long without eating food. Treating too many low blood sugars means extra carbohydrates and calories to treat the low blood sugar.
· Prevent the lows-Not always possible, but many times a low blood sugar can be prevented. Possible reasons for a low glucose may be delaying a meal or snack, too few carbohydrates for a meal or exercising too long without eating enough carbohydrates prior to exercise.
To learn more about how your life influences your blood sugar, schedule an appointment to see a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES)
· Consider a Continuous Glucose Meter (CGM) - tracks glucose levels from a tiny sensor that you apply that measures the interstitial glucose throughout the day and night, as frequently as every 5 minutes. “Your sensor glucose (SG) readings are taken from your interstitial fluid, and not from your blood, like fingersticks. Interstitial fluid is the fluid that surrounds the cells of your tissue below your skin, and usually glucose moves from your blood vessels and capillaries first and then into your interstitial fluid.” (https://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/customer-support/sensors-and-transmitters-support/why-sensor-glucose-does-not-equal-blood-glucose
The glucose is displayed on a hand held monitor or on a phone. There are some CGMs that can alert you if your levels go too high or low. This may be ideal for a person who is fearful of a low glucose. Instead of being fearful about a low glucose, you will be alerted if your glucose is dropping and you can intervene before a low happens.
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Since most people want to avoid weight gain, being aware and implementing ways to prevent a low blood sugar will help!