This can include hypoglycemia low blood sugar or hyperglycemia high blood sugar. Blood sugar is regulated through insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas. Insulin helps tissues in your body take in glucose sugar to use for energy.

Another important organ for blood sugar regulation is your liver. Excess glucose is stored in the liver in the form of glycogen. When blood sugar drops, your liver breaks down glycogen into glucose, and releases it into your bloodstream.

This helps your body to maintain relatively stable blood sugar levels throughout the day. That leads to unstable blood sugar throughout the day, which can lead to various symptoms.

Read on to learn more about the symptoms of dysglycemia, underlying causes, and how to manage this condition.

Hyperglycemia only causes symptoms when your blood sugar is significantly elevated. The symptoms of high blood sugar tend to develop gradually and get worse the longer your blood sugar remains elevated. Persistent high blood sugar levels damage organs and tissues.

When blood sugar levels are severely low, it can cause you to slur your words. It can also cause seizures and loss of consciousness. There are different types of blood tests your doctor may order to check for dysglycemia.

These tests are also used to help diagnose different types of diabetes, including prediabetes. They include:. Your doctor may also request a urine sample to check for sugar or other substances known as ketones.

Imaging tests may be needed to rule out other possible causes of your symptoms, such a CT scan, ultrasound, or MRI, which can help diagnose conditions affecting the liver, kidneys, or other organs.

Immediate treatment is required when blood sugar is significantly high or low. Immediate treatments may include:. If you have diabetes, taking oral and injectable diabetes medication and insulin as directed by your doctor can help you regulate your blood sugar.

Your doctor may suggest changes to your dosage and the time you take your medication to better help regulate your blood sugar. Along with taking your medication as directed, certain lifestyle changes can help you maintain your blood sugar levels. Regular exercise is an important part of treating blood sugar instability.

Physical activity helps your cells become more sensitive to insulin, making insulin work more efficiently while also helping your cells manage glucose levels within the body. Exercising regularly can lower your blood sugar and A1C. Your diet plays an important role in your blood sugar levels and may help you avoid developing diabetes or other complications that can be caused by uncontrolled blood sugar.

Eat a diet rich in vegetables, fiber, and protein. Avoid high-sugar or processed foods. You should also avoid simple carbohydrates, like white breads, that have a high glycemic index. Instead, choose complex carbohydrates made from whole grains. These carbohydrates do not have as much of an effect on blood sugar as simple carbohydrates.

Consider keeping nuts or slices of low-fat cheese on hand for easy, nutritious snacks. Just remember that nuts have a lot of calories, so be mindful of serving size. You should also choose a low-salt or salt-free nut to reduce your sodium intake.

Dysglycemia is a broad term that can lead to a range of symptoms. It can also be caused by various underlying conditions. Let your doctor know if you experience symptoms of hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia, especially if you frequently experience them.

A doctor can help identify the underlying cause and work with you on ways to manager your blood sugar. Have hypoglycemia? Try these diet tips to help keep your blood sugar level stable.

Waking up with low blood sugar? This keeps your blood sugar within a standard range until you eat again. Your body also has the ability to make glucose. This process occurs mainly in your liver, but also in your kidneys. With prolonged fasting, the body can break down fat stores and use products of fat breakdown as an alternative fuel.

If you have diabetes, you might not make insulin type 1 diabetes or you might be less responsive to it type 2 diabetes. As a result, glucose builds up in the bloodstream and can reach dangerously high levels. To correct this problem, you might take insulin or other medications to lower blood sugar levels.

But too much insulin or other diabetes medications may cause your blood sugar level to drop too much, causing hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia can also occur if you eat less than usual after taking your regular dose of diabetes medication, or if you exercise more than you typically do. Hypoglycemia usually occurs when you haven't eaten, but not always.

Sometimes hypoglycemia symptoms occur after certain meals, but exactly why this happens is uncertain. This type of hypoglycemia, called reactive hypoglycemia or postprandial hypoglycemia, can occur in people who have had surgeries that interfere with the usual function of the stomach.

The surgery most commonly associated with this is stomach bypass surgery, but it can also occur in people who have had other surgeries. Over time, repeated episodes of hypoglycemia can lead to hypoglycemia unawareness.

The body and brain no longer produce signs and symptoms that warn of a low blood sugar, such as shakiness or irregular heartbeats palpitations. When this happens, the risk of severe, life-threatening hypoglycemia increases.

If you have diabetes, recurring episodes of hypoglycemia and hypoglycemia unawareness, your health care provider might modify your treatment, raise your blood sugar level goals and recommend blood glucose awareness training.

A continuous glucose monitor CGM is an option for some people with hypoglycemia unawareness. The device can alert you when your blood sugar is too low. If you have diabetes, episodes of low blood sugar are uncomfortable and can be frightening.

Fear of hypoglycemia can cause you to take less insulin to ensure that your blood sugar level doesn't go too low. This can lead to uncontrolled diabetes. Talk to your health care provider about your fear, and don't change your diabetes medication dose without discussing changes with your health care provider.

A continuous glucose monitor, on the left, is a device that measures your blood sugar every few minutes using a sensor inserted under the skin. An insulin pump, attached to the pocket, is a device that's worn outside of the body with a tube that connects the reservoir of insulin to a catheter inserted under the skin of the abdomen.

Insulin pumps are programmed to deliver specific amounts of insulin automatically and when you eat. Follow the diabetes management plan you and your health care provider have developed.

If you're taking new medications, changing your eating or medication schedules, or adding new exercise, talk to your health care provider about how these changes might affect your diabetes management and your risk of low blood sugar.

Learn the signs and symptoms you experience with low blood sugar. This can help you identify and treat hypoglycemia before it gets too low. Frequently checking your blood sugar level lets you know when your blood sugar is getting low. A continuous glucose monitor CGM is a good option for some people.

A CGM has a tiny wire that's inserted under the skin that can send blood glucose readings to a receiver. If blood sugar levels are dropping too low, some CGM models will alert you with an alarm. Some insulin pumps are now integrated with CGMs and can shut off insulin delivery when blood sugar levels are dropping too quickly to help prevent hypoglycemia.

Be sure to always have a fast-acting carbohydrate with you, such as juice, hard candy or glucose tablets so that you can treat a falling blood sugar level before it dips dangerously low.

For recurring episodes of hypoglycemia, eating frequent small meals throughout the day is a stopgap measure to help prevent blood sugar levels from getting too low.

However, this approach isn't advised as a long-term strategy. Work with your health care provider to identify and treat the cause of hypoglycemia. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.

Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic Press. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Overview Hypoglycemia is a condition in which your blood sugar glucose level is lower than the standard range.

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Continuous glucose monitor and insulin pump Enlarge image Close. Continuous glucose monitor and insulin pump A continuous glucose monitor, on the left, is a device that measures your blood sugar every few minutes using a sensor inserted under the skin.

By Mayo Clinic Staff. Show references AskMayoExpert. Unexplained hypoglycemia in a nondiabetic patient. Mayo Clinic; American Diabetes Association. Standards of medical care in diabetes — Diabetes Care.

Accessed Nov. Hypoglycemia low blood sugar. Low blood glucose hypoglycemia. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Cryer PE. Hypoglycemia in adults with diabetes mellitus. Vella A. Hypoglycemia in adults without diabetes mellitus: Clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and causes.

Merck Manual Professional Version. What is diabetes? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pre-diabetes and diabetes are some of the common effects of this disease, but sugar dysregulation in our bodies can also contribute to heart disease, cancer, and diseases associated with aging, like cataracts.

Blood sugar imbalances can also contribute to hormone imbalances and other hormonal challenges. Patients with PCOS are at greater risk for insulin resistance and blood sugar regulation abnormalities. Learn more about blood sugar dysregulation, what causes it, symptoms and treatment options.

Blood sugar dysregulation is when you have too high or too low blood sugar. This is important because more often than not this issue is not addressed by many primary care doctors or specialists early on, especially when a patient is headed from pre-diabetes to outright diabetes.

Blood sugar dysregulation is a cause or risk factor for many diseases including increase in LDL bad cholesterol. Many physicians still do not know that elevated glucose levels contribute to bad cholesterol. Heart attacks are the 1 cause of death for men and women.

Having a slight imbalance can cause mild symptoms, while having more severe imbalances over a prolonged period of time can cause serious health complications. There are certain factors that can make it more difficult for your body to balance blood sugar levels.

These include being overweight, eating a lot of processed foods, prolonged stress, nutrient deficiencies, sedentary lifestyle, and poor sleep habits.

Glucose is a sugar that is naturally produced by our bodies and it also comes from the food we eat. This sugar is regulated by insulin. When we eat a lot of sugar or carbs, our bodies produce too much insulin to counteract the rising blood sugar.

Prediabetes and outright diabetes result in excess glucose levels which is the fuel for most diseases including:. When your blood sugar is too high hyperglycemia you may experience the following symptoms:. When your blood sugar is too low hypoglycemia you may experience the following symptoms:.

Not eating enough carbs for how much insulin you take. Timing of when you take your insulin. The amount and timing of physical activity. Drinking alcohol. How much fat, protein, and fiber are in your meal. Hot and humid weather.

Unexpected changes in your schedule. Spending time at a high altitude. Going through puberty. Symptoms of Low Blood Sugar How you react to low blood sugar may not be the same as how someone else with low blood sugar reacts.

Common symptoms may include: Fast heartbeat Shaking Sweating Nervousness or anxiety Irritability or confusion Dizziness Hunger. Hypoglycemia Unawareness. This is more likely to happen if you: Have had diabetes for more than years.

Frequently have low blood sugar. Take certain medicines, such as beta blockers for high blood pressure. Types of Low Blood Sugar Nighttime low blood sugar While low blood sugar can happen at any time during the day, some people may experience low blood sugar while they sleep.

Reasons this may happen include: Having an active day. Being physically active close to bedtime. Taking too much insulin. Drinking alcohol at night. Severe low blood sugar As your low blood sugar gets worse, you may experience more serious symptoms, including: Feeling weak.

Having difficulty walking or seeing clearly. Meals and snacks options will be provided that offer macronutrient ratios that are known to help to steady the release of blood sugar. Each of us are unique and our individual requirements are always going to be different.

Your health goals, dietary preferences, motivation levels and affordability will also be different so a plan will be tailored to ensure you feel it is achievable and workable for you. To improve blood sugar balance your plan may focus on the inclusion and exclusion of certain foods and important considerations to take into account when planning meals and snacks.

Options for testing and supplements may be recommended, if appropriate. Click on each clinic to see which services are offered. Blackberry Clinic Milton Keynes offers all services and treatment for you under one roof in a purpose-built clinic.

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