What is Hypoglycemia?

Diabetes is a serious disease that can impact just about every area of your life. It can have a huge effect on your mental health, emotional health, and much more.

If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes or someone that you love has been, it’s essential that you understand all of the related terms and problems that can come along with the disease. One important term that you should be aware of and commit to memory is hypoglycemia.

At Insurance4Diabetic.com, it’s our mission to ensure that you have all of the information that you need to make the best decisions about your health and your life insurance search. We know that shopping for insurance coverage can be a frustrating process, especially for someone that has a severe pre-existing condition like diabetes.

This article is going to look at hypoglycemia and the impact that it can have on your health. It’s also going to look at the ways that you can prevent it and techniques for getting affordable life insurance as an applicant with diabetes.

To put it simply, hypoglycemia is when blood sugar is too low. Hypoglycemia occurs when glucose levels get below 70 milligrams per deciliter or less. If hypoglycemia goes untreated, it can cause serious problems on your overall health.

There are several symptoms of hypoglycemia that you should be aware of to ensure that you can take care of your health. Not only should you memorize these symptoms, but make sure that your family members and loved ones know them as well. In some cases, they might notice these signs before you do. They include:

Sweaty
Headache
Irritable
Change in behavior
Blurred vision
Shaky
Weak
Confusion
Dizzy or lightheaded
Sleepy
Fast heart rate
Trouble concentration

If the hypoglycemia becomes more severe or goes untreated, it could end up causing seizures or unconsciousness. That conditions could lead to death. It’s easy to see why it’s vital that you manage your health and your glucose levels.

Causes of Hypoglycemia

There are several causes of hypoglycemia that could cause your blood sugar to dip. Ironically, some diabetes medications could cause you to experience hypoglycemia. If your medication is causing your hypoglycemia, your doctor can suggest medication alternatives that you can use that will be a better option for you.

Another cause of hypoglycemia could be your diet. What you eat is going to play a major impact on your glucose levels. If you don’t eat enough carbs, then there isn’t going to be enough sugar in your bloodstream. It’s important that you are eating enough to manage your glucose levels and keep them in a healthy range. One common cause of these is skipping a meal. Most people live very busy lives, and it’s easy to get so wrapped up in work or running errands that you don’t have time to eat, but as a person with diabetes, that could be one of the worst things that you do.

Another common cause of hypoglycemia is too much physical activity. The more active that you are, the lower that your glucose levels are going to be. It’s important that you have a snack handy if you plan on doing a lot of physical work or you’re going to be doing some extended exercise. Physical activity can lower your blood sugar levels for up to 24 hours after.

Preventing Hypoglycemia

As you can see the symptoms and related health problems, it’s important that you control your glucose levels as much as possible. Your health is the most important thing to focus on, and there are several ways that you can keep yourself from suffering from hypoglycemia. Making a few simple changes could drastically improve your health.

The first thing that you should do is always closely monitor your glucose levels. If you don’t know what your glucose levels are, then you don’t know which treatments or changes that you should make. That’s why it’s important that you use your glucose meter as often as your doctor has suggested. For some people, they may only need to check once or twice a day, but other people might need to check much more frequently than that. Not tracking your levels could lead to hypoglycemia unawareness, which is the problem when someone doesn’t understand or recognize symptoms of the condition.

Another way to prevent hypoglycemia is to eat regular meals and have snacks on hand. You never know what you’re going to be stuck in traffic, have to work late, or won’t have access to food. Find some convenient places to stash some snacks, like in your glove compartment and your desk. That way, you will have some emergency snacks if you feel that your glucose levels are running low. Not only should you always have snacks handy, but you should never skip a meal if you can avoid it.

Treating Hypoglycemia

One way to treat your low glucose is to take a glucose tablet or a glucose gel. These are one of the simplest ways to treat hypoglycemia, and it’s also one of the safest. Most people, when they are experiencing low glucose levels, reach for a candy bar or a bowl of ice cream. The problem with that is that the glucose levels can end up going in the other direction. With these glucose tablets, you can safely raise your levels.

If you don’t have any of those tables on hand, there are some other alternatives. One common one is a half cup or cup of fruit juice with reduced sugar. When you’re looking at juices, always pay attention to the amount of sugar. The vast majority of fruit juices are packed with sugar, and much like a candy bar, the juice could cause your levels to swing in the other direction.

A safer option is to have a handful of raisins. Raisins are a safe and easy snack that you can have nearby to boost your glucose levels. After you’ve snacked on your raisins, wait about 15 minutes and then test your glucose levels. If it’s still low, then have some more raisins or some more fruit juice. Keep doing this until your levels are at a safe level.

Getting Life Insurance with Diabetes

There is a common myth that people with diabetes can’t get life insurance coverage at an affordable rate. That couldn’t be further from the truth. There are several ways that you can get affordable life insurance protection, regardless of your health.

The first thing that you should know is that every life insurance company is different, and all of them have various medical underwriting, and they will view your diabetes through various lenses and requirements. That means that some companies are going to decline you for life insurance while other companies are going to offer you cheaper life insurance rates. It’s vital that you find a company that is going to view your diabetes more favorably, it’s the difference in getting rejected or getting a quality policy.

Even if you’ve been declined in the past because of your health, you can still purchase a no exam plan or a guaranteed issue policy. Both of these are great options for coverage, but there are a couple of disadvantages to these plans that you should take note of when looking for protection.

Both of these policies are going to be more expensive than a plan that requires a medical exam. Without providing your health exam, the company is taking a gamble to give you life insurance, and they are going to offset that by charging you higher rates. If you want cheaper life insurance coverage, you’ll need to apply for a plan that has a medical exam.

Another drawback is that you’re going to be limited on the amount of protection that you can buy. With a no exam policy, you can only purchase around $500,000 with some companies. Most plans will only give you about half that. Not have life insurance is one of the worst mistakes that you could ever make for your loved ones.

What is Hypoglycemia?