Everyone wants insulin to outlive! With out sufficient or any insulin, your physique can’t use the meals you eat for vitality, and blood sugar ranges rise to harmful and ultimately deadly ranges.
This makes insulin one of the crucial essential hormones in your physique, however simply as too little insulin might be life-threatening, an excessive amount of insulin — an insulin overdose — is equally harmful.
On this article, we are going to have a look at tips on how to spot the warning indicators of an insulin overdose, tips on how to deal with it, and tips on how to forestall it from occurring within the first place.
What’s an insulin overdose?
An insulin overdose is outlined as merely getting an excessive amount of insulin to the purpose of inflicting low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) — however the severity of that low blood sugar can fluctuate wildly based mostly on how a lot extra insulin was taken.
Signs of an insulin overdose
Early signs of an insulin overdose are the identical as signs of low blood sugar:
- Feeling shaky
- Being nervous or anxious
- Sweating, chills, and clamminess
- Irritability or impatience
- Confusion
- Quick heartbeat
- Feeling lightheaded or dizzy
- Starvation
- Nausea
- Colour draining from the pores and skin (pallor)
- Feeling Sleepy
- Feeling weak or having no vitality
- Blurred/impaired imaginative and prescient
- Tingling or numbness within the lips, tongue, or cheeks
- Complications
- Coordination issues, clumsiness
- Nightmares or crying out throughout sleep
Extreme hypoglycemia (beneath 40 mg/dL) from an insulin overdose can result in:
- Being unable to speak, chew, or swallow
- Dropping consciousness – as a result of your mind isn’t getting the glucose it must perform
- Seizures – as a result of your mind isn’t getting the glucose it must perform
- Loss of life – as a result of each a part of your half requires glucose with a view to perform
Causes of an unintentional insulin overdose
In life with diabetes, making an attempt to steadiness your insulin wants with the variables of meals, exercise, stress, weight administration, and so forth. is a continuing problem. Only one or two models of insulin greater than your physique wants can simply result in even the earliest signs of an overdose.
Listed here are the overall causes of an unintentional insulin overdose:
- Taking a dose of insulin to your meal twice
- Taking your long-acting insulin twice in sooner or later whenever you usually take it as soon as
- Taking insulin for a deliberate meal however forgetting to eat
- Overestimating the quantity of insulin wanted for a meal
- Overestimating the quantity of insulin wanted to right a excessive blood sugar
- Exercising with an excessive amount of insulin in your bloodstream / not sufficient glucose
- Taking your rapid-acting insulin as a substitute of your long-acting, or vice versa
- Prescribed an insulin dose that doesn’t suit your physique’s wants
- Modifications in your insulin sensitivity like dropping pounds, improved weight loss plan, decreased stress, exercising extra, and so forth.
- Taking insulin for a high-carb/high-fat meal that digests too slowly to match the height of your insulin
Treating an insulin overdose
The way you deal with an insulin overdose is determined by how a lot extra insulin was dosed. If it was just some models and also you’re mentally clear and able to feeding your self, the low blood sugar needs to be simply corrected with a small snack.
The higher the overdose of insulin is, the extra probably you’ll want extra severe medical intervention.
Let’s take a better look.
For delicate insulin overdoses: blood sugars between 50 to 70 mg/dL
If you’ll be able to feed your self meals or drink, deal with your low blood sugar with 5 to fifteen grams of fast-acting carbohydrate like:
- Glucose tabs
- Gummy sweet
- Juice
- Dried fruit
- Jelly beans
- Pixie Stix
- Honey
- Syrup
A small proportion of individuals can lose consciousness at 50 mg/dL. Whereas that is much less widespread, it’s essential to know what your private tolerance is for hypoglycemia.
If you happen to’ve misplaced consciousness earlier than at a blood sugar degree at or simply beneath 50 mg/dL, it is best to deal with this extra critically with a glucagon equipment or calling 911 for emergency assist.
Deal with with 5 to fifteen grams of carbs after which…wait.
Some delicate lows could solely want 5 grams of carbohydrate to right again to a wholesome blood sugar degree. Others might have 15 grams or extra.
Both approach, attempt to eat that fast-acting carbohydrate supply after which be affected person. Examine your blood sugar once more in quarter-hour to see in case you’re coming again up.
The signs of a low — like cravings for extra meals — can persist lengthy after your blood sugar has returned to a secure degree.
It’s very simple to binge-eat throughout hypoglycemia, however this may develop into a vicious cycle.
Be ready: preserve fast-acting carbohydrates in easy-to-reach areas.
As an individual taking insulin, it is best to have fast-acting carbohydrate sources saved in just a few locations, like:
- Your purse
- Your baby’s diaper bag
- Your automotive
- Your jacket pocket
- Your health club bag
- Your workplace desk
- Your companion’s automotive
Select meals that won’t soften, freeze, or rot since they’ll probably be saved in locations that may get highly regarded or very chilly.
For average to extreme insulin overdoses: blood sugars beneath 50 mg/dL
There are two issues you possibly can and will do in case you really feel you’ve taken a major overdose of insulin otherwise you’re affected by extreme hypoglycemia:
Use a glucagon equipment
A glucagon equipment can save your life and is prescribed by your physician. Make sure you preserve it in an easy-to-reach location that others in your family or workplace find out about. A glucagon equipment works by providing you with an injection of glucagon which is a hormone that tells your liver to launch saved glucose (sugar).
This massive dump of glucose out of your liver can save your life, or at the least forestall seizures in somebody who’s already unconscious.
Name 911 or get somebody to drive you to the ER instantly
If you happen to’ve taken a severe overdose of insulin or your blood sugar is crashing and also you don’t have a glucagon equipment, name 911 instantly.
If you happen to’re caring for another person who has taken an overdose of insulin and they’re unresponsive and unable to chew or swallow, you completely must name 911. The emergency medics will give dextrose (a fast-acting carbohydrate) intravenous to hopefully revive the particular person affected by a extreme insulin overdose.
If you happen to take insulin, you’re liable to experiencing an insulin overdose almost each day of the week as a result of juggling insulin doses with the various different variables that have an effect on blood sugar ranges is a sophisticated recreation. The extra you observe how a lot insulin you want with sure meals and with meals that happen proper earlier than train, the extra you possibly can forestall overdosing.
The right way to keep away from an insulin overdose
There are numerous steps you possibly can take to keep away from an unintentional insulin overdose. Most of them revolve round avoiding errors whenever you take your insulin and remembering whenever you took your insulin and the way a lot you took
Hold an insulin log. If you happen to log each insulin injection, you’re a lot much less prone to mistakenly inject the mistaken quantity of insulin or inject twice. There are numerous telephone apps that can make it easier to calculate your insulin wants and log your injections. Most insulin pumps and smartpens (insulin pens that ship information on to your telephone) may also do that robotically.
All the time double-check that you’re utilizing the suitable kind of insulin. By accident utilizing fast-acting insulin (bolus) whenever you had been supposed to make use of long-acting insulin (basal) can result in an insulin overdose.
Don’t neglect to eat. If you happen to take fast-acting insulin for a meal, you additionally want to truly eat the meal. Don’t take your insulin till you understand the meal is on its approach and that you’ve time to eat it.
Intentional overdose as a technique of suicide
Overdosing insulin has been used as a technique of tried suicide by each individuals with diabetes and non-diabetics. As a result of individuals with diabetes face an elevated threat of despair, it’s essential to notice that overdosing on insulin will not be a easy or assured dying.
As a substitute, in lots of circumstances, your liver saves you by releasing a big dose of glycogen which is transformed into glucose (sugar).
Nonetheless, that doesn’t imply a full restoration is assured both. Many sufferers who try suicide by insulin overdose endure long-term neurological harm that may have an effect on their speech and motor abilities.
If you’re considering or planning suicide, name the Nationwide Suicide Prevention Hotline instantly: 1-800-273-8255, out there 24 hours a day, 7 days every week.
