Low Blood Sugar in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

Most people know that high blood sugar is dangerous for people with chronic kidney disease, but in fact, low blood sugar also poses a serious health threat for patients with CKD. In view of this, to slove low blood sugar in chronic kidney disease also has a significant meaning.

In our body, two hormones, insulin and glucagon, are responsible to keep blood sugar range in the normal level (70-110mg/dl). When blood sugar in the body is lower than the normal, islet A cells will secrete glucagon to release glycogen restored in the liver, while islet B cells can make insulin to lower high blood sugar. For people with chronic kidney disease, the following causes can contribute to low blood sugar:

● Not take enough nutrition because of skipping meals, waiting too long to eat or poor appetite.

● Take excess dose of insulin or other diabetes medicines or use them at the wrong time

● Drinking alcoholic beverages

● Drastic exercise

● Digestive problems

If you have chronic kidney disease, you are at the risk of low blood sugar and the risk is higher when you are on dialysis. Some studies indicate that low blood sugar may account for some portion of excess heart-related deaths seen in CKD patients. In view of this, finding out low blood sugar and getting prompt treatment is very important to assist your whole treatment.

Headache, tiredness, weakness, sweating, feeling hunger, confusion, blurry or double vision and rapid or pounding heartbeat all can remind you to measure your blood sugar to make sure whether your blood glucose is lower than the normal. If so, prompt treatment is needed urgently.

Eating rich-nutrition foods and taking diabetes medicines following with the guideline of doctors can help increase patients’ blood sugar effectively. In addition, treatments that can help improve patients’ kidney function is also needed. Only if their kidney function is increased, their condition can be reversed and patients’ overall health can be better.