Everyone needs insulin to survive! Without sufficient or insulin, your body will not be able to use the food you eat for energy, and blood sugar levels will rise to dangerous and ultimately fatal levels.
This makes insulin one of the most important hormones in your body, Just as it can be life-threatening, just as it can be too low insulin; excessively Insulin – Insulin overdose – is the same Dangerous.
In this article, we’ll explain how to find warning signs of an insulin overdose, how to treat it, and how to prevent it from occurring in the first place.
What is an insulin overdose?
Overdose of insulin is defined as too much insulin until it simply causes hypoglycemia (hypoglycemia), but the severity of that hypoglycemia can vary greatly based on the amount of excess insulin taken.
Symptoms of insulin overdose
The early symptoms of insulin overdose Symptoms of hypoglycemia:
- Feeling unstable
- I’m nervous or worried
- Sweat, chills, rather
- Irritated or anxious
- confusion
- Fast Heartbeat
- Feeling bad or dizzy
- Hungry
- nausea
- Color that drains from the skin (pall)
- I feel sleepy
- Feel weak or lacking energy
- Vision impairment/disability
- Twitching and numbness on the lips, tongue, or cheeks
- headache
- Adjustment issues, clumsy
- Nightmares and screams while sleeping
Severe hypoglycemia (<40 mg/dl) due to overdose of insulin can lead to:
- Can’t talk, chew, or swallow
- Unconscious – Your brain is not taking glucose and needs to function
- Seizures – Your brain is not taking glucose and must function
- Death – Because every part of your part needs glucose to function
Causes of accidental insulin overdose
In diabetic life, trying to balance insulin needs with variables such as food, activity, stress, and weight management is a constant challenge. Only one or two insulins than your body needs can easily lead to even the earliest symptoms of overdose.
Common causes of accidental insulin overdose include:
- Take insulin twice for meals
- Take your long-acting insulin twice in a day when you normally take it once
- I’m taking insulin for a planned meal but forget to eat
- Overestimate the amount of insulin you need for your diet
- Overestimate the amount of insulin needed to correct hyperglycemia
- Exercise because there is too much insulin in your bloodstream/not enough glucose
- Take your quick-acting insulin instead of your long-acting or vice versa
- Prescribed an insulin dose that doesn’t suit your body needs
- Changes in insulin sensitivity, including weight loss, dietary improvements, stress reduction, and more exercise.
- Take insulin for a slow digestion high carbohydrate/high fat diet to match the peak of insulin
Treatment of insulin overdose
Treatment of overdose with insulin depends on how much excess insulin is administered. If it’s just a few units and you’re mentally clear and can feed yourself, hypoglycemia should be easily corrected with a small snack.
The greater the insulin overdose, the more likely it is that more serious medical intervention is required.
Let’s take a closer look.
For mild insulin overdose: 50-70 mg/dl blood glucose levels
If food or drinks can be fed, treat hypoglycemia with 5-15 grams of rapidly acting carbohydrates.
- Glucose tab
- Gummy Candy
- juice
- Dried fruits
- Jelly beans
- Pixie Sticks
- Honey
- syrup
You may lose consciousness at 50 mg/dL. This is not very common, but it is important to know that your personal tolerance is for hypoglycemia.
If you have previously lost consciousness with blood glucose levels below 50 mg/dl, you should either take this more seriously with a glucagon kit or call 911 for emergency assistance.
Treat it with 5-15 grams of carbohydrates before…wait.
Some mildly low levels may be required to return to healthy blood sugar levels. Others may need more than 15 grams.
Either way, try eating that fast-acting carbohydrate source. be patient. Check your blood sugar levels again in 15 minutes to see if you’re back.
Like cravings for more food, low symptoms can last long after blood sugar levels return to safe levels.
Devouring during hypoglycemia is very easy, but this can become a vicious cycle.
Prepare: Keep your quick-acting carbohydrates in a place that is easy to reach.
As someone taking insulin, you need a fast-acting carbohydrate source stored in several locations, including:
- Your wallet
- Your child’s diaper bag
- Your car
- Your jacket pocket
- Your gym bag
- Your office desk
- Your partner’s car
Choose foods that won’t melt, freeze, or spoil as they are likely to be stored in places that can be very hot and very cold.
For moderate to severe insulin overdose: blood sugar Below 50 mg/dl
If you have had a significant overdose of insulin, or feel that you are suffering from severe hypoglycemia, there are two things you can and should do.
Use a glucagon kit
a Glucagon kits can save your life and are prescribed by your doctor. Store it in a place that others in your home or office know about and easily reachable. The glucagon kit works by injecting glucagon, a hormone that transmits the liver to release stored glucose (sugar).
This large amount of glucose from the liver can save your life or at least prevent seizures in an already unconscious person.
Please call 911 Or someone will drive you to the ER right away
If you are adopting a serious insulin overdose, or if your blood sugar levels are crashing and you don’t have a glucagon kit, call 911 immediately.
If you are caring for someone else who is receiving an insulin overdose and are unresponsive and unable to chew or swallow, you should definitely call 911. Emergency medicine hopes to intravenously receive dextrose (a fast-acting carbohydrate) to bring back those suffering from severe insulin overdose.
Taking insulin risks experiencing an insulin overdose almost every day, as it is a complicated game to juggle insulin doses with many other variables that affect your blood sugar levels. The more you observe the amount of insulin you need in a particular diet or diet that occurs just before exercise, the more you can prevent overdose.
How to avoid overdose of insulin
There are many steps you can take to avoid accidental insulin overdose. Most of them revolve around avoiding mistakes when you take your insulin and remembering how much you took your insulin and how much you spent
Keeps insulin logs. Recording all insulin injections makes it much less likely to inject the wrong amount of insulin or injection twice incorrectly. There are many phone apps that can help you calculate your insulin needs and record your infusion. Most insulin pumps and SmartPens (insulin pens that send data directly to your phone) can do this automatically.
Always double-check that you are using the right type of insulin. When you were supposed to use long-acting insulin (basal), accidentally using rapid insulin (bolus) can lead to an insulin overdose.
Don’t forget to eat. If you are taking quick insulin for a meal, you need to actually eat a meal. Do not take insulin until you know that your diet is ongoing and you have time to eat it.
Intentional overdose as a suicide method
Overdose of insulin is used as a method Suicide attempt By both diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Because people with diabetes are facing Increased risk of depressionIt is important to note that an overdose of insulin is not a smooth or guaranteed death.
Instead, your liver often saves you by releasing a large amount of glycogen that is converted to glucose (sugar).
However, that does not mean that a full recovery is guaranteed. Many patients who attempt suicide due to insulin overdose suffer long term Neurological damage that can affect them Voice and motor skills.
If you are considering or planning a suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline immediately. 1-800-273-8255, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
