Can a drop in blood sugar cause dizziness

Have low blood sugar without symptoms? You may need to check your blood sugar more often.

Blood sugar levels change often during the day. When they drop below 70 mg/dL, this is called having low blood sugar. At this level, you need to take action to bring it back up. Low blood sugar is especially common in people with type 1 diabetes.

Knowing how to identify low blood sugar is important because it can be dangerous if left untreated. Read more about what causes low blood sugar and common symptoms.

Causes of Low Blood Sugar

There are many reasons why you may have low blood sugar, including:

• Taking too much insulin.
• 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.
• Menstruation.

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. It’s important to know your signs. Common symptoms may include:

• Fast heartbeat
• Shaking
• Sweating
• Nervousness or anxiety
• Irritability or confusion
• Dizziness
• Hunger

If you’ve had low blood sugar without feeling or noticing symptoms (hypoglycemia unawareness), you may need to check your blood sugar more often to see if it’s low and treat it. Driving with low blood sugar can be dangerous, so be sure to check your blood sugar before you get behind the wheel.

You may not have any symptoms when your blood sugar is low (hypoglycemia unawareness). If you don’t have symptoms, it will be harder to treat your low blood sugar early. This increases your risk of having severe lows and can be dangerous. This is more likely to happen if you:

• Have had diabetes for more than 5-10 years.
• Frequently have low blood sugar.
• Take certain medicines, such as beta blockers for high blood pressure.

If you meet one or more of the above and you have hypoglycemia unawareness, you may need to check your blood sugar more often to see if it’s low. This is very important to do before driving or being physically active.

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.

Eating regular meals and not skipping them can help you avoid nighttime low blood sugar. Eating when you drink alcohol can also help. If you think you’re at risk for low blood sugar overnight, have a snack before bed.

You may wake up when you have low blood sugar, but you shouldn’t rely on that. A continuous glucose monitor (CGM) can alert you with an alarm if your blood sugar gets low while you’re sleeping.

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.
• Acting strange or feeling confused.
• Having seizures.

Severe low blood sugar is below 54 mg/dL. Blood sugar this low may make you faint (pass out). Often, you’ll need someone to help you treat severe low blood sugar.

People with diabetes may experience low blood sugar as often as once or twice a week, even when managing their blood sugar closely. Knowing how to identify and treat it is important for your health. Learn how to treat low blood sugar.

When an individual has diabetes, some symptoms can affect their overall health. These can come from the condition itself, other health issues, and the side effects of certain medications.

Dizziness is one symptom that diabetics may experience. This can be due to low blood sugar, high blood sugar, low blood pressure, retinopathy, vestibular disorder, medication side effects, or dehydration.

Why Diabetics May Experience Dizziness

There are many reasons why diabetics may experience dizziness, including:

• Hypoglycemia
• Hyperglycemia
• Hypertension
• Dehydration
• Medications
• Vestibular dysfunction

Hypoglycemia (Low Blood Sugar)

Hypoglycemia occurs when an individual has a very low level of blood sugar.

The brain depends on blood sugar to function properly and as an energy source. The hormones that the brain depends on to raise blood sugar levels are norepinephrine and epinephrine. When the brain doesn’t get enough of these hormones it can’t function properly. This can lead to:

• Blurred vision
• Neurological issues
• Headache
• Dizziness

Hypoglycemia is common among diabetic patients. This can be caused by:

• Change in diet
• Exercise
• Oral medication
• Insulin

Hyperglycemia

Hyperglycemia is high blood glucose. This happens when the body has too much sugar in the blood and there is not enough insulin to distribute the proper amount of glucose that is needed in the blood.

Many diabetics are hyperglycemic. It occurs when:

• An individual with type 1 diabetes isn’t able to produce enough insulin through the pancreas
• An individual with type 2 diabetes isn’t producing natural insulin properly to sustain a regular glucose level because the body could be resistant to the insulin

Hyperglycemia can cause many issues if not treated. Complications may include:

• Damaged blood vessels
• Damaged organs
• Eye damage
• Nerve damage
• Kidney damage

Hypertension

If a person has hypertension—high blood pressure—it can lead to heart disease, stroke, and other complications.

If an individual has diabetes, they are twice as likely to get high blood pressure. In addition, individuals with diabetes are four times as likely to develop heart disease than someone who doesn’t have diabetes.

Approximately two-thirds of adults who have diabetes also have increased blood pressure and/or use prescription medication for hypertension. Some symptoms of high blood pressure include:

• Headache
• Dizziness
• Blurred vision

This, along with diabetic symptoms, can cause complications.

Dehydration

There are times when diabetics have excessive thirst. This is due to excess glucose, and the kidneys being overworked to absorb and filter that glucose.

If the kidneys can’t do this effectively, the extra glucose will come out through the urine. This will also pull fluids from other tissues causing dehydration. In turn, drinking more water causes more urination.  

Medications

There are different medications that diabetics take. Some patients have other conditions, and the medication that they take can be for a number of reasons.

If a diabetic patient is on medication for blood pressure or water retention, this can drop both the blood pressure and potassium levels, causing dizziness. Other medications such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and nonsteroidals can cause dizziness.

Vestibular Dysfunction

Vertigo and dizziness are known symptoms of vestibular balance disorder. This condition is more common as people age.

Individuals who have diabetes have an increased risk of vestibular dysfunction. The condition was found in 53.6% of individuals with diabetes versus 33.2% of individuals who don’t have diabetes. In addition, the individuals with diabetes had:

• A loss of balance
• Dizziness
• Falls

This condition is usually diagnosed by an ear, nose, and throat doctor (ENT). It is important to speak with your healthcare professional to understand the condition and get proper treatment.

Treatment and Prevention

To manage diabetes, it is important to work closely with your healthcare provider. Eat healthy, exercise as recommended, and take your prescribed medication.

Also be aware that several conditions that can cause dizziness are related to diabetes. Monitoring blood sugar, diet, and food consumption are helpful factors. Continued conversations with your healthcare provider will help you manage your health the best way possible.

A Word From Verywell

Dizziness can be a scary experience. If you do experience dizziness, don’t panic. The best thing to do is to try to get into a safe position to avoid falling. From there you can call someone to help you if you feel that you need assistance.

If the dizziness is excessive and continuous, avoid driving, using machinery, bending, or moving around too much. It is important to speak with your healthcare provider regarding the dizziness so they can help you determine the root cause and get the proper treatment for prevention.

By Yvelette Stines
Yvelette Stines, MS, MEd, is an author, writer, and communications specialist specializing in health and wellness.

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