Unstable diabetes, a complication of diabetes due to fluctuating blood sugar

What is labile diabetes?

Unstable diabetes occurs when blood sugar levels are difficult to control, meaning that changes in sugar levels that go up and down can take place quickly.

This condition can affect your quality of life, even requiring you to be hospitalized. Unstable diabetes also shows that your blood sugar levels have not been handled properly.

This condition is usually more common in people with type 1 diabetes. However, this does not mean that all people with type 1 diabetes will experience this complication. People with type 2 diabetes also remain at risk for developing it.

Some doctors classify labile diabetes as a complication of diabetes, but other doctors consider it to be a derivative of type 1 diabetes.

However, thanks to advances in diabetes treatment, this labile diabetes condition is rare. Even so, this condition is still a frightening specter for diabetics.

What are the triggering factors?

Type 1 diabetes is characterized by blood sugar levels that are too high (hyperglycemia) due to the inability of the body to produce insulin. Therefore, insulin therapy is the mainstay of treatment for type 1 diabetes.

Well, the effect of insulin therapy makes the body more sensitive to insulin so that it helps blood sugar levels fall. However, the side effects of excessive insulin use can also trigger low blood sugar levels or hypoglycemia.

According to the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, it is the causes of type 1 diabetes and insulin treatment that may cause blood sugar fluctuations or fluctuations.

In addition, people with type 1 diabetes are also at a higher risk of experiencing it brittle diabetes if:

Women
Have a hormonal imbalance
Overweight
Have hypothyroidism (low thyroid)
In your 20s or 30s
Experiencing high levels of stress everyday
Have depression

Symptoms of labile diabetes that may be felt

Hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia are common signs for labile diabetes because blood sugar fluctuates rapidly

Very low blood sugar levels can cause:

Dizzy
Fatigue
Hunger easily
Hands shaking
Blurred vision
Severe headache
Hard to sleep

While the symptoms experienced when high blood sugar include:

Weakness
Frequent thirst and frequent urination
Vision changes
Dry skin

The characteristics of this labile diabetes are indeed similar to the symptoms of type 1 diabetes in general. The difference is, the symptoms of high and low blood sugar levels can often appear suddenly and alternately.

Drastic changes in blood sugar can also increase the risk of diabetics going into a coma. Over time, this condition can lead to other complications such as:

Thyroid disease
Adrenal gland problems
Depression
Gaining weight

How to treat it?

Balancing blood sugar is the most appropriate way to treat this condition. Fluctuating blood sugar conditions may make it difficult for the body to respond to or use additional insulin optimally.

Therefore, the most effective insulin therapy for labile diabetes is to use an insulin pump, especially the subcutaneous type (fat tissue under the skin). Apart from insulin therapy, you also need to monitor your blood sugar levels regularly to make sure the level remains within normal limits.

Some people with labile diabetes still experience fluctuations in blood sugar even though they have been treated. In more serious cases, a pancreas transplant may be needed. However, cases like this are actually rarely found.

How to prevent unstable diabetes?

Advances in type 1 diabetes treatment have succeeded in reducing cases of labile diabetes. Although this condition is not very common, you still need to take precautions, especially if you have risk factors for this condition.

The best way to prevent unstable diabetes is to follow diabetes treatment recommendations and a lifestyle to control blood sugar, namely by:

Maintain ideal body weight
Manage stress well
Follow a healthy and balanced diet with dietary guidelines for diabetes
Doing exercise for diabetes regularly

Brittle diabetes is a rare complication of diabetes. However, you must be aware of the causes and symptoms. Controlling and managing blood sugar is the best way to prevent all diabetes complications, including fragile diabetes.