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What Causes Excessive Sweating And Loss Of Taste While Taking Insulin Injection?

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Posted on Wed, 29 Jun 2016
Question: Hi my father is diabetic and injects insulin twice daily. Tonight during sleep he woke up sweating and with loss of taste. He felt like his sugar levels are low, he took two apples and juice to bring it back to normal. Upon testing his RBS was 196 and went back to sleep. What can be the reason behind this episode, should he see adjust his insulin dosage and monitor his blood sugar levels middle of the night.
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Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (25 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
insulin requirements depend on many factors

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

when a patient experiences hypoglycemia, his insulin levels are higher than needed. The insulin requirements will be lower when the patient is physically active or has eaten less carbohydrates than usual. Certain conditions may increase the requirements like acute illness, drugs, too much carbohydrates in the food, etc.

I can't say what happened to your father because I don't know what was changed in his daily routine. Please note that the type of insulin is also important. If he only injects basal insulin then it's easier to avoid hypoglycemia. If he injects a mixture of basal and bolus insulin then hypoglycemias might be more frequent.

So in conclusion, he should be aware of the carbohydrate content of his food, try to have a relatively stable physical activity routine and avoid having empty stomach for too long. Adjusting the insulin dosage might be required.

I hope you find my comments helpful!
If you'd like further information or more in-depth discussion of his case, please provide more details like the type of insulin he uses, his activity and food as thoroughly as you can, trying to focus on this day to find out what was different from the rest of the days.

Kind Regards!
Note: For further follow-up, discuss your blood glucose reports with our diabetologist. Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis

Internal Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :1999

Answered : 3814 Questions

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What Causes Excessive Sweating And Loss Of Taste While Taking Insulin Injection?

Brief Answer: insulin requirements depend on many factors Detailed Answer: Hello, when a patient experiences hypoglycemia, his insulin levels are higher than needed. The insulin requirements will be lower when the patient is physically active or has eaten less carbohydrates than usual. Certain conditions may increase the requirements like acute illness, drugs, too much carbohydrates in the food, etc. I can't say what happened to your father because I don't know what was changed in his daily routine. Please note that the type of insulin is also important. If he only injects basal insulin then it's easier to avoid hypoglycemia. If he injects a mixture of basal and bolus insulin then hypoglycemias might be more frequent. So in conclusion, he should be aware of the carbohydrate content of his food, try to have a relatively stable physical activity routine and avoid having empty stomach for too long. Adjusting the insulin dosage might be required. I hope you find my comments helpful! If you'd like further information or more in-depth discussion of his case, please provide more details like the type of insulin he uses, his activity and food as thoroughly as you can, trying to focus on this day to find out what was different from the rest of the days. Kind Regards!