The condition known as insulin shock occurs when the amount of glucose in the blood drops to a level at which it becomes insufficient to maintain normal brain function. Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, can cause symptoms such as dizziness, headache and sweating.
Without treatment --by ingestion of sugar or carbohydrates--seizures and unconsciousness may occur rapidly. At this point, the condition becomes a medical emergency, warns the American Diabetes Association. Causes for insulin shock include the use of medications and the occurrence of imbalances between food intake and the amount of glucose used up by the body.
Diabetes Treatments
Over-treatment with anti-diabetes medication--such as insulin or anti-hyperglycemic drugs--can cause insulin shock. Excess intake of anti-diabetes medication by diabetics trying to control their blood glucose levels constitutes the most common cause of the syndrome, notes the Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. Along with insulin injections, oral anti-diabetes medications such as acetohexamide, chlorpropamide, glipizide, tolazamide and tolbutamide can cause diabetic shock, according to Medline Plus. Glimepiride, glyburide, nateglinide, mitiglinide and repaglinide can also cause insulin shock, although the risk is not as high with these medications.
Tumors
A rare type of pancreatic endocrine tumor can cause insulin shock, explains the Merck Manual. Several types of pancreatic tumors produce hormones, and the tumors known as insulinomas produce excessive amounts of insulin, which can cause low blood sugar and insulin shock. In 80 percent of cases, only one insulinoma develops and this occurs in approximately one in every 250,000 people, notes the Merck Manual. The median age at which those insulinomas appear is 50. In 10 percent of cases, insulinoma appears in a form known as multiple endocrine neoplasia, and in those cases multiple insulinomas become more likely, notes Merck.
Only 10 to 15 percent of insulinomas are malignant, but in those cases the metastases from the tumors may spread to other locations in the body, explains "Introduction to Endocrinology." Insulinomas do not adjust insulin production according to glucose levels in the blood, and the tumors continue to produce insulin even when blood sugar levels drop. That can cause insulin shock.
Inadequate Glucose Replacement
If the body use glucose at a higher rate than it normally does, that can cause hypoglycemia. This can occur when a sudden increase in exercise is not accompanied by a corresponding increase in food intake. An inadequate intake of food, regardless of exercise levels, can also result in low blood glucose levels, since the rate of glucose entry into the blood becomes inadequate for the body's energy requirements. Without treatment, this can cause insulin shock.
References
- American Diabetes Association: Hypoglycemia--Low Blood Glucose)
- "Introduction To Endocrinology"; Chandra S. Negi: 2009
- Merck Manuals Online Medical Library: Hypoglycemia
- Merck Manuals Online Medical Library: Pancreatic Endocrine Tumors
- Medline Plus: Hypoglycemia
