A diabetic seizure occurs when a profoundly high or low blood sugar level disrupts brain chemistry and function. Diabetic seizures are a form of nonepileptic convulsions. They differ from epileptic seizures in that they arise due to a blood sugar abnormality rather than an electrical disturbance in the brain. Correction of the blood sugar level serves as the primary treatment for diabetic seizures. Events that provoke marked extremes in blood sugar levels can trigger a diabetic seizure.
Skipping a Meal
Diabetic patients take insulin or other diabetes medications on a schedule coordinated with the timing of meals to help maintain a stable blood sugar level. Taking a prescribed dose of diabetes medication and skipping a meal can lead to a low blood sugar level, or hypoglycemia, notes the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Symptoms of hypoglycemia may include sweating, paleness, trembling, blurred vision, weakness, hunger, headache, confusion, drowsiness and irritability. Left untreated, hypoglycemia can lead to a diabetic seizure. Hypoglycemic seizures most commonly involve a loss of consciousness, notes the medical information website epilepsy.com. Partial seizures, with symptoms localized to one area of the body and no loss of consciousness, occur less commonly with hypoglycemia.
Alcohol Consumption
Drinking alcohol without eating can lead to a hypoglycemic episode and seizures in a diabetic patient. Failure to eat while taking diabetes medication causes a falling blood sugar level. The liver normally responds to a falling blood sugar concentration by producing glucose. The metabolism of alcohol in the liver, however, interferes with the production of glucose.
Symptomatic hypoglycemia associated with alcohol consumption typically occurs within eight to 12 hours of drinking, reports the American Diabetes Association. Untreated hypoglycemia related to alcohol consumption may provoke seizures. Because the symptoms of alcohol intoxication and hypoglycemia prove similar, patients and medical professionals may initially mistake hypoglycemia for drunkenness. This error can lead to a delay in treatment, increasing the likelihood of a diabetic seizure.
Infection
Hyperosmolar hyperglycemia, also known as nonketotic hyperosmolar syndrome, is a condition characterized by a profoundly high blood sugar level and severe dehydration. Infections --- including urinary tract infections, pneumonia and bloodstream infections --- provoke approximately 57 percent of cases of hyperosmolar hyperglycemia, notes Dr. Gregg Stoner of the University of Illinois College of Medicine in a May 2005 article published in the journal "American Family Physician." Up to one-quarter of patients with hyperosmolar hyperglycemia develop seizures, notes Stoner. Seizures may manifest as jerking in one area of the body or involve the entire body, with loss of consciousness. Ten to 50 percent of diabetic patients who develop hyperosmolar hyperglycemia do not survive.
References
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: Hypoglycemia
- epilepsy.com/Professionals: Hypoglycemia
- American Diabetes Association: Alcohol
- "American Family Physician"; Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemic State; Gregg D. Stoner, M.D.; May 2005
- Endotext.org: Hyperglycemic Crises in Patients with Diabetes: Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), and Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar State (HHS)
