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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffTreatment of hypoglycemia involves two basic approaches:
- Immediate initial treatment to raise your blood sugar level
- Treatment of the underlying condition that's causing your hypoglycemia, to prevent it from recurring
Initial treatment
The initial treatment depends on your symptoms. Early symptoms can usually be treated by consuming sugar, such as eating candy, drinking fruit juice or taking glucose tablets to raise your blood sugar level. If your symptoms are more severe, impairing your ability to take sugar by mouth, you may need intravenous glucose or an injection of glucagon. If you're prone to severe episodes of hypoglycemia, ask your doctor if a home glucagon kit might be appropriate for you.
Recurrent hypoglycemia
Preventing recurrent hypoglycemia requires your doctor to identify the underlying condition and treat it. Depending on the underlying cause, treatment may involve:
- Medications. If a medication is the cause of your hypoglycemia, your doctor will likely suggest changing the medication or adjusting the dosage.
- Tumor treatment. A tumor in your pancreas is usually treated by surgical removal. Nesidioblastosis, enlargement of the pancreatic cells that make insulin, is treated by partial removal of the pancreas.
