Question

the doctor wants to give joe an insulin injection, but joe is unwilling to take it. he tells you that his little sister was on insulin and died in the night after taking her shot. how could insulin hurt somebody with diabetes?

Answer 1

The doctor is giving an insulin injection. For someone with diabetes, giving too much insulin can lower plasma glucose levels until the brain and heart do not get enough glucose to function properly. Nocturnal hypoglycemia, or low plasma glucose at night, is common in insulin-dependent diabetics. Dead-in-bed syndrome, however, is very rare. So what causes, Dead-in-bed syndrome? One hypothesis is that when the blood glucose drops too far, the heart ceases to beat effectively. For this reason, a diabetic on insulin will carefully monitor blood glucose and watch for any signs of hypoglycemia. The insulin dosage before going to bed may be lower than during the day.