Many people wonder “does diabetes cause headaches or dizziness?” The fact is it can and it often does. Diabetes cause headaches in many patients for many different reasons. And dizziness is another common complaint. Often patients that are diabetic also have a problem with high blood pressure and occasionally low blood pressure, although the latter is rare. A headache is a common complaint of patients with elevated blood pressure and those with diabetes. It should be noted that the sudden onset of a severe headache should be treated as an emergency that needs immediate medical attention. Less severe headaches are not an emergency but are certainly painful and difficult to live with if they occur with any frequency. Let’s start off with answering the question – does diabetes cause headaches?
Can Diabetes Cause Headaches?
Hypoglycemia, which is low blood sugar, occurs when there is an inadequate amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood. This causes light headedness because the brain needs glucose to function correctly. These headaches in and of themselves are not an emergency but they should serve as a warning from your body that your blood sugar is out of balance. If the headache is also accompanied with dizziness, confusion, and sweating, there is a good chance the blood glucose level is too low. Usually, a food with sugar, a candy, or a glucagon injection will remedy both the hypoglycemia and the headache.
Hyperglycemia can also cause dizziness and headaches. This is a condition where the blood glucose levels are too high because there is not enough insulin in the blood to allow the body’s cells to use the glucose for energy. This is enough to cause a headache by itself but it can also lead to dehydration, and anaerobic metabolism.
In general, long time diabetics have restricted blood vessels anyway, and this can lead to chronic headaches and is also a cause of high blood pressure. So does diabetes cause headaches? Yes, it certainly does for a variety of reasons.
Does Diabetes Cause Headaches More in Type 1 or Type 2?
Type 2 diabetes patients are more likely to get both migraine headaches and regular headaches than people without diabetes or people with diabetes type 1. But instead of just treating the headache, a patient should learn to associate the headache as a symptom of the blood sugar level being out of balance. Usually, bringing your glucose level into balance will relieve the headache better than anything.
Does Diabetes Cause Headaches in Borderline Cases?
The simple answer is yes. Because even pre-diabetics often have abnormal blood glucose levels, and are just as prone to headaches as diabetics when it is. Use these headaches as your chance to get your condition under control with natural methods before insulin is needed to control a full-blown diabetic condition.
