January 13, 2002
Hyperglycemia and DKA
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Question from Oxford, Ohio, USA:
During treatment for DKA [diabetic ketoacidosis], my grandmother started having leg cramps, and her blood sugar went from 800 mg/dl [44.4 mmol/L] to 300 mg/dl [16.7 mmol/L] over two hours. Were these just a sign of old age or were they related to the insulin infusion bringing her sugar level down too quickly?
Answer:
From: DTeam Staff
That is pretty fast. However, another issue might be that low potassium, which occurs when patients receive insulin, may have caused the leg cramps. You can also get leg cramps if the muscle begins to swell with rehydration. Hopefully, this will be a temporary situation.
JTL
