An individual with type 2 diabetes who takes glipizide (glucotrol) to control her blood glucose has begun a formal exercise prog
ram at a local gym. while exercising on the treadmill, she becomes pale, diaphoretic, and shaky. she has a headache and feels as though she is going to pass out. what is the individual's priority action?
b. Eat something with 15 g of simple carbohydrates.
c. Go to the first aid station to have glucose checked.
d. Take another dose of the oral agent.
The answer is B. The stated symptoms are symptoms of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). The exercises drained glucose from her blood as the muscles used up the glucose in respiration. Since diabetics have flawed insulin protein that is incapable of enabling cells take up glucose and hepatocytes to make glucose, the blood sugar levels drop to critical levels that threaten body functions.
