High blood sugar is a part of a life with diabetes, whether or not it’s kind 1, kind 2, LADA, gestational diabetes, even the more rare forms of the disease. But generally, hyperglycemia can appear unexplainable, persistent, and cussed.
This article will define the explanation why you might be experiencing excessive blood sugar, and what you are able to do about it.
What Exactly Happens When Blood Sugar Is High?
High blood sugar, by definition, is when there’s an excessive amount of glucose within the blood and never sufficient insulin to assist the cells digest it. That further glucose floating round within the bloodstream is what brings about signs of frequent urination, fatigue, mind fog, headache, physique ache. In extreme instances, it could result in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
People with diabetes handle their blood sugars by taking both oral medicines or insulin, and monitoring each their meals consumption and train every day.
But even whenever you’ve performed all the pieces “right,” like counting carbohydrates and taking your medicines, your blood sugar could rise and keep annoyingly (or dangerously) excessive. These are the highest explanation why you might be experiencing unexplainable hyperglycemia.
You’re Stressed
Ever surprise why whenever you’re harassed about work or faculty your blood stays excessive? That’s as a result of the discharge of pure hormones in your physique, like adrenaline and cortisol, spike whenever you’re harassed, resulting in insulin resistance, and in folks with present diabetes, excessive blood sugars. Whether you’re prepping for an enormous check, promoting your house, hustling for that promotion at work, or preventing together with your partner, stress can ship your blood sugars skyrocketing.
Dawn Phenomenon
Dawn Phenomenon describes the excessive blood sugars and insulin resistance folks expertise within the morning, normally between 2 a.m. and eight a.m.
The phenomenon is pure: late in a single day, the physique releases a surge of hormones in preparation for the brand new day. These hormones can set off the liver to dump glucose into the bloodstream. In folks with diabetes, the physique can’t produce a wholesome insulin response, and due to this fact blood glucose ranges spike up.
Many folks with diabetes require extra insulin throughout these hours, possibly even twice as a lot, to counteract this age-old hormonal impact.
A distinct, much less widespread (however extra harmful) phenomenon may additionally clarify morning blood sugar highs: Somogyi impact.
You’re Sick
When folks with diabetes are under the weather (or preventing off an an infection), their blood sugars are typically a lot greater than regular, they usually grow to be rather more insulin-resistant.
This can generally end in needing 75% (or extra!) of your common every day insulin necessities. Make positive you’re staying hydrated, monitoring for ketones, and taking as a lot insulin as it is advisable preserve your blood sugars in vary.
If you can’t management your blood sugars throughout sickness – particularly for those who’re having hassle consuming or consuming – it’s crucial to get in contact together with your physician.
You’re Eating Too Many Carbs
Let’s face it: carbohydrates spike blood sugar. It’s one thing that individuals with diabetes want to consider almost each time they eat.
Test your blood sugar regularly to see how your personal physique responds to totally different meals. Some folks could discover that they will comfortably eat recent fruit, however not added sugars or white rice. Some could discover one thing fully totally different.
And for those who use insulin earlier than meals, you in all probability already know that carbohydrate counting could be an inexact science. The extra carbs you eat, the extra insulin it is advisable take, and the harder it’s to ship that completely dosed and completely timed pre-bolus.
Even a bit carbohydrate restriction is probably going to assist scale back the frequency and depth of blood sugar highs.
You’re Eating Hidden Carbs
Ever order a salad at a restaurant, pondering will probably be a pleasant, low-carbohydrate possibility, solely to expertise debilitating excessive blood sugars for hours on finish afterward? There are many deceiving meals that we expect are low-carb, however are something however.
Sugar and starches cover in lots of meals the place you wouldn’t anticipate finding them, particularly at eating places and among the many processed meals within the grocery retailer. Some examples of meals that appear “healthy” however could cause a blood sugar nightmare embody:
- Salads with candy dressings and croutons or different toppings (or salad in a bread bowl)
- Soups
- Smoothies (particularly fruit smoothies)
- Fruit juice
- Foods labeled “gluten-free”
- Granola
- Flavored yogurts
- Fat-free ice cream
- Restaurant meals (particularly attributable to excessive portion sizes)
“Healthy” doesn’t essentially imply “diabetes-friendly.” Fat-free merchandise are sometimes fortified with sugars and starches. And many gluten-free merchandise have much more carbohydrates than their commonplace gluten counterparts.
If you’ve chosen a restaurant that may present dietary data, ask for it, so that you’ll know precisely what number of carbohydrates you’ll be consuming. Consider asking for salad dressings and sauces on the facet.
Your Insulin Pump May Be Kinked
If you’re insulin-dependent, the very first thing it is best to do on the signal of cussed excessive blood sugar is to test to see when you’ve got a kink in your insulin pump cannula. This can block the supply of insulin, resulting in a really irritating day.
If you’re uncertain, change your pump web site! Make positive to name your insulin pump producer to allow them to know of the difficulty, and they’re going to normally mail you a substitute without cost.
You’ve Injected Into Scar Tissue
If there’s no kink within the cannula, or for those who’re utilizing syringes to ship a number of every day injections (MDI), you’ll have additionally simply picked a “bad” web site. When insulin is injected (both manually or with an insulin pump infusion set) into scar tissue, absorption suffers, leading to unpredictable and excessive blood sugars.
Make positive to at all times rotate your sites as a lot as potential to keep away from creating scar tissue and the inevitable excessive blood sugars they bring about.
Your Medications Need Adjusting
Our our bodies are consistently altering. It can be foolish to anticipate the identical insulin to carbohydrate ratio or insulin sensitivity elements and even the identical variety of milligrams of our oral diabetes medicines for our complete lives.
Make positive you’re seeing your endocrinologist or diabetes physician often; they can assist refine your remedy routine.
You could also be particularly prone to require changes for those who’ve lately misplaced or gained weight, have elevated or decreased your exercise ranges, are going by means of a hectic life change, are pregnant, or planning on turning into pregnant, or haven’t been to the physician for some time.
Your Medications Are Expired
Always test to ensure your medicines aren’t expired! At room temperature, insulin will lose potency.
Oral medicines can final for much longer, however you continue to must be cognizant of expiration dates and ensure you’re refilling your prescriptions often to keep away from taking an expired (and probably ineffective) dose.
What to Do When Your Blood Sugar Is High
High blood sugars can vary from not-a-big-deal to a life-or-death emergency. Make positive to test your blood sugar typically and monitor for any indicators of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). If you’ve blood sugars which are over 250 md/dL for various hours and you’ve got average to excessive ketones, you have to to hunt emergency medical care instantly. If you don’t have ketones, however need to really feel higher as quickly as potential, strive a few of these techniques:
- Exercise – cardio (a stroll, jog and even leaping jacks) can convey blood sugar down rapidly
- Take a correction bolus of insulin
- Change your pump web site
- Chug water
- Take a hot shower or bath
- Manage stress with a fast yoga sequence or meditation
- Test for ketones (when you’ve got average or excessive ketones and your blood sugar has been excessive for a number of hours, name your physician or go to the emergency room immediately)
Understanding why you’re experiencing excessive blood sugars is another method to enhance your life with diabetes! Always work together with your physician earlier than altering your oral remedy and/or insulin remedy.
Have you ever skilled a thriller, cussed excessive blood sugar? What helped you to get it down rapidly? Share this put up and remark beneath; we love listening to from our readers!
