What’s The Deal On Fluctuating Blood Sugars?
What’s the Deal on Fluctuating Blood Sugars? One of the most persistent problems that my patients tell me about when they come in for their first visit is a lack of energy, sometimes followed by explosive bursts of temper, foggy thinking, and other unpleasant effects from eating a diet high in sugars and carbohydrates. Now, these people didn’t come to me to correct their low energy, or quick temper, and often they don’t even know there is a connection between the way they feel and what they eat. But the connection is clear. These patients are on a daily fun-house ride that seems painfully slow at times, then explosively fast at others. In medicine, we know this to be the result of fluctuating blood sugars. You eat pancakes for breakfast, with syrup, you feel like a million until about 10 am when all of a sudden you find yourself sweaty, cranky, irritable and sometimes even faint. So what do you do? Grab a donut and a cup of coffee? I hope not, but that’s often the answer. Then the fun house starts all over again, ultimately plunging you into a dark, scary place which feels like you’ll never get out. What most of these patients came to see me about is overweight and obesity. Many of them have tried punishing diets with almost no protein or fat, often vegetarian, and with such low calories that their body is thrown into a tantrum of fluctuating blood sugars. The Dangers of Blood Sugar Fluctuation A low level of blood sugar, referred to as hypoglycemia, results in an inadequate supply of glucose to the brain and leads to a considerable amount of malfunction. Hypoglycemia can cause a number unpleasant symptoms including fatigue, weakness, dizziness, inability to concentrate, poor memory, anxiety, depression, irritability, heart palpitations and excessive sweating. Continue reading >>
Erratic Blood Glucose Levels
Stress i definitely a factor impacting the results during the run-in period for the disease to develop into a steady state of T1DM. In patients, gluconeogenesis may contribute as much as 60-70% of the glucose handled by their bodies during 24 hours. Hence, stress and gluconeogenesis should be kept to a minimum. Whenever glocose levels alter rapidly, both insulin and stress hormones try to stabilize blood glucose levels as rapid as possible. Hence, there will be "overshoots" in both directions, bringing about large undulations in blood glucose levels. Another method to evaluate the loss of beta-cell function would be to administer glucagon (enhancing blood glucoseand levels) and analyse C-peptide in plasma some 4-8 min thereafter, as a measure of total beta-cell residual activity. This is done to evaluate anti-autoimmune therapy given to patients with T2DM helping the patients to dose both rapidly acting insulin and depot insulin (mimicking phase 2 = not meal-responsive) of insulin secretion. The results with C-peptide is very consistent, giving good statistics for small populations. Relying on blood glucose alone and/or glucose intolerance analysis does not yield statistically valid information unless the T1DM is manifest and that ALL animals have lost some 80-85% of their beta-cells. I feel that average values of random blood glucose levels several times a day is much more reliable (despite the stress experienced by the animals, which is fading away upon more frequent handling) as a parameter to see when the animals reach a steady state levels consistent with T1DM. Continue reading >>
High And Low Blood Sugar Symptoms
Tweet Knowing and understanding the symptoms of high and low blood sugar should be essential for both diabetics and their friends and families. Symptoms of high blood sugar Hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar, is common amongst diabetics. It occurs when a diabetic person eats too much food, and has too little insulin to regulate their blood sugar. Sometimes stress can cause diabetes. Being aware of the following symptoms and staying alert for their presence, whether you are a diabetic or a family member or friend, should be essential: Need for frequent urination Drowsiness Nausea Extreme hunger and/or thirst Blurring of the vision Symptoms of low blood sugar Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, occurs when a diabetic has not eaten enough food, or has too much insulin within his or her body. An excessive amount of exercise can also cause low blood sugar levels. Be aware of low blood sugar symptoms Being aware of the following symptoms and staying alert for their presence, whether you are a diabetic or a family member or friend, should be essential: Shaking Fast heartbeat Sweating Anxiety Dizziness Extreme hunger Weakness and tiredness Irritability Why do these symptoms matter for diabetics? These symptoms are essential for diabetics to understand, because they may encounter high or low blood sugar levels from time to time. A cold or virus can cause sudden high blood sugar levels, and understand the symptoms means knowing how to deal with hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia. People with diabetes who can recognise the symptoms can avoid levels that lead to medical emergencies such as diabetic ketoacidosis. Knowing your high and low blood sugar symptoms allows you to test Once you understand symptoms of high and low blood sugar, it is possible to test quickly and avoid serious proble Continue reading >>
How To Maintain Normal Blood Sugar
If you are one of the millions of people who has prediabetes, diabetes, metabolic syndrome or any other form of “insulin resistance,” maintaining normal blood sugar levels can be challenging. Over the past several decades, these chronic disorders have swept through the U.S. and many other nations, reaching epidemic proportions and causing serious, but often preventable, side effects like nerve damage, fatigue, loss of vision, arterial damage and weight gain. Elevated blood sugar levels maintained for an extended period of time can push someone who is “prediabetic” into having full-blown diabetes (which now affects about one in every three adults in the U.S.). (1) Even for people who aren’t necessarily at a high risk for developing diabetes or heart complications, poorly managed blood sugar can lead to common complications, including fatigue, weight gain and sugar cravings. In extreme cases, elevated blood sugar can even contribute to strokes, amputations, coma and death in people with a history of insulin resistance. Blood sugar is raised by glucose, which is the sugar we get from eating many different types of foods that contain carbohydrates. Although we usually think of normal blood sugar as being strictly reliant upon how many carbohydrates and added sugar someone eats, other factors also play a role. For example, stress can elevate cortisol levels, which interferes with how insulin is used, and the timing of meals can also affect how the body manages blood sugar. (2) What can you do to help avoid dangerous blood sugar swings and lower diabetes symptoms? As you’ll learn, normal blood sugar levels are sustained through a combination of eating a balanced, low-processed diet, getting regular exercise and managing the body’s most important hormones in othe Continue reading >>
What Is Brittle Diabetes?
Brittle diabetes is a severe form of diabetes. Also called labile diabetes, this condition causes unpredictable swings in blood sugar (glucose) levels. These swings can affect your quality of life and even lead to hospitalization. Thanks to advances in diabetes management, this condition is uncommon. However, it can still occur in people with diabetes. In some cases, it’s a sign that your blood sugar is poorly managed. The best way to prevent brittle diabetes is to follow a diabetes care plan created by your doctor. The biggest risk factor for brittle diabetes is having type 1 diabetes. Brittle diabetes occurs mainly in people with type 1 diabetes, and rarely in people with type 2 diabetes. Some doctors classify it as a complication of diabetes, while others consider it a subtype of type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is characterized by high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia). However, your body may have a reaction to insulin, also causing dips in glucose levels. This results in a dangerous “roller coaster” effect. The fluctuation in glucose levels can be rapid and unpredictable, causing dramatic symptoms. In addition to having type 1 diabetes, your risk of brittle diabetes is higher if you: are female have hormonal imbalances are overweight have hypothyroidism (low thyroid) are in your 20s or 30s have a high level of stress on a regular basis have depression Frequent symptoms of low or high blood glucose levels are common indicators of brittle diabetes. People with type 1 or type 2 diabetes can experience these symptoms when their blood sugar levels are off. However, with brittle diabetes, these symptoms occur and change frequently and without warning. Symptoms of very low blood sugar levels include: dizziness weakness irritability extreme hunger trembling hands do Continue reading >>
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Severely Fluctuating Blood Glucose Levels Associated With A Somatostatin-producing Ovarian Neuroendocrine Tumor
A 68-yr-old nondiabetic woman with an ovarian tumor was suffering from hyper- and hypoglycemia. Based on the results of an oral glucose tolerance test and continuous glucose monitoring, we speculated that the fluctuating blood glucose level was accompanied not only by a low insulin level but also by low counter-regulatory hormones levels, and that those broad hormonal suppressions were caused by a high somatostatin level produced in the ovarian tumor. We performed an oophorectomy and assessed the pathology of the tumor and changes in the blood glucose profile as well as hormonal levels postoperatively. The blood glucose level was completely normalized after the oophorectomy. Insulin secretion was also normalized. Histological examination showed that the tumor comprised a mature cystic teratoma and a stromal carcinoid. Immunohistochemically, the stromal carcinoid component was positive for somatostatin. The somatostatin level was 8505 pmol/liter preoperatively, which dropped down to 71.5 pmol/liter postoperatively. We found two previous reports of somatostatin-producing ovarian neuroendocrine tumors. Somatostatin levels among cases of ovarian origin were much higher than those among cases of gastrointestinal origins, and cases of ovarian origin all experienced blood glucose fluctuations. A 14-yr-old girl presented with left hip pain showing bilateral metaphyseal bone collapse accompanied with posterior-inferior displacement of capital femoral epiphyses after 2.5 yr of GH treatment. Blood chemistry, showing high levels of alkaline phosphatase and PTH, and a transiliac bone biopsy, indicating severe osteomalacia with osteitis fibrosa, along with serial computed tomography images of the hips from the presymptomatic stage, led to accurate diagnosis and successful treatment b Continue reading >>
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Relationship Between Fluctuations In Glucose Levels Measured By Continuous Glucose Monitoring And Vascular Endothelial Dysfunction In Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Go to: Abstract Fluctuations in blood glucose level cause endothelial dysfunction and play a critical role in onset and/or progression of atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that fluctuation in blood glucose levels correlate with vascular endothelial dysfunction and that this relationship can be assessed using common bedside medical devices. Fluctuations in blood glucose levels were measured over 24 hours by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) on admission day 2 in 57 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The reactive hyperemia index (RHI), an index of vascular endothelial function, was measured using peripheral arterial tonometry (EndoPAT) on admission day 3. The natural logarithmic-scaled RHI (L_RHI) correlated with SD (r=−0.504; P<0.001), the mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE) (r=−0.571; P<0.001), mean postprandial glucose excursion (MPPGE) (r=−0.411; P=0.001) and percentage of time ≥200 mg/dl (r=−0.292; P=0.028). In 12 patients with hypoglycemia, L_RHI also correlated with the percentage of time at hypoglycemia (r=−0.589; P=0.044). L_RHI did not correlate with HbA1c or fasting plasma glucose levels. Furthermore, L_RHI did not correlate with LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels or with systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Finally, multivariate analysis identified MAGE as the only significant determinant of L_RHI. Fluctuations in blood glucose levels play a significant role in vascular endothelial dysfunction in type 2 diabetes. Keywords: Atherosclerosis, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Endothelium, Glucose, Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) Multivariate stepwise regression analysis with L_RHI as the dependent variable and age, gender, BMI, duration of the disease, Hypoglycemic agents, Antihypertensive drugs, Lipid-lowering dru Continue reading >>
Can Fasting Glucose Levels Or Post-breakfast Glucose Fluctuations Predict The Occurrence Of Nocturnal Asymptomatic Hypoglycemia In Type 1 Diabetic Patients Receiving Basal-bolus Insulin Therapy With Long-acting Insulin?
Abstract To investigate whether the occurrence of nocturnal asymptomatic hypoglycemia may be predicted based on fasting glucose levels and post-breakfast glucose fluctuations. The study subjects comprised type 1 diabetic patients who underwent CGM assessments and received basal-bolus insulin therapy with long-acting insulin. The subjects were evaluated for I) fasting glucose levels and II) the range of post-breakfast glucose elevation (from fasting glucose levels to postprandial 1- and 2-hour glucose levels). The patients were divided into those with asymptomatic hypoglycemia during nighttime and those without for comparison. Optimal cut-off values were also determined for relevant parameters that could predict nighttime hypoglycemia by using ROC analysis. Results 64 patients (mean HbA1c 8.7 ± 1.8%) were available for analysis. Nocturnal asymptomatic hypoglycemia occurred in 23 patients (35.9%). Fasting glucose levels (I) were significantly lower in those with hypoglycemia than those without (118 ± 35 mg/dL vs. 179 ± 65 mg/dL; P < 0.001). The range of post-breakfast glucose elevation (II) was significantly greater in those with hypoglycemia than in those without (postprandial 1-h, P = 0.003; postprandial 2-h, P = 0.005). The cut-off values determined for relevant factors were as follows: (I) fasting glucose level < 135 mg/dL (sensitivity 0.73/specificity 0.83/AUC 0.79, P < 0.001); and (II) 1-h postprandial elevation > 54 mg/dL (0.65/0.61/0.71, P = 0.006), 2-h postprandial elevation > 78 mg/dL (0.65/0.73/0.71, P = 0.005). Nocturnal asymptomatic hypoglycemia was associated with increases in post-breakfast glucose levels in type 1 diabetes. Study findings also suggest that fasting glucose levels and the range of post-breakfast glucose elevation could help predict the oc Continue reading >>
High And Low Blood Sugar Issues
Blood sugar concentrations or blood glucose levels are the amount of sugar or glucose present in your blood stream. Your body naturally regulates blood sugar (glucose) levels as a part your body”s metabolic processes. Glucose or sugar is the primary energy mechanism for cells and blood lipids. Glucose or blood sugar is transported from your intestines or liver to the cells in your body via the bloodstream. The absorption of glucose is promoted by insulin or the hormone produced in the pancreas. If your sugar levels are not balanced you may have high or low blood sugar issues. Low sugar issues are hypoglycemia and high blood sugar indicates that you have hyperglycemia or hyperglycemia symptoms. High or low blood sugar levels cause different problems. Low blood sugar levels can cause dementia, comas or death. High blood sugar is a major cause of damage to your body”s internal organs. Low Blood Sugar Low blood sugar or hypoglycemia indicates the level of glucose in your blood has dramatically dropped below what your body need to function. When your blood sugar drops below 70 milligrams per deciliter symptom will develop. You may feel tired and anxious or weak and shaky. Your heart rate may be rapid and you feel as if you are having a heart attack. Eating something sugary will bring your sugar levels back to normal almost immediately and symptoms will subside. Sugar levels that are below 40 mg/dL cause you to have behavior changes. You may feel very irritable and become weak and confused. You may not realize you need to eat to raise your blood sugar levels. Blood sugar levels below 20 mg/dL will most certainly cause a loss of consciousness or perhaps you will experience seizures. You will need medical care immediately. Hypoglycemia symptoms happen very quickly. If you a Continue reading >>
20 Reasons For Blood Sugar Swings
Upswing: Caffeine Your blood sugar can rise after you have coffee -- even black coffee with no calories -- thanks to the caffeine. The same goes for black tea, green tea, and energy drinks. Each person with diabetes reacts to foods and drinks differently, so it's best to keep track of your own responses. Ironically, other compounds in coffee may help prevent type 2 diabetes in healthy people. Many of these will raise your blood sugar levels. Why? They can still have plenty of carbs from starches. Check the total carbohydrates on the Nutrition Facts label before you dig in. You should also pay attention to sugar alcohols such as sorbitol and xylitol. They add sweetness with fewer carbs than sugar (sucrose), but they may still have enough to boost your levels. One study found that people with type 2 diabetes who switched to a vegan (or all vegetable-based) diet had better blood sugar control and needed less insulin. A boost in fiber from whole grains and beans might play a role, by slowing down the digestion of carbs. But scientists need more research to know if going vegan really helps diabetes. Talk to your doctor before you make major diet changes. Blood sugar can dip dangerously low during shut-eye for some people with diabetes, especially if they take insulin. It's best to check your levels at bedtime and when you wake up. A snack before bed may help. For some people, blood sugar can rise in the morning -- even before breakfast -- due to changes in hormones or a drop in insulin. Regular testing is important. One option is a continuous blood glucose monitor, which can alert you to highs and lows. Physical activity is a great health booster for everyone. But people with diabetes should tailor it to what they need. When you work out hard enough to sweat and raise your h Continue reading >>
Top Reasons Why Blood Sugar Levels Fluctuate In Our Body
As a diabetic, you know that you need to keep your blood sugar levels balanced throughout the day. You have been taking care of what you eat; you have been walking and being physically active and not missing a dose of your medication. Yes! That should take care of the blood sugar levels. Few random checks may reveal something altogether unexpected. Your blood sugar levels have been doing crazy stuff while you were assured that it is under control. Perplexed? Well, there is a surprise in store for you. Other than the known facts, that can play havoc with your blood sugar levels; there are loads of other things that can play spoilsport for you sugar levels. Here are the 20 reasons that might be the culprit for the ever changing blood sugar levels. Read on to know more: Infection: Flu, cough, cold and other infections can increase the blood sugar levels in your body by at least 75 mg/dl. A high blood sugar level means more vulnerability to chronic infections. Tea, coffee, energy drinks and sugar levels: Caffeine is found to increase the blood sugar levels, even if your tea and coffee is without milk and sugar. Energy, soft, sports drinks are not good for your blood sugar level. Getting dehydrated: In case you are sweating too much or suffering from diarrhoea, you might have high sugar levels in the blood. This is because the body does not have adequate fluid to dilute the sugars. Periods and menopause: The hormonal changes that are responsible for periods and menopause can affect your blood sugar levels as well. It will depend on individuals on how their body reacts to blood sugar levels with hormonal changes. Travelling in different time zones: Your body’s biological clock goes all upside down when you travel to different time zones. This affects the blood sugar levels Continue reading >>
The Cause Of Fluctuating Blood Sugar Levels In Diabetics
The small electrode is only allowed to just brush against the surface of the cell so it must be controlled extremely carefully under the microscope. Tiny, tiny steps. Only 0.1 of a micron at a time. When the electrode finally makes contact the surface of the cell bends inwards. Then - quite suddenly – the electrode fuses with the cell and measurement can begin. This technique allows us to register extremely small flows of current through the cell’s ion channels, says Patrik Rorsman, Professor of Diabetic Medicine at the University of Oxford in England and newly appointed to an ‘Excellent Researcher’ position at the Sahlgrenska Academy. The method he uses is called patch-clamp. Thanks to the technique he has managed to develop basic knowledge of how the body regulates sugar levels in the blood. It is a delicate tightrope act that is first and foremost controlled by the hormones insulin and glucagon. Insulin ensures that the levels fall while glucagon makes them rise. But the fact that Patrik Rorsman entered research at all, and that he has devoted himself to studying the behavior of these particular hormones is due to pure chance. Let’s tell the story from the beginning. A bad conscience opens up new possibilities When researchers Bert Sakmann and Erwin Neher successfully measured small currents passing through individual cells in 1982, the news spread fast in the cellular biology world. It was quickly realized that this was a major breakthrough. For example, it was suddenly possible to measure the currents that cause nerve signals to be transmitted in our bodies. Young researchers from around the world wanted to visit the laboratory in Germany and join in the gold-digging. But few of them were able to pass the eye of the needle. Patrik Rorsman, on the other ha Continue reading >>
What You Can Do To Stop The Blood Sugar Rollercoaster
If you find that your blood sugars often fluctuate from too high to too low (and vice versa), you’re on the blood sugar rollercoaster. To learn how to eliminate the extremes, you’ll have to do a little sleuthing on your own. Get out your blood glucose meter, and for a week try testing before and after a variety of meals, activities, and destressors to figure out what’s making it go up and down to stop it for good! Your blood sugars are affected by a large number of things, including what you ate (especially refined “white” carbohydrates), how long ago you ate, your starting blood glucose level, physical activity, mental stress, illness, sleep patterns, and more. If you take insulin and use it to treat highs, you can easily end up overcompensating and developing low blood sugars. If you develop a low, it’s easy to overeat and end up high again. Large fluctuations in blood sugars may make you feel cruddy and are bad for your long-term health, so it’s time to learn how to stop the rollercoaster! Physical Activity Effects: During this week, your goal is to do at least 30 minutes of physical activity on three days at varying times of day, and check and record your blood glucose levels before and after the activity. Physical Activity Trial #1: For this first activity, pick one that you normally do (like walking or cycling) and try to do it at your usual time of day. Check and record your blood sugar immediately before starting and within an hour of completing the 30 minutes of activity. You will find that your body responds differently to varying types of physical activities, particularly when the time of day varies as well. If you exercise first thing in the morning (before breakfast and medications), it is not unusual to experience a modest increase in blood s Continue reading >>
10 Surprising Causes Of Blood Sugar Swings You Probably Didn’t Know
1 / 11 What Causes Blood Sugar to Rise and Fall? Whether you were recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or have been living with the disease for several years, you know how fickle blood sugar levels can be, and how important it is that they stay controlled. Proper blood sugar control is key for helping ward off potential diabetes complications, such as kidney disease, nerve damage, vision problems, stroke, and heart disease, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). If you keep your levels in check on a daily basis, it will help you stay energized, focused, and in a good mood. You’ll know if your diabetes is poorly controlled if you experience symptoms such as frequent urination, sores that won’t heal, blurred vision, and unexplained weight loss. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), proper medication, effective meal planning, regular exercise, and use of a blood glucose meter to track your numbers routinely can all help you keep your levels within a healthy range. The ADA recommends blood glucose be 80 to 130 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) before meals, and below 180 mg/dL two hours after the start of a meal. Furthermore, the organization recommends getting an A1C test, which measures your average blood glucose over the past two to three months, at least twice per year if your levels are stable and you are meeting treatment goals. Learning how different habits can cause your blood sugar to fluctuate can help you better predict how your levels will swing. You may be more likely to experience hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar if you have advanced-stage diabetes, according to the ADA. Meanwhile, high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, may be caused by factors such as not using enough insulin or other diabetes medication, not following a prop Continue reading >>
Normal Blood Glucose
[Science of Diabetes] One of the most common questions asked by people with diabetes is: "What are normal blood sugar levels?" Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer to this question, because it depends on how you define normal. It’s like deciding when someone is rich or poor, tall or short, thin or fat, or young or old. Most people would agree that a very skinny person was thin and a very fat person was fat. But how about the sizes in between? When does underweight become normal and when does normal become overweight? It’s all a matter of definitions and cutoff points set by one group or another. The definitions of normal, prediabetes, and diabetes are usually made by august committees of diabetes experts, and they change from time to time. For example, not too long ago, it was decided that you’re diabetic if your fasting BG level is 126 mg/dL [to convert to mMol/L, divide by 18] or higher, instead of the previous cutoff of 140. There are some guidelines about "nondiabetic" BG levels, for instance, "Nondiabetics never go over 140 mg/dL, no matter what they eat, and return to premeal levels in 2 or 3 hours" or "Nondiabetic fasting levels are 70 to 100 mg/dL." Textbooks that plot BG levels during the day in diabetic and nondiabetic individuals often show the nondiabetic levels as ranging from about 80 mg/dL before meals to close to 100 after some meals and about 120 after the largest meal of the day. However, real life doesn’t always correspond to the textbooks. Some nondiabetic people, especially young, fit persons, keep their BG levels much more stable than that. Many people with diabetes have used their home meters to measure their nondiabetic spouses and friends. Some find that the nondiabetic family members stay in the 80s no matter what they eat. Others Continue reading >>
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- Postprandial Blood Glucose Is a Stronger Predictor of Cardiovascular Events Than Fasting Blood Glucose in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Particularly in Women: Lessons from the San Luigi Gonzaga Diabetes Study
- What Is a Normal Blood Sugar Level?
