Hyperglycaemia (high Blood Sugar)
Hyperglycaemia is the medical term for a high blood sugar (glucose) level. It's a common problem for people with diabetes. It can affect people with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes, as well as pregnant women with gestational diabetes. It can occasionally affect people who don't have diabetes, but usually only people who are seriously ill, such as those who have recently had a stroke or heart attack, or have a severe infection. Hyperglycaemia shouldn't be confused with hypoglycaemia, which is when a person's blood sugar level drops too low. This information focuses on hyperglycaemia in people with diabetes. Is hyperglycaemia serious? The aim of diabetes treatment is to keep blood sugar levels as near to normal as possible. But if you have diabetes, no matter how careful you are, you're likely to experience hyperglycaemia at some point. It's important to be able to recognise and treat hyperglycaemia, as it can lead to serious health problems if left untreated. Occasional mild episodes aren't usually a cause for concern and can be treated quite easily or may return to normal on their own. However, hyperglycaemia can be potentially dangerous if blood sugar levels become very high or stay high for long periods. Very high blood sugar levels can cause life-threatening complications, such as: diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) – a condition caused by the body needing to break down fat as a source of energy, which can lead to a diabetic coma; this tends to affect people with type 1 diabetes hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state (HHS) – severe dehydration caused by the body trying to get rid of excess sugar; this tends to affect people with type 2 diabetes Regularly having high blood sugar levels for long periods of time (over months or years) can result in permanent damage to parts Continue reading >>
13 Ways To Lower After-meal Blood Sugars
Learning to lower your post-meal blood sugars is a proven way to feel better and reduce your risk of diabetes complications, explained Gary Scheiner in last week’s “Strike the Spike” program at the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) conference in Philadelphia. As AADE’s Educator of the Year, founder of Integrated Diabetes and long-time type 1, he knows what he is talking about. Today, we will review the strategies that he shared in that program. These fall into two broad categories: slowing down your food and speeding up your insulin. Although it wasn’t mentioned, a thirteenth strategy is of course to eat fewer total carbohydrates during a meal. How Big Is Your Spike? Most people are taught to test their blood sugars two hours after meals. However, this probably doesn’t tell you how high your blood sugars go. When you eat a meal, most people experience their highest blood sugar one hour and twenty minutes after they eat. So Scheiner recommends testing one hour after the end of the meal. What should your goals be? Here are some recommendations from the major diabetes associations: American Diabetes Association – under 180 mg (10 mmol) at 1 to 2 hours after the meal American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists – under 140 mg (7.7 mmol) at peak European Diabetes Policy Group – under 165 (9.2 mmol) at peak In practice, these targets are not very realistic. For those with type 1 diabetes, one study found that only 10% of post-meal blood sugars were below 180 mg (10 mmol). So in practice, Gary talked about the importance of individual targets. For example, he has found that a realistic target for children is striving for a rise under 100 points (5.5 mmol). Talk to your doctor about an appropriate goal for your age and health. Slow Down Yo Continue reading >>
How To Reverse Diabetes Naturally
According to the 2017 National Diabetes Statistics Report, over 30 million people living in the United States have diabetes. That’s almost 10 percent of the U.S. population. And diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, causing, at least in part, over 250,000 deaths in 2015. That’s why it’s so important to take steps to reverse diabetes and the diabetes epidemic in America. Type 2 diabetes is a dangerous disease that can lead to many other health conditions when it’s not managed properly, including kidney disease, blindness, leg and food amputations, nerve damage, and even death. (1) Type 2 diabetes is a completely preventable and reversible condition, and with diet and lifestyle changes, you can greatly reduce your chances of getting the disease or reverse the condition if you’ve already been diagnosed. If you are one of the millions of Americans struggling with diabetes symptoms, begin the steps to reverse diabetes naturally today. With my diabetic diet plan, suggested supplements and increased physical activity, you can quickly regain your health and reverse diabetes the natural way. The Diabetes Epidemic Diabetes has grown to “epidemic” proportions, and the latest statistics revealed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that 30.3 million Americans have diabetes, including the 7.2 million people who weren’t even aware of it. Diabetes is affecting people of all ages, including 132,000 children and adolescents younger than 18 years old. (2) The prevalence of prediabetes is also on the rise, as it’s estimated that almost 34 million U.S. adults were prediabetic in 2015. People with prediabetes have blood glucose levels that are above normal but below the defined threshold of diabetes. Without proper int Continue reading >>
Hyperglycemia: When Your Blood Glucose Level Goes Too High
Hyperglycemia means high (hyper) glucose (gly) in the blood (emia). Your body needs glucose to properly function. Your cells rely on glucose for energy. Hyperglycemia is a defining characteristic of diabetes—when the blood glucose level is too high because the body isn't properly using or doesn't make the hormone insulin. You get glucose from the foods you eat. Carbohydrates, such as fruit, milk, potatoes, bread, and rice, are the biggest source of glucose in a typical diet. Your body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose, and then transports the glucose to the cells via the bloodstream. Body Needs Insulin However, in order to use the glucose, your body needs insulin. This is a hormone produced by the pancreas. Insulin helps transport glucose into the cells, particularly the muscle cells. People with type 1 diabetes no longer make insulin to help their bodies use glucose, so they have to take insulin, which is injected under the skin. People with type 2 diabetes may have enough insulin, but their body doesn't use it well; they're insulin resistant. Some people with type 2 diabetes may not produce enough insulin. People with diabetes may become hyperglycemic if they don't keep their blood glucose level under control (by using insulin, medications, and appropriate meal planning). For example, if someone with type 1 diabetes doesn't take enough insulin before eating, the glucose their body makes from that food can build up in their blood and lead to hyperglycemia. Your endocrinologist will tell you what your target blood glucose levels are. Your levels may be different from what is usually considered as normal because of age, pregnancy, and/or other factors. Fasting hyperglycemia is defined as when you don't eat for at least eight hours. Recommended range without diabet Continue reading >>
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How To Deal With Pre-meal Blood Sugar Spikes
D iabetics all have those challenging days and hours: What do you do if it’s getting close to your meal time and your blood sugar is above 240 mg/dl? High blood sugar before a meal tells you that your liver is making too much glucose and needs to be told to slow down, says the American Diabetes Association (ADA). The signal it needs is insulin. Because it takes time for insulin to be absorbed from the skin, and additional time to reduce the liver’s glucose production, the ADA suggests that you take your usual dose of insulin and wait 60-90 minutes to eat (instead of the usual 30-45). This will allow your blood sugar level to fall toward the normal range before you eat, giving the insulin a “head start.” The goal is not to become low before eating, but to regain control over high blood sugar. An alternative is to take lispro insulin 15-30 minutes before your meal, which should lower your blood sugar more rapidly than regular insulin. Reprinted from 101 Tips for Improving Your Blood Sugar by the University of New Mexico Diabetes Care Team. Copyright by the American Diabetes Association. Used by permission. All rights reserved. If you spend time on social media, why not get your diabetes tips there also? Lifescript has just launched a dedicated type 2 diabetes Facebook page that will offer diabetes tips, recipes, inspiration and more. You’ll get advice, find friends, and discover solutions to everyday living. Come join us! Play Video Play Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% Remaining Time -0:00 This is a modal window. Foreground --- White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan --- Opaque Semi-Opaque Background --- White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan --- Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window --- White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan --- Opaque Semi- Continue reading >>
Stop Spiking Those Sugars!
Many people (and their doctors) use A1C and fasting blood glucose levels to gauge their diabetes control. But those numbers only tell half the story. To prevent organ damage, we also have to keep glucose from spiking after meals. How can we do that? Do You Spike? If you just check your blood glucose levels in the morning and maybe at bedtime, you will miss these spikes. Say your numbers at those times usually run about 125 mg/dl. If your blood sugar levels were like that all day, your A1C would be about 6.0%. But maybe when the doctor tests your A1C, it might be closer to 7.6%. You know then you are spiking after meals high enough to raise your average sugar to 170, which means spiking well over 200. You can find a good calculator for converting A1C to average glucose here. Glucose levels above 140 can lead to inflammation of blood vessels and organs. The higher the spike goes and the longer it lasts, the more damage there is likely to be. With any type of diabetes, we want to get those spikes down, and it takes a lot of monitoring and experimenting to get it right. Gary Scheiner, MS, CDE, who has Type 1, wrote here that for Type 1s, it’s about managing your insulin so that it peaks when blood glucose is peaking and drops off when glucose levels do. You can only do that with fast-acting insulin injections or a pump. But even then, you have to know how much a given meal is likely to raise your sugar to know how much to give and when to give it. Scheiner recommends testing about an hour after completing a meal or snack. That’s when sugar levels tend to be highest. Jenny Ruhl at Diabetes Update says different people and different foods spike differently. So to find the very highest spike, you might have to try different times. “Meals heavy in fat digest more slowly t Continue reading >>
The Blood Sugar Rollercoaster
Controlling your blood sugar levels is absolutely critical to controlling your mood, energy, and motivation. If you’ve ever known someone that is very “Jekyll and Hyde”, there is a very good chance that they are constantly riding what is commonly referred to as the “Blood Sugar Rollercoaster.” Signs that a person is riding the Blood Sugar Rollercoaster They: Fly off the handle for no reason Take things very personally “Don’t wanna hear it” If they are not hyper, they are weepy or depressed Can’t control their actions and emotions What Makes Up Our Blood Sugar? Your blood sugar level is determined by the carbs that you eat. Eating the wrong type of carbs will send you for a ride on the rollercoaster. Eating the right type of carb will keep you safely off the rollercoaster, allowing you to have happy, energetic, and fun moods. So which carbs are the wrong carbs to eat? Let’s first break down carbs into groups. For our purposes, carbohydrates can be separated into 3 groups: Sugar Refined Grains Whole Grains Sugar includes any and all sweets. Candy, milk chocolate, soda pop, flavored coffee drinks, etc. Refined Grains include white flour, white bread, white rice, and other things commonly used to make baked goods, prepackaged foods, and sweets. Whole Grains include 100% whole wheat flour, 100% whole wheat bread, 100% whole wheat pasta, brown rice, quinoa, kasha, farro, and other whole grains. For our purposes, fruit can also be put into the complex category because fruit come packed with fiber, which slows digestion of carbs. Now let’s look at what your body does when you eat carbs: Any time you eat a carbohydrate, your body digests it, converts it into “glucose”, and sends this glucose into your blood. Glucose is what sugar is called once it is in Continue reading >>
Why Blood Sugar Matters
For most of us, even when blood sugar skyrockets after a big meal, our bodies can bring it back to normal in a few hours with no problem. Only people with untreated diabetes have blood sugar levels that stay quite high most of the time. Logically, for a long time, doctors thought that only those people needed to be concerned about the effect of food on blood sugar. Now we know that even in healthy people, high blood sugar after meals can, over time, damage the body, even if it never causes diabetes. In short, it’s no longer just certain people who need to worry about their blood sugar; it’s pretty much everyone. It should concern you even if you’re thin and healthy, and especially if you don’t get much exercise (does that describe you? It describes most people) or you carry extra weight around your middle. By now you’re wondering, “How can I get off the rollercoaster?” Take heart: It’s not that difficult — and we’ll show you how. Later, we’ll get into much more detail about how our diets contribute to unstable blood sugar (hint: foods like white bread, white rice, potatoes, and sugary drinks are major culprits) and which foods can help solve the problem. But for now, let’s take a deeper look at why you should care. When you eat a big meal, especially one with a lot of starchy or sugary foods, the food makes its way through your stomach and intestines and then is converted into glucose, the main fuel for your muscles and even your brain. Voilô, instant energy! But a big starchy meal can give the body more glucose than it needs. In fact, it can raise blood sugar levels twice as much as another, healthier meal would. Most people’s bodies can bring blood sugar down fairly quickly, within an hour or two of eating. The body does this by releasing in Continue reading >>
12 Simple Tips To Prevent Blood Sugar Spikes
Blood sugar spikes occur when your blood sugar rises and then falls sharply after you eat. In the short term, they can cause lethargy and hunger. Over time, your body may not be able to lower blood sugar effectively, which can lead to type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a rising health problem. In fact, 29 million Americans have diabetes, and 25% of them don't even know they have it (1). Blood sugar spikes can also cause your blood vessels to harden and narrow, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. This article looks at 12 simple things you can do to prevent blood sugar spikes. Carbohydrates (carbs) are what cause blood sugar to rise. When you eat carbs, they are broken down into simple sugars. Those sugars then enter the bloodstream. As your blood sugar levels rise, your pancreas releases a hormone called insulin, which prompts your cells to absorb sugar from the blood. This causes your blood sugar levels to drop. Many studies have shown that consuming a low-carb diet can help prevent blood sugar spikes (2, 3, 4, 5). Low-carb diets also have the added benefit of aiding weight loss, which can also reduce blood sugar spikes (6, 7, 8, 9). There are lots of ways to reduce your carb intake, including counting carbs. Here's a guide on how to do it. A low-carb diet can help prevent blood sugar spikes and aid weight loss. Counting carbs can also help. Refined carbs, otherwise known as processed carbs, are sugars or refined grains. Some common sources of refined carbs are table sugar, white bread, white rice, soda, candy, breakfast cereals and desserts. Refined carbs have been stripped of almost all nutrients, vitamins, minerals and fiber. Refined carbs are said to have a high glycemic index because they are very easily and quickly digested by the body. This leads to blood sugar Continue reading >>
Blood Sugar Spikes: Causes, Symptoms, And Prevention
Diabetes is a disease that causes a person's blood sugar to become too high. This can lead to various complications. A person with diabetes must be careful to keep their blood sugar levels under control. Glucose comes from the food we eat. It is the main source of energy for the body. The pancreas secretes substances, including the hormone insulin, and enzymes. Enzymes break down food. Insulin makes it possible for body cells to absorb the glucose we consume. With diabetes, either the pancreas is unable to produce insulin to help the glucose get into the body cells, or the body becomes resistant to the insulin. The glucose stays in the blood instead. This is what raises blood sugar levels. High blood sugar is known as hyperglycemia. Contents of this article: Causes of blood sugar spikes People with diabetes have to be especially careful about keeping their blood sugar levels under control. There are several reasons why blood glucose levels may spike. These are: Sleep: A lack of sleep can be especially bad for people with diabetes, because it can also raise blood sugar levels. One study performed on Japanese men found that getting under 6.5 hours of sleep each night increases a person's risk for high blood glucose levels. Prioritizing healthy sleep and promoting sleep hygiene are good habits for everyone, but especially for people with diabetes. Stress: When under a lot of stress, the body produces hormones that make it difficult for insulin to do its job, so more glucose stays in the bloodstream. Finding a way to keep stress levels down, such as yoga or meditation, is essential for people with diabetes. Exercise: Having a sedentary lifestyle can cause blood sugar levels to go up. In addition, exercise that is too difficult can cause stress and blood glucose levels to ri Continue reading >>
Do Blood Sugar Levels Affect Mood Swings?
Blood sugar levels that become too high or too low can cause a variety of health problems and can even be life-threatening. Mild, moderate and severe blood sugar fluctuations can also affect your mood and behavior. If your blood sugar levels tend to spike and drop and you notice changes, you need to speak with your physician to learn how to keep your blood sugar levels in check. Video of the Day After a meal, the food you eat is broken down into glucose and either used right away for energy or stored for use later on. Glucose is also made by the liver and pancreas. In order for the cells to use glucose, the hormone insulin must be present. If you have diabetes your body either does not produce insulin or cannot use it properly. Without enough insulin your blood sugar levels can get too high. Non-diabetics can also experience fluctuations in blood sugar levels when skipping meals as a side effect of medications or from various other illnesses. Blood sugar levels are considered high if they climb to greater than 100mg/dL, and diabetes is diagnosed when the level reaches 126 mg/dL or more, according to MedlinePlus. A blood sugar level below 70 mg/dL is considered low. Both high and low blood glucose levels can cause a variety of symptoms, including mood swings. Your brain, like all areas of the body, relies on a steady supply of glucose to function properly. If you take too much insulin, skip meals, take certain medications, are extremely physically active or drink too much alcohol, your blood sugar levels can drop too low. A low blood sugar level is called hypoglycemia. Mild cases of low blood sugar can cause you to feel nervous or anxious, while more severe cases can lead to feeling irritable or tired, notes the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. Along with moo Continue reading >>
Dealing With Unexplained Blood Sugar Spikes
You can do everything right to keep your diabetes under control — eat a smart diet, exercise, take medications as prescribed, and follow your doctor’s instructions for blood sugar monitoring — and still wake up in the morning with unexplained blood sugar spikes. Even in people who don’t have diabetes, blood sugars fluctuate constantly, says Linda M. Siminerio, RD, PhD, director of the University of Pittsburgh's Diabetes Institute. But when you have diabetes and wake up with an increase in blood sugar levels, you shouldn’t ignore it. If high blood sugar happens once in a while and you're able to get it under control quickly with insulin or exercise, it may be nothing serious. “Maybe you have high blood sugar in the morning because you went to a party last night and had a bigger piece of birthday cake,” Dr. Siminerio says. “Or it snowed, and you couldn’t go for your morning run the day before.” But if you consistently wake up with blood sugar spikes and don’t know why, you need to investigate the cause. You may need to adjust your diabetes treatment plan, possibly changing your medication. You won’t feel right if you have high blood sugar, a condition known as hyperglycemia, says Anuj Bhargava, MD, president of the Iowa Diabetes and Endocrinology Research Center in Des Moines and founder of My Diabetes Home, an online platform that helps users track their blood sugar and manage their medication. When your blood sugar is too high for a few days or weeks, it can cause more frequent urination, increased thirst, weight loss, blurry vision, fatigue, and nausea. It also can make you more susceptible to infections. When you have high blood sugar for a long time, it can damage the vessels that supply blood to your heart, kidneys, nerves, and eyes, and caus Continue reading >>
Correcting Morning Blood Sugar Highs — Know The Causes Of These Spikes And Ways To Treat Them
Today’s Dietitian Vol. 14 No. 11 P. 18 Jill is frustrated. Her type 1 diabetes seems out of control, and she comes to your office at her wits’ end. She says she’s doing everything right: counting carbs, taking her insulin as prescribed, monitoring her blood glucose levels four times per day. A look at Jill’s testing logs and most recent blood work confirms there’s a problem. She has a hemoglobin A1c of 9.2, and her blood glucose levels are all over the map. Her numbers generally are fine before she goes to bed but incredibly high in the morning. Recently, her physician increased her nighttime basal insulin dose to counteract the morning highs, but things seem worse now than ever. Her breakfast bolus doesn’t seem to be effective, and her high blood glucose levels persist into the afternoon. “Fluctuating blood sugars can be very frustrating,” says Eileen M. Sturner, RD, LDN, CDE, BC-ADM. “RDs can play an important role in helping patients get to the bottom of problems such as morning highs. Working with patients to gather the appropriate data and facilitating the sharing of those data with the healthcare provider that’s managing their diabetes can have life-changing results.” Hyperglycemia In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas can no longer provide either the steady drip of basal insulin that keeps blood sugar levels stable between meals or the bolus release of insulin that directs the uptake of glucose after eating. Patients must take basal insulin to keep their fasting blood sugar levels steady and bolus insulin to match their carbohydrate intake and correct highs. The primary cause of hyperglycemia in type 1 diabetes is carbohydrate intake that isn’t matched with bolus insulin dosing. Perhaps Jill is underreporting her carbohydrate intake, administer Continue reading >>
What To Do When Blood Sugar Spikes
It can be frustrating trying to keep blood sugar levels under control. Day by day, they can fluctuate widely, and they’re not always predictable. Although the greatest danger to people with diabetes is when blood glucose gets too low, it’s also important to take action when blood glucose is high. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to help prevent and treat these unexpected spikes. High blood sugar, also called hyperglycemia, often develops in response to too little insulin or other glucose-lowering medication, or too much food. It’s important to address hyperglycemia. Not only can it cause problems like impaired thinking in the short term, it can increase the risk for serious problems like heart disease, kidney damage, and blindness over time. Here’s what you can do about hyperglycemia. On top of tracking your diet and blood sugar, regular exercise is a key part of managing your diabetes. And while any exercise is better than none, certain activities have specific benefits for people with diabetes. 2017 Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or reprinted without permission from Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc. Use of this information is governed by the Healthgrades User Agreement. Know Your Body Estimating how much your blood sugar will rise or fall in response to a specific meal or snack isn’t always easy. But you can better predict these fluctuations by investigating how your body reacts to food. Closely monitor your food intake, including your favorite foods and meals, for a week or two. If possible, check your blood glucose both before and after you eat. Keep a log of your results and review them to learn when your blood sugar is most likely to spike. Recognize the Symptoms Regularly monitoring your blood Continue reading >>
How To Manage Blood Sugar Spikes After Meals
If you're trying to manage diabetes, you already know it's important to keep track of your blood sugar levels. But how do you handle a spike that comes after you eat? It's called "postprandial" blood glucose, and if you take some simple steps, you can get it under control and help avoid health problems. When your blood sugar is high, you can get symptoms like a foggy-headed feeling that makes it hard to focus or think clearly. Your energy may also take a dive, and you may feel nervous or moody. If your levels go too low, you could even pass out. In the long run, if your blood sugar stays up, you could be at risk for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, or other problems. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends you check your blood sugar levels right before mealtime with a blood sample from a finger stick. Then do it again 1 to 2 hours after that first bite of food. Keep this up for a week or so. Write down the time and the blood sugar number. Make a note about anything you think might affect your levels, like medicine or exercise. And don't forget to log exactly what you ate, along with portion sizes and the amount of carbs. What levels are too high after a meal? Experts vary on what the number should be, but the ADA says a general goal is a blood sugar level under 180 mg/dL, 1 to 2 hours after a meal. Talk to your doctor about what you should aim for, and don't adjust your medicine without speaking to him first. Get medicine that works for you. The right insulin or medication program can make a big difference. In general, to cover after-meal spikes, those that kick in quickly and for a short time are a better choice than ones that work slowly over a long period. Your doctor can explain your options. Keep blood sugar in check before meals. That way, even if Continue reading >>
