8 Signs You Might Have High Blood Sugar
You’ve heard people complain about having low blood sugar before and may have even experienced it yourself. But high blood sugar is also an issue that can a) make you feel like crap and b) cause serious health issues if it happens too often. First, a primer: High blood sugar occurs when the level of glucose (i.e. sugar) in your blood becomes elevated. We get our glucose from food, and most foods we eat impact our blood sugar in one way or another, certified dietitian-nutritionist Lisa Moskovitz, R.D., CEO of NY Nutrition Group, tells SELF. “However, foods that are higher in carbohydrates and sugar, yet lower in fat and fiber, such as baked goods, white-flour breads, soda, and candy usually have a bigger impact on blood sugar levels,” she says. In the short-term, they cause sudden rises in blood sugar (i.e. high blood sugar), which can immediately give you a jolt of energy but will inevitably be followed up by a crash. These foods are also usually not great for you, Moskovitz points out, and can cause excess weight gain, high cholesterol, and bodily inflammation. Having high blood sugar here and there happens, and it will basically just make you feel off. You’ll feel worn-out, headachy, all-around tired, cranky, and may have difficulty concentrating, Jessica Cording, a New York-based R.D., tells SELF. But the major problem lies in having chronically high blood sugar, which can lead to type 2 diabetes, a condition in which your body can’t properly regulate blood sugar. If you get chronic high blood sugar, you’ll also often experience the need to pee frequently, increased thirst, and even have blurred vision, Alissa Rumsey, M.S., R.D., a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, tells SELF. But if you’re not suffering from chronic high blood su Continue reading >>
12 Signs Your Blood Sugar Is Out Of Whack
Blood sugar, or glucose, is one of the best things Mother Nature ever provided us with. It's one component of your body chemistry that helps you feel alive and happy. When glucose is at the right level, you're likely to experience a great attitude, a strong immune system, low stress, and a good night's sleep as well. But when blood sugar gets too high, then "crashes," or falls very low, the effects can be devastating to bodily processes. For this reason, the body strives to maintain blood sugar levels within a narrow range through the coordinated efforts of several glands and their hormones. Understanding Blood Sugar Control After you eat a meal, the sugars in each of the foods you eat raises the level of sugar in your blood. The body responds by secreting insulin — a hormone produced by the pancreas. Insulin lowers blood sugar levels by increasing the rate at which glucose is taken up by cells throughout the body. If you go too long without eating, or eat the wrong (read: "junk") foods, or if your hormones are out of balance, your blood sugar will fall too low. When this happens, your adrenal glands will release adrenalin and cortisol in order to remedy the situation. At this point, you should eat food that will slowly and gradually raise your blood sugar levels again. Most of the time, eating three square meals a day keeps your blood sugar in balance. But when this process gets out of whack, you can find yourself on the blood sugar roller coaster, with no one at the brake switch. How do you know if you're holding a ticket to this invisible junk food ride? 12 Signs Your Blood Sugar Is Out Of Control 1. Your waist is larger than your hips. 2. You find it difficult to lose weight. 3. You crave sweets. 4. You feel infinitely better after you eat. 5. You get irritable if Continue reading >>
What Does It Mean To Have High Blood Sugar?
What is hyperglycemia? Have you ever felt like no matter how much water or juice you drink, it just isn’t enough? Does it seem like you spend more time running to the restroom than not? Are you frequently tired? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have high blood sugar. High blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, primarily affects people who have diabetes. It occurs when your body doesn’t produce enough insulin. It can also happen when your body is unable to absorb insulin properly or develops a resistance to insulin entirely. Hyperglycemia can also affect people who don’t have diabetes. Your blood sugar levels can spike when you’re ill or under stress. This occurs when the hormones that your body produces to fight off illness raise your blood sugar. If your blood sugar levels are consistently high and left untreated, it can lead to serious complications. These complications can involve problems with your vision, nerves, and cardiovascular system. You generally won’t experience any symptoms until your blood sugar levels are significantly elevated. These symptoms can develop over time, so you may not realize that something is wrong at first. Early symptoms can include: increased urinary frequency increased thirst blurred vision headaches fatigue The longer the condition remains untreated, the more serious symptoms can become. If left untreated, toxic acids can build up in your blood or urine. More serious signs and symptoms include: vomiting nausea dry mouth shortness of breath abdominal pain Your diet may cause you to have high blood sugar levels, particularly if you have diabetes. Carbohydrate-heavy foods such as breads, rice, and pasta can raise your blood sugar. Your body breaks these foods down into sugar molecules during digestion. One of these Continue reading >>
Diabetes Symptoms, Signs, And How To Know You Have It | Mens Health
Heres a scary stat: More than 15 million men in the U.S. have diabetesa condition that occurs when your blood sugar is too highbut around a quarter of them dont even know it, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Thats bad news. When left unchecked, the condition can lead to serious complications like heart disease, kidney damage, nerve damage, and vision loss. One of the reasons why so many people end up going untreated is because the symptoms caused by high blood sugar are sneaky. They tend to develop gradually, so you might not realize that youre sick, says Joel Fuhrman, M.D., author of The End of Diabetes . And even when you notice something is off, the signs can be vague, so you might not make the connection to diabetes. Thats why its important to know what to watch for. Here are 7 unexpected signs that your blood sugar levels might be too high. How many do you have? Increased urination is telltale sign that your blood sugar could be out of control. When you have too much glucoseor sugarin your bloodstream, your kidneys try to flush out the extra through your urine, explains Dr. Fuhrman. As a result, you end up having to pee more often than usual , including in the middle of the night. Since youre losing so much fluid, youll probably feel extra thirsty and your mouth will be dry, too, he says. (For more health news delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our Daily Dose newsletter.) Peeing more often means that your body is getting rid of more water than usual, which puts you at risk for dehydration, says Dr. Furhman. That can leave you feeling thirsty and cotton-mouthed, even if it seems like youre drinking the same amount of water as always. Plus, since youre drinking more, that will also make you pee more, too. Fatigue i 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 >>
Questions And Answers - Blood Sugar
Use the chart below to help understand how different test results can indicate pre-diabetes or diabetes Fasting Blood Glucose Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) Random Blood Sugar (taken any time of day with or without fasting) A1C Ideal Result Less than 100mg/dl Less than 140 mg/dl Less than 140 (even after eating a large meal) Less than 5.7% Pre-diabetes 100-125mg/dl 140-199mg/dl 140-200 5.7% to 6.4% Diabetes 126mg/dl and greater 200 mg/dl and greater 200 or greater 6.5% or more Q: I have been told that I have diabetes, or "pre-diabetes", or that I am in the "honeymoon period" . My readings are all over the place: sometimes in the 120's, others in the 90's, sometimes, but rarely in the 150-170's. My doctor does not want to put me on medication yet. I exercise regularly and am not overweight though my diet is variable. I certainly like sweets, pizza, and pasta. What is the long term effect of these continued high blood sugar levels? A: Firstly, kudos for your physician for giving diet/lifestyle changes a chance to work. Reduction of body fat often is the first best start. This may or may not be true in your case but certainly sweets, pizza, etc. are affecting your numbers. If you can discipline yourself at this time to eat unrefined foods and be more active, your beta cells that produce insulin may get the rest they need to become efficient again. Our diabetes management booklet has many referenced foods/supplements that may help to stabilize your glucose levels. In time, your favorite foods may be reintroduced in moderate amounts. You appear to be more in the pre-diabetes range at this time. Complications are a long process. If your daytime levels stay under 120-140, that is good. Fasting levels are higher due to hormonal activity nighttime; these levels are a much sl Continue reading >>
What A Low Blood Sugar Feels Like
Have you seen the video going viral on Facebook right now where four amazing women with type 1 diabetes talk about what low blood sugar feels like? I love this video, and it inspired me to think about what a low blood sugar feels like for me and to put it into words in this post. I think this is particularly useful for friends and family who may not know or understand what it’s like. Please watch the video and consider sharing this post with your loved ones if you feel that it helps explain how you feel when you have a low. No compatible source was found for this media. What low blood sugar feels like Trying to explain a feeling is always hard, and trying to explain something as unique as the feeling of low blood sugar (or hypoglycemia) is even harder. The physical aspects of a low are easier to describe, so let’s start with those. I almost always feel the signs of a low blood sugar before it becomes critical. I’ll feel it when my blood sugar is around 60 mg/dl (3 mmol/l). I’ll start shaking a little, my cognitive function goes out the window, I get weak, and I typically start sweating (these are the most common low blood sugar symptoms). A cup of juice or 2-3 glucose tabs will usually get me right back to normal pretty quickly and I’ll move on with my day. But when I don’t catch my symptoms before they get severe, and my sugars dip lower, then that’s a whole other story. This rarely happens during the day, since I can catch them before they get this bad, but it will sometimes happen in my sleep. I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and know it’s bad if I’ve had a stress dream (things will move excessively fast in my dream or I’ll be caught in a loop of some sort), I’m sweating profusely, and shaking. And then there’s the feeling! It an urge Continue reading >>
Feeling Cold When It's Not Cold
Diabetes Forum The Global Diabetes Community Find support, ask questions and share your experiences. Join the community I've been having a problem lately with feeling cold when it's not (as you might have gathered from the title). I'm sitting in my living room just now, it's 19-20c, I'm wearing a fleece and I still feel cold. I'm not sure if it's been a problem before, but I'm really noticing it now... and I'm wondering if it's diabetes-related. I also felt really weird last night, as if I was having a panic attack or something, but my blood sugar levels were OK (well, higher than they should be, but fairly normal for me), so I don't know what that was about. About your feeling cold all the time, are you underweight? This could make you feel cold. If being cold is diabetes related someone on the forum will have experienced this and will be able to advise you if anything can be done. I have the opposite problem of feeling hot all the time. In the meantime some general advice on looking after your diabetes may be useful so here is some information prepared for new members by the Forum Monitors (even if you are not newly diagnosed) that you might like to read: Here is the advice that Ken and I, as Forum Monitors, usually give to newly diagnosed Diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different. It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars. For more information on CARBOHYDRATE Continue reading >>
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A False Sense Of Hypoglycemia
By Nora Saul, M.S., R.D., C.D.E., Manager of Nutritional Services at Joslin Hypoglycemia is defined as a blood glucose level below 70mg/dl. But many people find that they feel the symptoms of low blood glucose at levels much higher than expected. Some patients have come into my office reporting getting sweaty, hungry and tachycardic at levels in the mid 130s. Symptoms of hypoglycemia are individual, but may include extreme hunger, nervousness, excessive perspiration, rapid heartbeat (tachycardia), headache, fatigue, mood changes, blurred vision and difficulty concentration and completing mental tasks. Extremely low glucose levels can lead to disorientation and convulsions. People who take insulin or some oral medications that cause the pancreas to produce insulin are usually prone to episodes of hypoglycemia. This is especially true if they are attempting to keep their glucose level as close to normal as possible. But, people in poor control can also have hypoglycemic reactions as they swing from high to low glucose levels. False hypoglycemia is usually due to one of two causes. The first can be compared to an incorrectly programmed thermostat. If you usually keep your room at a steamy 85 degrees, 70 degrees might start to feel chilly. People whose blood glucose is often high trick their body into thinking this is normal. If they rapidly bring their blood glucose into the normal range their bodies’ trigger the same autonomic and neurological warnings as if their blood glucose had fallen into the danger zone. Gradually bringing yourself into better control will help accustom your body to lower blood glucose levels. The other cause of pseudo-hypoglycemia occurs when glucose levels drop rapidly in a short time period. This can happen when exercising vigorously and can oc Continue reading >>
What A High Blood Sugar Feels Like
What a High Blood Sugar Feels Like The high blood sugars are what gets me. A high blood sugar is a blood glucose above 140 mg/dL. For me, the symptoms I experience with severe hyperglycemia don’t emerge until well over 250-300 mg/dL. The lows, while urgent and intensely serious are felt differently. I don’t like to compare the two evils but the highs can be just as debilitating and it leaves me feeling depleted. It’s so hard to describe this pain that can’t be seen. I look fine on the outside but inside my body is fighting for energy and I’m suffering from the adverse effects. In these moments all I want to do is cry but I have no tears. I can’t quench my thirst no matter how much water I drink. My whole body aches and I’m staring at the clock waiting for the insulin I’ve given myself to be absorbed; giving my body the relief and nourishment that I desperately need. When my blood sugar is high I despise diabetes the most. When it’s high the minutes and possibly hours it takes for my blood sugar to come down is agonizing. I sit uncomfortably, restless, back and forth to the bathroom checking for ketones and blaming myself. When I know that with diabetes anything is possible. It’s absolutely torturous for anyone to have to go through this. My heads pounding, I’m irritable and utterly exhausted. I feel like I’m being crushed by tons of weight. It feels like syrup is running through my veins. I can’t move. I can’t think. I can’t function properly. I feel useless. These are the moments that I beg and plead to just get back to where I was before the high blood sugar. I become grateful for the bad days that weren’t as bad as this. The high blood sugar could have been caused by a pump malfunction, hormones, stress, illness, wrong dosage, or any n Continue reading >>
Patient Comments: Hyperglycemia - Describe Your Experience
After 20 years with type 2 diabetes which was in recent years brought bang under control using medications (metformin, glitz and sitagliptin) and a strict low glycemic index diet, two months ago it suddenly rose from readings below 7 to above 17. The highest was 26.8. I am now up to 70 units of insulin as well (2 doses). And nothing is working for my hyperglycemia. The consultant said he doesn't know what's wrong; the diabetic nurses treat the symptoms with ever increasing doses of insulin and my general physician isn't sure and wants to leave it to the experts. Meanwhile, I feel awful and am sleeping my life away! I experienced a 3 month period of dry mouth and major weight loss, I still felt fine during this time, though my wife was worried. I went into see my doctor, who ran some blood work. My sugar level was 30 mmol/lt. So next day I saw a diabetes specialist. She shot me up with various Insulin products. Shortly after I lost my sight in one eye and phased out the other. These insulin products increased my already high blood sugars into the high 40s. I decided not to take anything, as it affected me in a really bad way. It took 2 months to regain my sight and still hasn't returned to my perfect vision before I went in. In June my levels have returned to 6 and 7 mmol/lt. I'm thinking it was not diabetes, just a bout of hyperglycemia. Unknown cause as my dietary habits never changed. I now have a serious mistrust of doctors, and unless I'm dying, I don't think I'll be seeing one any time soon. I felt tired, bloated. I can't understand why they say pinworms are not harmful. How can that be! I did not feel the same. Doctors need to be more educated on this. I have been having frequent hyperglycemic attacks with blood glucose levels ranging from 3.8 to 15.7, two hours a Continue reading >>
When Your “normal” Blood Sugar Isn’t Normal (part 1)
In the next two articles we’re going to discuss the concept of “normal” blood sugar. I say concept and put normal in quotation marks because what passes for normal in mainstream medicine turns out to be anything but normal if optimal health and function are what you’re interested in. Here’s the thing. We’ve confused normal with common. Just because something is common, doesn’t mean it’s normal. It’s now becoming common for kids to be overweight and diabetic because they eat nothing but refined flour, high-fructose corn syrup and industrial seed oils. Yet I don’t think anyone (even the ADA) would argue that being fat and metabolically deranged is even remotely close to normal for kids. Or adults, for that matter. In the same way, the guidelines the so-called authorities like the ADA have set for normal blood sugar may be common, but they’re certainly not normal. Unless you think it’s normal for people to develop diabetic complications like neuropathy, retinopathy and cardiovascular disease as they age, and spend the last several years of their lives in hospitals or assisted living facilities. Common, but not normal. In this article I’m going to introduce the three markers we use to measure blood sugar, and tell you what the conventional model thinks is normal for those markers. In the next article, I’m going to show you what the research says is normal for healthy people. And I’m also going to show you that so-called normal blood sugar, as dictated by the ADA, can double your risk of heart disease and lead to all kinds of complications down the road. The 3 ways blood sugar is measured Fasting blood glucose This is still the most common marker used in clinical settings, and is often the only one that gets tested. The fasting blood glucose Continue reading >>
Low Blood Sugar Symptoms But Normal Levels
High blood sugar usually feels bad. Kerri Sparling of the blog Six Until Me said, “It’s a thick feeling in the base of your brain, like someone’s…replaced your gray matter with sticky jam.” Other people report physical symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, headaches, blurry vision, thirst, and frequent urination. These symptoms often drive people to seek help, which is a good thing. Other people can get used to high sugars. They may feel few or no symptoms. That’s not good, because blood vessel damage is still going on, even if you can’t feel it. If your body gets comfortable with higher blood sugars, normal sugars may start to feel bad. A woman named Angela posted to Diabetes Daily, “I feel so crappy when my [blood sugar] is in the 90s…. That seems to be about 50% of the time. Sometimes I test when I’m feeling GOOD and it’s [much higher]…. I want a low A1C, but I don’t want to feel ‘fuzzy’ all the time either.” What is happening is that Angela’s body adjusted to higher sugars. Now she’s getting tighter control, but she’s not used to it. On another site, diabetes educator Janet Mertz explained, “Because your body is accustomed to the higher levels, the lower numbers may now be perceived as too low…. Your body reacts like you’re having low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)…. It generally takes a couple of weeks for the body to adjust to the new, healthier numbers.” Another person wrote on Yahoo! Answers, “When I was diagnosed, my sugar was over 350. I started metformin and eating very little carbohydrate. My levels dropped to the 150s by the end of the week. I wasn’t anywhere near hypoglycemic, but I felt like I was. I had all the signs — dizziness, shakiness, and weakness. Within a couple of weeks, the symptoms disappeared. Continue reading >>
Feeling Bad When Sugar Is In Normal Range | Diabetic Connect
Feeling Bad When Sugar Is In Normal Range feeling bad when sugar is in normal range By Germaine Latest Reply2014-06-13 16:54:23 -0500 why do i feel bad when my glucose is within normal range. i often get a headache or feel like i am having a low. i am type 1 for many years and haven't been controlled very well for few months. seems nothing i do works. I have this same problem. After a bad broken leg, a year later, I had a 500+ sugar rating. Diet didn't change but activity went to nothing. NOW After two years, I find if my sugar goes below 100 (rarely into 80s), I feel terrible and dizzy. I seem to feel the best when I'm in the 150 to 170 range. Doctor still pushing me for the "normal". Oh A1C tends to run 6.8 to 7.2. Again, above normal. listen to your Doc Jeff. 150 to 170 mg/dl range is not good for you as you are well into the above 140 mg/dl complication range. You may have to suffer the low (hypo) symptoms, but eventually after a couple days of normal readings those hypo symptoms would go away. . . . at least they did for my late wife when she had 300 mg/dl readings due to her medicaton induced BG levels. I actually feel the same way I was diagnosed three weeks ago and last week was feeling like my sugars were low, but when I tested they were 'normal.' I'm also thinking that my body got so used to it that now it does think it's low What would concern me is the length of time it's happening. Mine's only been like that for a week or so, but I would probably talk to my doctor if it keeps happening. :) Hey Germaine, first things first - have you talked to your doctor about this? I had something similar, except it was opposite, meaning that when my blood sugar was in good control at first it felt as though my blood sugar was high. I told my doctor and she said that it m Continue reading >>
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What A High Blood Sugar Feels Like.
The American Diabetes Association cites the following symptoms as indicative of high blood sugar: High blood glucose [Editor’s note: Duh] High levels of sugar in the urine Frequent urination Increased thirst And if high blood sugar goes untreated? “Hyperglycemia can be a serious problem if you don’t treat it, so it’s important to treat as soon as you detect it. If you fail to treat hyperglycemia, a condition called ketoacidosis (diabetic coma) could occur. Ketoacidosis develops when your body doesn’t have enough insulin. Without insulin, your body can’t use glucose for fuel, so your body breaks down fats to use for energy. When your body breaks down fats, waste products called ketones are produced. Your body cannot tolerate large amounts of ketones and will try to get rid of them through the urine. Unfortunately, the body cannot release all the ketones and they build up in your blood, which can lead to ketoacidosis.” – ADA website But what does a high blood sugar feel like? Because when you see someone who is working through an elevated blood sugar, they may not look terribly out of sorts. But what is happening inside of them is real, and plays out in a myriad of ways for every person with diabetes. I’ve tried to write about it several times, but each high is different, and affects me in different ways: “It’s a thick feeling in the base of your brain, like someone’s cracked open your head and replaced your gray matter with sticky jam. I find myself zoning out and staring at things, and my eyeballs feel dry and like they’re tethered to my head by frayed ropes instead of optic nerves. Everything is slow and heavy and whipped with heavy cream.” – Oh, High! “There’s something about a high blood sugar that makes my body feel weighted down, l Continue reading >>
