My Blood Sugar Is Over 200 What Should I Do

Am I Diabetic? How To Test Your Blood Sugar To Find Out

If you have not been diagnosed with diabetes but suspect you might have something wrong with your blood sugar, there is a simple way to find out. What you need to do is to test your blood sugar after you have eaten a meal that contains about sixty grams of carbohydrates. You can ask your doctor to test your blood sugar in the office if you have an appointment that takes place an hour or two after you've eaten or, if this isn't an option, you can use an inexpensive blood sugar meter to test your post-meal blood sugar yourself at home. You do not need a prescription to buy the meter or strips. One advantage of testing yourself at home is that with self-testing you do not run the risk of having a "diabetes" diagnosis written into your medical records which might make it impossible for you to buy health or life insurance. To run a post-meal blood sugar test do following: Borrow a family member's meter or buy an inexpensive meter and strips at the drug store or Walmart. The Walmart Relion meter store brand meters sold at pharamcies like CVS, Walgreens, etc are usually the least expensive. Some meters come with 10 free strips. Check to see if the meter you have bought includes strips. If it doesn't, buy the smallest package size available. Strips do not keep for very long once opened, so don't buy more than you need for a couple tests. Familiarize yourself with the instructions that came with your meter so that you know how to run a blood test. Practice a few times before you run your official test. Each meter is different. Be sure you understand how yours works. The first thing in the morning after you wake up but before you have eaten anything, test your blood sugar. Write down the result. This is your "fasting blood sugar." Now eat something containing at 60 - 70 grams of Continue reading >>

Treating High Blood Sugar - Topic Overview

If you have diabetes, your doctor will give you blood sugar goals and recommendations for treating high blood sugar. Here are some general guidelines. Follow these steps if blood sugar is over the target range set by your doctor, for example, over 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) for two or more readings a few hours apart. If the usual dose of diabetes medicine was missed, give the missed dose. If the doctor has prescribed a dose of fast-acting insulin based on the blood sugar level (sliding scale), give the appropriate dose. If not, call the doctor for advice. Test for ketones, if the doctor has advised you to do so. If the results of the ketone test show a moderate-to-large amount of ketones, call the doctor for advice. Wait 30 minutes after giving the extra insulin or the missed medicine. Check the blood sugar again. Extra liquids are needed to replace the fluids lost through the urine. Water and sugar-free drinks are best. If symptoms of high blood sugar become more noticeable or if the blood sugar level continues to rise, call the doctor. If your child's blood sugar continues to rise, for example, above 240 mg/dL, and if he or she starts to feel drowsy or loses consciousness, take your child to an emergency room or call or other emergency services immediately. Stay with your child until emergency help arrives. For adults, if you start to feel drowsy or disoriented or if your blood sugar continues to rise, for example, above 350 mg/dL, call or other emergency services immediately. It's best to have someone with you if your blood sugar is this elevated so that the person can call for you. Follow these steps if blood sugar is extremely high, for example, over 400 mg/dL in a child or over 600 mg/dL in an adult. Some blood sugar meters read only levels up to about 4 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 >>

When “normal” Blood Sugar Isn’t Normal (part 2)

In the last article I explained the three primary markers we use to track blood sugar: fasting blood glucose (FBG), oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and hemoglobin A1c (A1c). We also looked at what the medical establishment considers as normal for these markers. The table below summarizes those values. In this article, we’re going to look at just how “normal” those normal levels are — according to the scientific literature. We’ll also consider which of these three markers is most important in preventing diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Marker Normal Pre-diabetes Diabetes Fasting blood glucose (mg/dL) <99 100-125 >126 OGGT / post-meal (mg/dL after 2 hours) <140 140-199 >200 Hemoglobin A1c (%) <6 6-6.4 >6.4 But before we do that, I’d like to make an important point: context is everything. In my work with patients, I never use any single marker alone to determine whether someone has a blood sugar issue. I run a full blood panel that includes fasting glucose, A1c, fructosamine, uric acid and triglycerides (along with other lipids), and I also have them do post-meal testing at home over a period of 3 days with a range of foods. If they have a few post-meal spikes and all other markers or normal, I’m not concerned. If their fasting BG, A1c and fructosamine are all elevated, and they’re having spikes, then I’m concerned and I will investigate further. On a similar note, I’ve written that A1c is not a reliable marker for individuals because of context: there are many non-blood sugar-related conditions that can make A1c appear high or low. So if someone is normal on all of the other blood sugar markers, but has high A1c, I’m usually not concerned. With all of that said, let’s take a look at some of the research. Fasting blood sugar According to cont Continue reading >>

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 >>

How To Get Blood Glucose Below 200

1 Eat a controlled amount of carbohydrates at each meal and snack. Carbohydrates cause your blood sugar to increase after meals. Eating large quantities could contribute to a blood glucose result over 200. According to the American Diabetes Association, limiting carbohydrates to 45 to 60 grams per meal is a good place start for most people with elevated blood glucose. Consult a registered dietitian for a tailored meal plan. 2 Record your food intake throughout the day after each meal or snack. This information allows you to correlate your food intake with when your blood glucose level rises above 200. You can then make changes to your eating habits to lower your blood sugar. Include the portion size, total grams of carbohydrates and the time of day you ate. 3 Monitor your blood glucose throughout the day if you have a glucose meter for home use. Record this information along with your food intake. Checking your glucose level two to four hours after a meal helps you better understand the influence food has on your blood sugar. Take note of what you ate when your blood glucose rose above 200; these are areas to make changes in. 4 Decrease your carbohydrate intake slightly and observe the effect on your blood glucose. Typically decreasing carbohydrate intake decreases blood glucose after meals. For example, if you currently eat 70 grams of carbohydrates per meal and you experience a glucose level over 200 after meals, decrease your carbohydrate intake to 60 grams per meal and note any decrease in blood glucose. 5 Choose complex carbohydrate sources instead of simple or refined carbohydrates to lower your blood glucose below 200. Complex carbohydrates from whole foods, such as beans, vegetables and whole grains, contain dietary fiber, which may slow the absorption of sugar Continue reading >>

High Blood Sugar After Exercise?

back to Overview Markus, one of our great German-language authors, wrote about struggling with high blood sugar after exercise. I know it's a common problem, and one I've struggled with personally, so I want to make sure you get to see it, too. From Markus Berndt: It’s one of the first recommendations you get after being diagnosed with diabetes. “Get active, do more exercise, it’s good for you!” And since we’ve been a child we’ve heard that exercise is healthy. If we do it consistently we’re rewarded, literally, with an awesome beach body. Adding exercise into our day is also good for our diabetes. We’re taught that exercise lowers blood sugar, right? But can the opposite also be true? Can you have high blood sugar after exercise? Up close We now know that physical activity usually lowers blood sugar because it reduces how much insulin is needed to move sugar into the cells. While, in the past, most experts advised frequent training intervals at moderate intensity, but recent studies have shown that even short, intense workouts are very effective. For example, a 15-minute intense weight training lowered blood sugar even more than what’s seen in some endurance training. So activity lowers blood sugar – but not always! Personally, I experienced this very early on and was extremely irritated! I just learned that exercise lowers blood sugar, but an intense 45-minute run consistently resulted in higher blood sugars than when I started! What in the world? At first, I was confused and felt like I didn’t understand the world anymore. Then it was more of a “would you look at this?” kind of thing. And finally, I was determined to figure out what was happening. I knew there had to be an explanation. Why does exercise sometimes raise blood sugar? Exercise Continue reading >>

What Are The Consequences Of Having A Blood Sugar Level Over 300?

Diabetes (diabetes mellitus) is now regarded as a global health problem and can say this is a pandemic of human faces. This is especially true in the treatment of both in terms of number of users and sick, and the complications experienced by people with the disease. What is the danger? A large part of medical research has shown that diabetes have blood glucose dangerous areas. That's when your blood sugar is too low or too high. Low blood glucose above 60 mg / dl can lead to coma and even death higher blood glucose level 180mg / dl can be more damage to the vital organs of the body such as the heart, blood vessels, cause eyes, kidneys and nerves. On average there are 10 persons 8 persons with diabetes, heart disease and up to 75% of deaths in patients with type 2 diabetes are related to cardiovascular diseases, mainly as a result of myocardial infarction and cerebral stroke. Diabetic nephropathy is the most common cause of end-stage renal failure and diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness. Dangerous areas of diabetes as a concept is not new to doctors but also patients with diabetes are a lot of people do not know or have known, but did not understand the importance and significance of this concept. The biggest obstacle in the successful treatment of diabetes today is not due to lack of equipment, drugs, lack of processors or the lack of specialist that the subjective and lack of understanding of the disease. There are many people in spite of warning, but still have not seen all the dangers of diabetes as "not found" no complications. Therefore, they are less concerned had their blood sugar, need to change the lifestyle of how the disease under control. As a result of ignorance about the disease, so this little visit and test artery, perhaps 2-3 months Continue reading >>

13 Natural And Easy Ways To Lower Your Blood Sugar

Being diagnosed with Type II diabetes can be a bummer, and it can be a struggle to keep blood sugars under control. Sometimes, you may find yourself with blood sugar levels that are higher than normal (let's say around 150, for example), but not excessive enough to necessitate taking more medication. You don't feel very good with the higher blood sugar, but taking medication can make your blood sugar TOO low. So what can you do to lower your blood sugar up to 40 points without taking more medication? Try the following these 13 tips and see if you can lower your blood sugar naturally. (See also: How to Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes) Health Disclaimer: As always, you need to be careful to monitor your sugar levels so as not to become hypoglycemic (that's when your blood sugar is too low, which is dangerous). Talk to your physician before making any changes to your diet. And remember, these 13 tips for lowering blood sugar may work for many people, but they won't work for everyone. Carb Intake Carbs are basically sugar, and everybody should make an effort to control their intake, especially diabetics. 1. Cut Back the Carbs Effects seen: Immediate Your diet is something you want to talk to your physician about, but the simple fact is that a lower carb diet makes it easier to maintain stable blood sugar levels. It's part of why you're hearing so much about the Paleo Diet these days. Carbohydrates are found in starchy foods — root vegetables, grains, rice, and legumes — and all of their derivatives, like bread, pasta, sushi, French fries, mashed yams, and even lentil soup. As someone who has been diabetic for nearly 20 years, I can attest that eating a diet low in carbohydrates, but rich in leafy greens, nuts, dark fruits like berries, and lean meats has had an amazing eff Continue reading >>

How To Get Quick Control Over Your Diabetes

High Sugar Level in Just One Week! How I Lowered My Diabetic High Blood Sugar From 399 mg/dl to 112 mg/dl in Just One Week! UPDATE: In January of 2017 I weighed 215 pounds. Today is June 7th and I weighed 150.2 today!!! Amen! I've lost 65 pounds in just a few months!!! Here's a ukulele video I made last month, showing before and after. My sugar last year was 399 mg/dl, but is now 75 mg/dl. My mmol/L was 9.8 last year, but was 6.7 two months ago when I weighed 185. My doctor said my diabetes is all GONE! I've lost another 35 pounds and am now 150 pounds. I'll get my glucose tested again in a couple weeks, which should be 5 point something. My friend, LOSE WEIGHT if you want to get rid of the type II diabetes. I explain in the video and notes how I lost so much weight. I DIDN'T take any diabetes drugs!!! I DIDN'T take any pills or follow anyone's quack diet plan. I simply limited my daily calories to 1,000 or less, and walked a couple hours a day, here a little and there a little. Drink only water. Eat big salads (with hardly any dressing) and stay away from processed and breaded foods. Eat tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, AND FAST A DAY OR TWO EACH WEEK, eating nothing! Don't let people tell you it's unhealthy to eat under 1,000 calories a day. It depends what you're eating. Losing your feet to diabetes is MUCH WORSE! Americans are plagued with “SITTING DISEASE,” sedentary, gluttons and lazy. If you are type II diabetic, like me, this may perhaps be the most important article you ever read concerning your health. I can help you tremendously! I have nothing to sell. I am a born-again Christian and I want to help as many people as I can. You'll love me after reading this article if you have type II diabetes. But before I begin, please understand that I am not a profession Continue reading >>

About Diabetes

Diabetes is a high sugar (glucose) level in your blood. It is often diagnosed in people without symptoms, but classic symptoms are feeling very thirsty, urinating frequently, and losing weight despite eating high quantities of food. Your doctor can diagnose diabetes with a blood test. If a fasting (no food for over eight hours) sugar in your doctor’s office is greater than 126, random sugar greater than 200, or average blood sugar over three months (hemoglobin A1c) is greater than 6.5%, this may suggest the diagnosis of diabetes. Your doctor will likely repeat the blood test to confirm the diagnosis. What problems can a high blood sugar cause? High sugar levels can damage body organs and cause tissue damage. As a result, complications can occur such as nerve damage, heart attacks, strokes, peripheral vascular disease (causing leg pain and ulcers in the feet), cataracts, loss of vision and kidney damage. High sugar passes through the kidneys and causes an increased volume of urine, which can lead to increased thirst. Although the sugar is high in the blood, it cannot be used for energy by the body, which is the reason that people with poorly controlled diabetes may lose weight ("starvation in the midst of plenty"). Why do diabetics have an elevated fasting morning blood sugar if they have not been eating all night? The rise in sugar after meals comes primarily from the carbohydrates in the diet. However, the fasting blood sugar (the glucose level which is measured in the morning before breakfast, after an overnight fast) comes from the liver. The liver stores sugar in the form of starch (glycogen). The liver normally releases sugar (which becomes available when the starch is broken down in the liver) during the night to prevent the blood sugar from going too low during Continue reading >>

What Is The Normal Range For Blood Sugar Levels, And What Blood Sugar Level Constitutes A True Emergency?

Question:What is the normal range for blood sugar levels, and what blood sugar level constitutes a true emergency? Answer:Now, in a normal individual we measure blood sugar under different circumstances. What we call fasting blood sugar or blood glucose levels is usually done six to eight hours after the last meal. So it's most commonly done before breakfast in the morning; and the normal range there is 70 to 100 milligrams per deciliter. Now when you eat a meal, blood sugar generally rises and in a normal individual it usually does not get above a 135 to 140 milligrams per deciliter. So there is a fairly narrow range of blood sugar throughout the entire day. Now in our diabetic patients we see both low blood sugar levels that we call hypoglycemia, or elevated blood sugars, hyperglycemia. Now, if the blood sugar drops below about 60 or 65 milligrams per deciliter, people will generally get symptoms, which are some shakiness, feeling of hunger, maybe a little racing of the heart and they will usually be trenchant or if they eat something, it goes away right away. But if blood sugar drops below 50 and can get down as low as 40 or 30 or even 20, then there is a progressive loss of mental function and eventually unconsciousness and seizures. And of course that is very dangerous and a medical emergency. On the other side, if blood sugar gets up above 180 to 200, then it exceeds the capacity of the kidneys to reabsorb the glucose and we begin to spill glucose into the urine. And if it gets way up high, up in the 400s or even 500s, it can be associated with some alteration in mental function. And in this situation, if it persists for a long time, we can actually see mental changes as well. So either too low or very exceedingly high can cause changes in mental function. Next: W Continue reading >>

Could Slightly High Blood Sugar Cause Neuropathy?

My glucose levels usually run between 120 and 135 with a nonfasting blood test, though do not have a diagnosis of diabetes. I suffer greatly with my feet and been told by a podiatrist that it is neuropathy. Is it possible that my high glucose levels are causing the neuropathy? Dear Terry, Thanks for your question. I like to think of blood glucose values as a spectrum of numbers with no clear cutoff between nondiabetic and diabetic. In similar manner there is a gray area of blood glucose that defines pre-diabetes. Many people use blood sugar and blood glucose interchangeably. The definition of diabetes has changed over time. The numbers you quote might very well be considered diagnostic of diabetes today whereas they were not 20 years ago. In 1997, the American Diabetes Association definition of normal blood glucose decreased from 120 to 110 mg/dL (6.1 mmol/L). In 2002, the American Diabetes Association defined a normal fasting blood glucose as less than 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L). Today we consider fasting blood sugars of 100 mg/dl to 125mg/dl to be in the realm of glucose intolerance which is sometimes called pre-diabetes. These patients are at increased risk for developing frank diabetes. Several fasting glucose levels over 125 or a single random glucose over 200 mg are considered diagnostic of diabetes. There are other tests used to make the diagnosis of pre-diabetes or diabetes. Pre-diabetes is defined as a blood sugar of 140 to 199 mg/dL (7.8 to 11.0 mmol/L) two-hour after drinking 75 grams of an oral glucose solution. The diagnosis of diabetes is confirmed with a blood sugar of 200 mg/dL or greater, two hours after ingestion of the glucose solution. Hemoglobin A1C is a blood test that gives an estimate of blood sugar levels over the previous three months. Persons with Continue reading >>

Q&a: How To Lower Your Blood Sugar When It’s Over 200 Mg/dl

Q: How do I lower my blood sugar when it goes over 200 mg/dl? I have Type 2 diabetes. A: An excellent question, but a complicated one to answer. Your doctor or nurse educator should be contacted any time your blood sugar runs consistently higher than 250 mg/dl for more than two days. When a person with Type 2 diabetes encounters a high blood sugar, the strategy used in bringing it down will vary from individual to individual. This is because of the differences in treatment concerning diet, exercise, and medication. It will also depend upon the guidelines for glucose control that you and your doctor have mutually agreed upon. When high blood sugars do occur, there are a number of strategies that can be employed to adjust the glucose level back down to a normal range. These might include: 1) Eating less food at the next meal, eliminating a snack and/or eating foods with a lower glycemic index. A general rule of thumb to follow is decreasing 15 grams of carbohydrate (the amount found in one starch exchange, one fruit exchange, or one cup skim milk exchange) will lower blood glucose by 30 mg/dl. If you test your blood sugar at 182 mg/dl before a meal or snack, then eliminate one starch and one cup milk at the next meal to bring the glucose value as close to 120 mg/dl as a baseline. Although people with diabetes will respond differently to this adjustment, it provides a basic guideline to start with. For persons with Type 2 diabetes who are overweight, the loss of only 5% to 10% of total weight loss can dramatically improve blood glucose values (so just cutting calories moderately can achieve better blood glucose control). Lastly, choosing foods with a lower glycemic index, i.e., foods that do not raise blood sugar as quickly or dramatically, can help to bring blood glucose Continue reading >>

Symptoms Of High Blood Sugar

A A A Topic Overview High blood sugar (hyperglycemia) is most often seen in people who have diabetes that isn't well controlled. The symptoms of high blood sugar can be mild, moderate, or severe. Mild high blood sugar If your blood sugar levels are consistently 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) to 350 mg/dL, you may have mild symptoms of high blood sugar. You may urinate more than usual if you are drinking plenty of liquids. Some people who have diabetes may not notice any symptoms when their blood sugar level is in this range. The main symptoms of high blood sugar are: Increased thirst. Increased urination. Weight loss. Fatigue. Increased appetite. Young children are unable to recognize symptoms of high blood sugar. Parents need to do a home blood sugar test on their child whenever they suspect high blood sugar. Children have mild high blood sugar when their blood sugar levels are between 200 mg/dL and 240 mg/dL. If you don't drink enough liquids to replace the fluids lost from high blood sugar levels, you can become dehydrated. Young children can become dehydrated very quickly. Symptoms of dehydration include: A dry mouth and increased thirst. Warm, dry skin. Moderate to severe high blood sugar If your blood sugar levels are consistently high (usually above 350 mg/dL in adults and above 240 mg/dL in children), you may have moderate to severe symptoms of high blood sugar. These symptoms include: Blurred vision. Extreme thirst. Lightheadedness. Flushed, hot, dry skin. Restlessness, drowsiness, or difficulty waking up. If your body produces little or no insulin (people with type 1 diabetes and some people with type 2 diabetes), you also may have: Rapid, deep breathing. A fast heart rate and a weak pulse. A strong, fruity breath odor. Loss of appetite, belly pain, and/ Continue reading >>