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How Do You Feel When Blood Sugar Is High

/7keep An Eye On Patterns

How it feels to have high blood sugar

If one morning your blood sugar readings come out to be too high or too low, its okay. But if your blood sugar reading is high/low every morning, you need to talk to your doctor.

An isolated high or low reading can be ignored but a consistently high or low reading should be immediately informed to the doctor.

What Are The Signs & Symptoms Of Dka

The symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis usually don’t develop all at once they usually come on slowly over several hours. People who have DKA may:

  • feel really tired
  • feel really thirsty or pee way more than usual
  • have a dry mouth and signs of dehydration

These symptoms are caused by the high blood sugar levels that usually happen before someone develops DKA. If the person doesn’t get treatment, these signs of DKA can happen:

  • abdominal pain
  • unconsciousness

Causes Of High Blood Sugar

You must rein in your blood sugar if you have Type 2 diabetes. Not doing so will lead to a potentially fatal condition known as the hyperglycemic hyperosmolar nonketotic syndrome , when your body cannot process blood sugar any longer. You may be unable to urinate because you are completely dehydrated.

To avoid hyperglycemia, you must know its causes. Your blood sugar may spike if you miss your insulin injections or eat too many carbohydrates. You may also develop hyperglycemia if you are ill, under stress or do not exercise enough.

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Make Some Small Changes

You might try to get more exercise, or limit carbs at your next meal, but don’t go crazy. “One blood sugar that’s high doesn’t indicate a need for major changesthat should only be done on a pattern,” says Rice, such as “continuing highs despite following a doctor’s instructions.” If a pattern continues for two to three days or more, then you might want to let your health-care provider know.

What Can I Do To Fix This And Get Healthy Again

How To Recognize High Blood Sugar

With some minor life-style changes, you can see and feel big improvements quickly. Here are some things you should focus on:

  • Lose Unwanted FatThis may not be fun, but its very important and its the first step in keeping your glucose in check.
  • Eat Better Natural FoodsThis means lower glycemic foods, less carbohydrates, healthy proteins and fats. It also means to stay AWAY from processed, man-made foods. Also, make sure you eat often smaller meals throughout the day to stabilize your blood sugar and have lots of fiber as well.
  • Exercise Daily Aerobic & AnaerobicExercise utilizes the carbohydrates you eat, so it keeps your blood sugar stable. Having more muscle also improves insulin sensitivity, which means less insulin is needed.
  • Proper SupplementationThere are specific natural herbs, vitamins and minerals that can help stabilize your blood sugar, while also improving insulin sensitivity.

Simply making some small adjustments in each of these categories will mean fast results for you. Which means more energy, less body fat, better cognition and you’ll simply look and feel YOUNGER!

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Inspect Your Feet Every Day For Cracks Wounds And Sores

Nerve damage is a complication of diabetes that makes it hard to feel when you have sores or cracks in your feet. Patients with diabetes are looking for any changes in color, sores, or dry, cracked skin, says podiatrist Steven Tillett, DPM, of Portland, Oregon. Place a mirror on the floor to see under your feet or ask a friend or relative for help if you cant see all parts of your feet clearly.

See A Podiatrist Regularly To Treat Foot Problems

Even seemingly harmless calluses may become problems if you ignore them, notes Tillett. When building your diabetes healthcare team, consider including a podiatrist, a doctor who specializes in foot care, instead of heading to the pharmacy for an over-the-counter product for feet some products are irritating to your skin and can actually increase the risk of infection even while they treat the bunion, callus, or corn on your foot.

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What Are The Risks Of Hyperglycemia

Hyperglycemia can be a sign that your body isnt getting enough insulin. It is normal for patients with T1D to get hyperglycemia, and most of the time this is simply treated with insulin. If the body does not have insulin for approximately 8 hours, you could develop a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA.

In DKA, your body breaks down fat for energy because it doesnt have enough insulin to use the sugar in your blood. This produces chemicals called ketones, which make your blood more acidic.

DKA is dangerous. Too much acid in your blood can make you pass out or even cause death.

Symptoms Of High Blood Sugar


Depending on the cause of your high blood sugars, the symptoms could develop quickly or gradually.

People with undiagnosed type 1 diabetes will develop nearly all of the symptoms of high blood sugar very quickly, over the course of a few weeks, because their blood sugar levels are rising rapidly while insulin production is declining rapidly.

People with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes may not notice these symptoms for months or years because gradually increasing insulin resistance and beta-cell dysfunction can take a long time to become severe enough to produce noticeable symptoms.

Earlier symptoms:

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A Few Final Notes On Keeping Blood Sugar Stable

Taking an active, intentional approach to your blood sugar levels is crucial to your quality of life and overall health, ONeill says. Avoiding too-high or too-low blood sugar levels will help you avoid adverse symptoms and health complications, and staying within your target range can enable you to feel your best and do whatever you want to do in life, she says.

Test your blood sugar regularly, listen to your body, and dont ever hesitate to reach out to your doctor.

Additional reporting by Karen Appold.

Blood Sugar Spike Symptoms

Learning to recognize the symptoms of hyperglycemia can help you keep your diabetes in control. Some people with diabetes immediately feel the symptoms of high blood sugar, but others go undiagnosed for years because their symptoms are mild or vague.

Symptoms of hyperglycemia typically begin when your blood glucose goes above 250 milligrams per deciliter . Symptoms get worse the longer you go untreated.

Symptoms of a blood sugar spike include:

  • frequent urination

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Can Drinking A Lot Of Water Lower Your Blood Sugar Levels

Although feeling very thirsty is a symptom of a hyper, drinking a lot of water will not bring your blood sugar levels down. It will only help to reduce your risk of dehydration.

Its important that you take your diabetes medication to bring your blood sugar levels down. If you have consistently high blood sugar levels, you will need to follow the advice below and speak to your diabetes healthcare team.

Does High Blood Sugar Cause Fatigue And Tired Feeling

Excess Sugar Consumption: Is it Ruining Your Health?

In fact, fatigue & tired feeling are pretty common in people with hyperglycemia or high blood sugar. Hyperglycemia is a condition when the amount of glucose in the bloodstream is higher than normal. It may signal that something goes awry with the glucose metabolism in the body.

How does glucose metabolism work?

The performance of your glucose metabolism is closely associated with the fluctuation of your blood sugar. In most healthy people, their blood glucose levels do not fluctuate widely throughout the day.

Typically, your blood glucose reaches its peak level during eating and after meal. And for the lowest level, it usually occurs between meals. If you are fasting for at least 8 hours, your blood sugar also decreases lower.

The fit status of your hormone insulin is very crucial for your glucose metabolism.

Without good performance of insulin, your body cannot convert the glucose to become energy. To get a specific amount of energy, glucose taken from foods need to be absorbed first by cells and muscles of the body from the bloodstream. And insulin has a significant contribution for the mechanism of this absorption.

Not all glucose is directly converted to become energy. Some may be stored in your liver as glycogen and in your fat cells as fat. They can be converted again into energy when your body needs.

How does high blood sugar cause fatigue, weakness, and tired feeling?

Whats more?

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How Are High Blood Sugar Levels Treated

Treating high blood sugar levels involves fixing what caused them in the first place. Your diabetes health care team will give you specific advice on how to keep your blood sugar levels in a healthy range. But here are some ways to manage the common causes of high blood sugar levels:

Reason for High Blood Sugar LevelWhat to Do
Not getting enough insulin or other diabetes medicine
  • Make sure that you take the proper type of insulin and the correct dose at the right time.
  • Check that insulin is not expired.
  • Make sure that all equipment is working properly.
  • Diabetes medicines may need to be changed or adjusted check with your diabetes health care team.
Not following the meal plan
  • Work with a registered dietitian to make adjustments to your meal plan as needed.
  • Adjust insulin/pills when you eat more or less than recommended on your meal plan .
Not getting enough exercise
  • Figure out a plan to make time for exercise.
  • Adjust your medicines based on the diabetes health care team’s instructions.
Illness or stress
  • Contact your diabetes health care team.
  • Continue to take insulin .
  • Check your blood sugar levels frequently.
Use of other medicines that can increase blood sugar
  • Contact your diabetes health care team if you start taking any other medicine.
  • Your insulin or pills may need to be adjusted while you take the medicine that’s causing high blood sugar levels.
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What Should I Do If My Blood Sugar Gets Too High

High blood sugar is also called hyperglycemia . It means that your blood sugar level is higher than your target level or over 180. Having high blood sugar levels over time can lead to long-term, serious health problems.

If you feel very tired, thirsty, have blurry vision, or need to pee more often, your blood sugar may be high.

Check your blood sugar and see if it is above your target level or over 180. If it is too high, one way to lower it is to drink a large glass of water and exercise by taking a brisk walk. Call your health care team if your blood sugar is high more than 3 times in 2 weeks and you dont know why.

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Check Your Blood Sugar

If you take medication that may cause low blood sugar , its highly advisable to check your blood sugar levels before you try to bring your sugar levels down.

This is just in case your blood sugar is normal or low, which can be the case in some situations.

Testing of blood sugar before bringing your levels down is particularly important if you take insulin.

What Causes Low Blood Glucose In People With Diabetes

10 Signs and symptoms of high blood sugar to be aware of

Low blood glucose levels can be a side effect of insulin or some other medicines that help your pancreas release insulin into your blood. Taking these can lower your blood glucose level.

Two types of diabetes pills can cause low blood glucose

  • sulfonylureas, usually taken once or twice per day, which increase insulin over several hours
  • meglitinides, taken before meals to promote a short-term increase in insulin

The following may also lower your blood glucose level

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High Blood Sugar Causes Fatigue

Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of high blood sugar. In people with diabetes, it is referred to as diabetes fatigue. Many people with the condition feel tired all the time regardless of how well they sleep, how healthily they eat, or how much they exercise on a regular basis. Research has shown that up to 61% of people who are recently diagnosed with the condition experience fatigue. However, fatigue doesnt just occur in those with diabetes. It can also happen in people with normal or prediabetic blood sugar levels if they experience a sudden spike in their blood sugar.

When the body experiences a spike in blood sugar levels, it goes into overdrive trying to create enough insulin to balance it out. If there isnt enough insulin or the body isnt responding to the insulin as it should, your body will start to pull from fat to create the energy it needs. When this happens, energy is used from the splitting of a molecule known as adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. When ATP expels one of its three phosphates for energy, it turns into another molecule known as adenosine diphosphate, or ADP. If there are no energy sources to pull from, the ATP cannot regain the phosphate it gave away, leading to fatigue.

What Causes High Blood Sugar Levels

Managing diabetes is like a three-way balancing act because you have to watch:

  • the medicines you take (
  • the food that you eat
  • the amount of exercise you get
  • All three need to be balanced. If any one of these is off, blood sugar levels can be too. In general, higher than normal blood glucose levels can be caused by:

    • not taking your diabetes medicine when you’re supposed to or not taking the right amounts
    • not following the meal plan
    • not getting enough exercise
    • having an illness, like the flu
    • stress
    • taking other kinds of medicines that affect how your diabetes medicines work

    A single high blood sugar reading usually isn’t cause for alarm it happens to everyone with diabetes from time to time. But if you have high blood sugar levels a lot, let your parents and your diabetes health care team know. Insulin or meal plans may need adjusting, or you may have an equipment issue, like an insulin pump that isn’t working right. Whatever the case, make sure you get help so you can get your blood sugar levels back under control.

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    The Causes Of High Blood Sugar


    • not taking your diabetes medicine when youre supposed to or not taking the right amounts
    • eating more food than your meal plan allows
    • not getting enough exercise
    • having an illness, like the flu

    Keeping blood sugar levels close to normal can be hard sometimes, and nobodys perfect. Grown-ups can help you stay in balance if you have diabetes. Sometimes blood sugar levels can be high because youre growing and your doctor needs to make some changes in your diabetes treatment plan.

    Blood Sugar Spike: What To Do

    Hypoglycemia low blood sugar symptoms


    Exercising and drinking water after eating, particularly if youve consumed a lot of starchy carbs, can help lower your blood sugar.


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    Things To Do If Your Blood Sugar Is Too High

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    The problem is that you can also have a high blood sugar reading if you follow every rule in the type 2 diabetes handbook. That’s because it’s not just food that affects blood sugar. You could have a cold coming on, or stress may have temporarily boosted your blood sugar. The reading could be wrong, and you need to repeat it. Or it could mean that your medicine is no longer working, and it’s time to try a new one.

    The point is, it’s the pattern that matters, not a single reading.

    Whatever you do, don’t feel bad or guilty if you have a high blood sugar reading. A 2004 study found that blood sugar monitoring often amplifies feelings of being a “success” or “failure” at diabetes, and when readings are consistently high, it can trigger feelings of anxiety or self-blame.

    This can cause some people to give up on testing completely. Try not to think of blood sugar monitoring as a “test” administered by a sour-faced teacher lurking in your distant past. Blood sugar monitoring is simply a tool that you can use to fight the disease. Here, six things you should know about how to lower your blood sugar when it’s way too high.

    How To Stabilize Your Blood Sugar Overnight

    The most important thing you can do to stabilize your blood sugar is monitor your glucose levels at bedtime, during the night, and when you wake up to look for patterns. This will help you determine whats going on in your body and how you can fix it. While there are many strategies people use to stabilize blood sugar at night, every person is different youll have to look for trends in your body, experiment with ways to lower glucose levels over a period of time, and learn what works best for your body.

    • Check your blood sugar before bed. If its already high, your blood sugar levels may remain high throughout the night. To address this, youll want to start by adjusting when you eat your evening meal and what it consists of, and how much mealtime insulin you take to cover it.

    • Avoid eating lots of food close to bedtime. For diaTribe writer Adam Brown, the key to staying in range overnight is low-carb, early dinners, with no snacking after dinner.

    • Consider eating less food at night and taking more basal insulin to cover your evening meal.

  • Check your blood sugar during the night, between midnight and 3am. If you were in range before bed but have high glucose levels between midnight and 3am, you may need to adjust your basal insulin dosage and timing. If you are low during that time, you may experience a rebound high blood sugar later on this is usually associated with overcorrecting the low.

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