Chest infection = high blood sugar

Sandar

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Hi. I am on day 5 of having a bad chest infection and woke up feeling a bit better this morning. Have been testing sugar as usual every morning, so yesterday’s was high but this morning it was way up! I know I haven’t been eating properly as I have found it difficult to breathe let alone eat, I am type 2 y the way and struggling to control it even with meds.
Is this normal, blood sugars go off target if you are ill? I shall, now I feel a bit more normal, eat better today and hope that tomorrow’s result is lower or it may be a trip to hospital.
Can anyone advise please?
 

Guzzler

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Hello and welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear you're not well. It is not unusual at all for blood glucose levels to rise when the body is fighting an infection. What kind of numbers are you seeing today?

Tagging @daisy1 for the smashing info pack offered to all newcomers.

If you could tell us what Diabetes meds you are taking and what a typical day's menu looks like perhaps we could help with your management problems. Hope you recover very soon.
 
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Sandar

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I usually have a good diet plenty of veg and fruit and try to control carbs as much as I can. I don’t eat or use much in the way of fat and if I need to it is virgin olive oil. These last few days I found it difficult to eat much or at all. Now I know that it is normal for the level to rise when ill I will watch how it goes the next week or so as I have a check up appointment at hospital in a week anyway,
Thank you for the advice.
 
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Guzzler

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From your comments I get the impression you are testing just once per day, is that right?
In my own opinion fruit should be kept to a minimum especially with regard to bananas and grapes. Berries are a better option as they are lower in fructose. Is there a particular reason that you do not choose to eat more healthy fats?
 
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kitedoc

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Hi @Sandar, Welcome. Chest infections are the bane of us all. I hope you recover soon.
Any stress to our body causes release of the body's stress manager (in office terms this is the Public Security and Damage Control Officer in charge).
Cortisol readies the body to deal with a threat, mobilises energy and resources such as the body's immune system to deal with the threat recognised as a Chest Infection.
Cortisol's actions contradict that of insulin (which is putting things into cells rather than mobilising cells to expend energy and release things). So more insulin is required to keep the blood sugar under control than usual. Fine if your pancreas is working automatically. Otherwise blood sugars rise, TIDs increase their insulin, T2Ds may have been instructed to increase medication, depending on the medication etc. Blood sugar measurement is what I use to gauge how well or not I am travelling. If getting to 16mmol/l (290 mg/DL) or above I am on the phone to my doctor or DN.
 

daisy1

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@Sandar

Hello Sandar and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask questions when you want to and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why

  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 

DCUKMod

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I reversed my Type 2
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@Sandar - You say your blood numbers are up, but what does that actually mean, in numbers? "Up" for me could be verey different for me that for you, because of how our bodies and management are, but there are some numbers that would be of concern, no matter whom it is.

If you could give us an insight into your actual scores?

If in doubt, seek medical advice. If you choose to do that and your GP doesn't have an out of hours service, then rining 111 could help with some guidance. Any significant shortness of breath shouldn't be ignored.