high blood sugar levels

How recently diagnosed? What insulin dosage are you on and what's you diet today been?

Hi Lorrr
welcome to the forum
don't panic or anything like that but the numbers you have posted are quite high

I am tagging @daisy1 for her great starter reading pack -- might be tomorrow now as it is late in the evening.

in the meantime -- i would suggest you need to talk to your diabetic care team on monday to see what they can offer in terms of getting your blood sugars down
Ideally we want single figures as soon as you can get to them.

maybe try eating some low carb tomorrow -- an omelette at breakfast should not spike your bloods too much and just meat and green veg for evening meal will help too.

keep posting too -- we will get you sorted

can i help at all right now ?? what is your blood sugar right now ?

lorrr said:

Just a question to what happens when your levels are high? Iv just recently been diagnosed with type 1 so I am fairly new to this. I know you take hypos when you have low bs. But what happens when it's High? I have just recently taken my levels and they are at 32? Thanks

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suppose you really need an answer to this too !

high blood sugars give symptoms such as lethargy , sleepiness , irritable , and a heavy feeling.

as bloods improve some of these symptoms can be seen at lower levels too ( 9-14)

just keep us posted on how you are getting on .

I'm a bit concerned about your high readings of 32...so apologies for endless questions...how're you feeling? Do you have any Ketostix? Can you check for Ketones? Do you have anyone with you? Have your blood sugars stabilised since April? Are you confident in taking correction doses?

Good to know you're still alive...this is a very high reading...and if it's not come down by now...please call 111 and ask for advice. Please let me know how you get on x

Phew...you had me worried for a moment there...keep a regular check...maybe set an alarm to do a blood test in an hour or so just to make sure you don't crash...keep safe x

lorrr said:

No dont worry about it, my usual level is around 15 to 20. Yes my partner is with me and I am pretty confident. My level is still the same. Earlier I felt a bit dizzy but I feel fine now. I always feel fine when my levels are high, it's when they hit around 13 I feel horrible and no there are no ketones

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those 13's are very likely "false hypo's" because you are running at such high levels-- we really need you to get sorted with your diabetic team as soon as possible -- please -- these levels are not good for you

Certainly had me worried...so busy panicking about 32...sorry didn't see 13 but @himtoo is right about false hypo's...just don't overdo your correction doses and if you do...set an alarm to wake yourself up...to be on the safe side

@lorrr

Hello and welcome to the forum

To help you to get your levels more stable, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

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 over 150,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

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

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 bloodglucose 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.