Nausea Vomiting Confusion And More
These seemingly disparate symptoms are all signs of a rare and life-threatening state called diabetic ketoacidosis , according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. DKA can cause the symptoms above, as well as stomach pain, trouble breathing, dry or flushed skin, fruity-smelling breath, or difficulty paying attention. It usually occurs in people with type 1 diabetes and is sometimes the first sign they are sick, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. DKA happens when the liver is unable to use the sugar in the blood for energy without insulin and begins to break down body fat into a type of fuel called ketones at such a high rate that they become toxic and make the blood acidic, the U.S. National Library of Medicine explains. DKA can be fatal if left untreated, so anyone experiencing these symptoms should seek care immediately.
Over time, untreated high blood sugar can cause additional symptoms, such as:
You Get A Little Shaky
‘There are a wide range of symptoms that can happen if you are not tolerating sugar well you could experience hyperactivity or shakiness a while after eating foods high in sugar,” Stagg says. If you feel shaky not just energized after eating sugar, it might mean your body doesn’t handle it well. Looking at the type of sugar you eat, the amount, what you eat it with, and how you eat it might help you feel better. But as Jones emphasizes, seeing a doctor or allergist and working with a dietitian are the best ways to not only know for sure if you have an allergy or intolerance, but manage it, too.
There are a lot of signs to look out for if your think you may have a sugar intolerance that go beyond a simple sweets-induced headache. The best way to really test out whats causing any annoying symptoms is an elimination diet if you feel better cutting out sugar, it may be a sign your body does not love trying to digest the stuff due to an intolerance.
Experts:
Charmaine Jones, registered dietitian and founder of Food Jonezi
Vanessa Rissetto, registered dietician
S For Treating A Person With Symptoms Keeping Them From Being Able To Treat Themselves
Dont hesitate to call 911. If someone is unconscious and glucagon is not available or someone does not know how to use it, call 911 immediately.
Do NOT:
- Provide food or fluids
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What Are Risk Factors For Hyperglycemia
Major risk factors for hyperglycemia are:
- You have a family history of type 2 diabetes.
- You are African American, Native American, Hispanic or Asian American.
- You are overweight.
- You have high blood pressure or cholesterol.
- You have polycystic ovarian syndrome .
- You have a history of gestational diabetes.
Tingling Hands And Feet
Over the years, hyperglycemia can begin to impact nerve function and eventually cause nerve damage, called neuropathy, Dr. Hatipoglu says. The most common kind of neuropathy is peripheral, according to the NIDDK, which affects the extremities. You might start noticing feelings of tingling, numbness, or burning in your hands, feet, arms, and legs, per the Mayo Clinic.
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Warning Signs That Your Blood Sugar Is High:
How would you know if your blood sugar has shot through the roof? You can spot the warning signs of high blood sugar even before you see the doctor. If you notice any of them, arrange for an appointment at once!
1. Dehydration
Your skin will feel dry and scaly if your blood sugar levels are on the high end. You may have problems urinating as well. Dehydration can cause diabetic ketoacidosis or too many acids building up in the body. It can lead to organ failure or death.
2. Feeling Parched
Are you always reaching for water, even if the weather is not too hot? Constant thirst indicates dehydration. It shows you that you have to work at making your blood sugar levels drop.
3. Diarrhea
Having constant diarrhea is a warning symptom of Hyperglycemia. Seek a doctors help if your stools are runny. There may be an overgrowth of bacteria in your intestines. Also, it may be difficult for them to break down sugar.
4. Loss of Appetite
Hyperglycemia can create a condition known as Gastroparesis when food moves slowly through the digestive tract. Food cannot move out of the stomach and into the small intestine. A person with Hyperglycemia will lose his appetite because he has a clogged stomach.
5. Excessive Hunger Pangs
6. Impotence
Sex may not bring you the same satisfaction it used to. High blood sugar has links with Erectile Dysfunction or ED. Men with diabetes may develop ED because the blood vessels and nerves that prompt erections are weak.
7. Open Cuts
8. Itchiness
14. Fatigue
Work With Your Health Care Team
Most people with diabetes get health care from a primary care professional. Primary care professionals include internists, family physicians, and pediatricians. Sometimes physician assistants and nurses with extra training, called nurse practitioners, provide primary care. You also will need to see other care professionals from time to time. A team of health care professionals can help you improve your diabetes self-care. Remember, you are the most important member of your health care team.
Besides a primary care professional, your health care team may include
- an endocrinologist for more specialized diabetes care
- a registered dietitian, also called a nutritionist
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You Have Noticeably Blurry Vision And Frequent Headaches
You may notice that your vision isnt as clear as it used to be and that things may appear a bit blurry. High blood sugar levels can lead to swollen lenses in your eye from fluid leaking in, according to the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. This changes the shape of the lens, which makes it unable to properly focus, causing blurred vision. You may also find yourself struggling at work, having difficulty driving, and suffering from frequent headaches, Emanuele notes.
Risk Factors For Prediabetes
Sometimes the symptoms of prediabetes can go away if you take better care of your health, but they can come back if you fall back into an unhealthy lifestyle.
Its important to be aware of prediabetes, especially if youre over 45 years of age. Youre also at risk for developing prediabetes if you have any of these medical issues:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Unusual fatigue
- Wounds that wont heal fast
A blood test can tell you if you have prediabetes. There are several different types and they are the same tests that diagnose Type 2 diabetes. Talk with your primary care provider to see if they think you need one of these tests.
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High Blood Sugar Causes
You may be thinking that hyperglycemia can happen just from eating a super-sugary food, but its not really as simple as that. Sure, eating a lot of sugar or carbs can elevate your blood sugar level, but thats typically when your pancreas kicks into gear and creates insulin to move that glucose into cells throughout the body.
But when someone has diabetes, this finely tuned system gets thrown out of whack. In type 2 diabeteswhich accounts for 90% to 95% of diabetes in adults, according to the CDCthe body either cant make enough insulin or cant utilize insulin well, according to the NIDDK. If someone has prediabetes, their blood glucose will be higher than normal but not quite in the type 2 diabetes range yet, per the NIDDK. And in type 1 diabetes, the body does not make insulin or makes very little.
In any case, the result is extra sugar hanging around the bloodstream, making you feel like total crap in the short term and putting your health at risk in the long term.
Healthy Ways To Eat Fruit
Small steps can make a big difference in your blood sugar levels. Be sure to:
- Watch your portion sizes, especially with dried fruit. Two tablespoons of raisins have the same amount of carbs as a small apple.
- Choose fresh or frozen fruit when you can. Processed fruits like applesauce and canned fruit in syrup or juice often have more carbs and can raise your blood sugar higher than fresh fruits.
- When you eat dried or processed fruit, check the label. Many have added sugar, and serving sizes can be very small.
- Go easy on the fruit juice. Itâs high in carbs: Eight ounces of apple juice has 29 grams of carbs. And it doesnât have fiber to slow digestion and prevent blood sugar spikes like whole fruit does. Research even links drinking lots of fruit juice with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
- Spread your fruit out over the day. Instead of two servings for breakfast, have one at breakfast and another at lunch or as a snack.
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High Blood Sugar And Your Body
Uncontrolled diabetes is diagnosed when your blood glucose levels are 180 milliliters per deciliter or higher. When diabetes is uncontrolled, persistently high blood sugar levels can damage nerves, blood vessels, and vital organs.
When a person has diabetes, insulin produced by the pancreas is not able to move glucose into cells for energy as it is supposed to. As the blood sugar starts to accumulate, it can become toxic to organs and tissues, silently damaging them over time.
The complications of diabetes are broadly divided into two categories:
- Microvascular: These are complications caused by damage to small blood vessels, including those servicing the eyes, kidneys, and nervous symptoms. The triad of microvascular complications is referred to individually as diabetic retinopathy , diabetic nephropathy , and diabetic neuropathy .
- Macrovascular:These are complications caused by damage to large blood vessels. Macrovascular complications of diabetes include cardiovascular disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease .
Other complications include dental disease, reduced resistance to infections, and pregnancy and birth complications caused by gestational diabetes.
What Causes Diabetes
Type 1
In type 1 diabetes, your body doesnt make insulin. This is because the immune system attacks and destroys the cells in the pancreas that make the insulin. Doctors arent sure why this happens. You have a greater risk of type 1 diabetes if one of your parents or one of your siblings has it.
Type 2
When you eat, your body changes most of the food you digest into glucose . A hormone called insulin allows this glucose to enter all the cells of your body. There it is used for energy. Insulin is produced by the pancreas. In someone who has type 2 diabetes, the pancreas doesnt make enough insulin or the bodys cells cant use insulin properly . This causes glucose to build up in your blood instead of moving into the cells. Too much glucose in the blood can lead to serious health problems that damage the blood vessels, nerves, heart, eyes, and kidneys.
Certain risk factors for type 2 diabetes include:
The risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases with the number of risk factors you have. If you have 2 or more risk factors, talk to your doctor about how to delay or prevent type 2 diabetes.
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How We Can Help
If you would like to talk through your worries and concerns, please do call our helpline for specialist information and advice. You will be given as much time as you need and although the service is confidential, you can choose to remain anonymous if you prefer. Our online forum is also a place you can talk about and share your concerns with others who have had similar experiences.
We’re also investing in research to help us identify and protect against diabetes complications. We’re determined to bring about improvements to treatments and care in people with diabetes, having already set up the first diabetes foot clinic in the UK, helping to reduce amputations.
What Are The Warning Signs Of Prediabetes
You could have prediabetes, but you may not know it. More than one in three adults in the United States have prediabetes.
Prediabetes typically occurs without showing any symptoms or warning signs. However, it helps to know if you do have prediabetes so you can stop it in its tracks. That means you can avoid developing Type 2 diabetes, a more dangerous disease that causes other serious health issues.
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How Is Diabetes Diagnosed
Many people get tested for diabetes because they develop symptoms that are potential early warning signs.
For example, people with type 1 diabetes may experience unintentional weight loss or develop flu-like symptoms. People with type 2 diabetes may experience extreme thirst or frequent urination.
You may experience one or more of the warning signs associated with diabetes. If you do, its important to contact your doctor for an appointment.
You may also discover a diabetes diagnosis after visiting your doctor for another condition or for routine blood work.
If you make an appointment with your doctor due to diabetes warning signs, they will want to know:
Your doctor will ask you questions about your symptoms and will likely run some blood tests.
There are several tests that can diagnose diabetes. These include:
- A1C: This test shows what your blood glucose level has averaged for the last 2 or 3 months. This does not require you to fast or drink anything.
- Fasting plasma glucose : You will need to fast for at least 8 hours before this test is done.
- Oral glucose tolerance : This test takes 2 to 3 hours. Your blood glucose levels are tested initially and then repeated at intervals for 2 hours after youve consumed a specific sweet drink.
- Random plasma glucose test: You can have this test done any time and do not need to be fasting.
How To Prevent It
If you work to keep your blood sugar under control — follow your meal plan, exercise program, and medicine schedule — you shouldnât have to worry about hyperglycemia. You can also:
- Know your diet — count the total amounts of carbs in each meal and snack.
- Test your blood sugar regularly.
- Tell your doctor if you have repeated abnormal blood sugar readings.
- Wear medical identification to let people know you have diabetes in case of an emergency.
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Treating Severely Low Blood Sugar
Blood sugar below 55 mg/dL is considered severely low. You wont be able to treat it using the 15-15 rule. You also may not be able to check your own blood sugar or treat it by yourself, depending on your symptoms. Make sure your family members, friends, and caregivers know your signs of low blood sugar so they can help treat it if needed.
Injectable glucagon is the best way to treat severely low blood sugar. A glucagon kit is available by prescription. Speak with your doctor to see if you should have a kit. Be sure to learn how and when to use it. Let family members and others close to you know where you keep the glucagon kit and make sure theyve been trained in how to use it too.
Its important to contact a doctor for emergency medical treatment immediately after receiving a glucagon injection. If a person faints due to severely low blood sugar, theyll usually wake up within 15 minutes after a glucagon injection. If they dont wake up within 15 minutes after the injection, they should receive one more dose. When the person is awake and able to swallow:
- Feed the person a fast-acting source of sugar .
- Then, have them eat a long-acting source of sugar .
Its also important that friends, family, co-workers, teachers, coaches, and other people you may be around often know how to test your blood sugar and treat severely low blood sugar before it happens.
If any of the following happens, your friend, relative, or helper should call 911:
You Try To Quit And Have Unusual Symptoms
Sugar addiction can be both a behavioral addictionyou get used to eating sugar after meals or at certain times of the dayand it can also be a chemical addiction. When you quit or interrupt your normal schedule, your body may show signs of distress or withdrawal. Quitting sugar too abruptly can cause your body to have withdrawal symptoms, says Adam Kadela, founder of Dexafit.
Some of the most common sugar addiction symptoms may include headaches, lethargy or feeling tired, cravings, muscle pain, nausea, bloating and even insomnia. In most cases, these symptoms intensify after 24 hours. The best way to give up sugar is slowly, by cutting back a little at a time. Here is what happens when you try to give up sugar for a month.
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Hyperglycemia Or High Blood Sugar Is A Condition That Is Becoming Prevalent Among The Young And Old
Society has become affluent, so people prefer expensive, sugary desserts. So the fact that there are more people with the signs of high blood sugar than before is not surprising.
If diabetes and hyperglycemia run in your family, take some time to understand its causes and symptoms. This article will point out the signs of high blood sugar and teach you how to keep it in check.