How Do I Check For Ketones
There are two ways to check for ketones:
- Step 7
Ketone strip storage
- Keep ketone strips at room temperature between 59° and 86° F. Keep them out of direct sunlight.
- Step 8 After opening the first time, write the date on the bottle.
- Always put the lid back on right away after opening.
- Do not keep them in the bathroom because the moisture could ruin the strips.
- Throw the ketone strips away 6 months after first opening if they are not gone.
- Do not use them after the expiration date. Call your pharmacy for a refill.
Steps to check for blood ketones:
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.
If My A1c Is Normal My Glucose Is Good
An A1C result thatâs below 5.7% is normal âs standards, but having a result below that number isnât the end of the story. Pregnancy, hemoglobin variants, anemia, liver disease, and certain medications can cause inaccurate A1C results.
Additionally, the A1C test is measuring your average glucose value over the past 3 months, but averages inherently do not capture highs and lows. So, you could have a normal average while also having abnormal glucose spikes. The A1C test should only supplement your regular blood sugar testing, not replace it completely.
Don’t Miss: How To Reduce High Sugar Level Immediately
Do Not Become Discouraged
Remember type 2 diabetes is a journey and a learning process. It is not a destination or a death sentence. For some individuals diabetes has been reversed, for others it stops in its tracks.
Every blood glucose reading is just another piece of data that you can use as helpful information in solving the puzzle of your condition. Remember, you arent in this alone! There are all kinds of resources and support available for you, this site being one of them.
Knowing your blood sugar levels is extremely important. Download our blood sugar charts to help eliminate any confusion. They contain both mg/dl and mmol/l, along with appropriate A1C levels.
Its a great resource to have on hand, plus there are some tips on how to deal with high readings.
Please share, pin, or tweet this post.
FREE DOWNLOAD
Dont Miss: Will Bananas Raise Your Blood Sugar
Choose Low Glycemic Index Foods
The glycemic index measures and ranks various foods by how much they cause blood sugar levels to rise. Research shows that following a low glycemic index diet decreases fasting blood sugar levels.
Low glycemic index foods are those that score below 55 on the glycemic index. Examples of low glycemic foods include:
- sweet potatoes
- fruit
Don’t Miss: Reduce Sugar Level Immediately
What Causes Blood Sugar To Be High
Many things can cause high blood sugar , including being sick, being stressed, eating more than planned, and not giving yourself enough insulin. Over time, high blood sugar can lead to long-term, serious health problems. Symptoms of high blood sugar include:
- Feeling very tired.
- Having blurry vision.
- Needing to urinate more often.
If you get sick, your blood sugar can be hard to manage. You may not be able to eat or drink as much as usual, which can affect blood sugar levels. If youre ill and your blood sugar is 240 mg/dL or above, use an over-the-counter ketone test kit to check your urine for ketones and call your doctor if your ketones are high. High ketones can be an early sign of diabetic ketoacidosis, which is a medical emergency and needs to be treated immediately.
When To Get Urgent Medical Attention
Contact your diabetes care team immediately if you have a high blood sugar level and experience the following symptoms:
- feeling or being sick
- a fever for more than 24 hours
- signs of dehydration, such as a headache, dry skin and a weak, rapid heartbeat
- difficulty staying awake
These symptoms could be a sign of a more serious complication of hyperglycaemia, such as diabetic ketoacidosis or a hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state, and you may need to be looked after in hospital.
Recommended Reading: When To Take Sugar Tablet
What Are Blood Sugar Targets
A blood sugar target is the range you try to reach as much as possible. These are typical targets:
- Before a meal: 80 to 130 mg/dL.
- Two hours after the start of a meal: Less than 180 mg/dL.
Your blood sugar targets may be different depending on your age, any additional health problems you have, and other factors. Be sure to talk to your health care team about which targets are best for you.
The Best Foods To Eat To Help Avoid Or Lower Your High Blood Sugar
While theres no such thing as a hyperglycemia diet per se, your eating choices still play an important role in regulating your blood sugar levels.
First, know you cant just cut all carbs or avoid foods with sugar to prevent blood sugar spikes. After all, healthy foods such as fruits and veggies also contain carbs and sugar. The value of carbs differs according to their complexity, and sugar in food is different from blood sugar.
- White bread, pasta, and rice
- Packaged and processed snacks, such as chips, pretzels, cookies, and candy
- Soda or juice
- Foods high in saturated fat, such as hot dogs, bacon, and sausage
- Foods high in trans fats, like margarine and certain packaged baked goods
- Foods that can raise your cholesterol, like liver, red meat, and full-fat dairy
Tracking your carb intake, especially if you have diabetes, is also critical for avoiding blood sugar spikes.
Diabetes Spectrum
Read Also: How To Bring Down Sugar Level Quickly
What Causes High Blood Sugar Levels
Managing diabetes is like a three-way balancing act because you have to watch:
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.
Test Before You Eat And Two Hours After
This will tell you how well your medication is controlling your blood sugar. It will also shed light on what food is boosting your sugar too highand thus should be avoided. “You should consult your health-care provider to develop a plan that works for you,” says Donna Rice, immediate past president of the American Association of Diabetes Educators, who notes that the frequency and time of day you test will depend on how controlled your blood glucose is.
Don’t Miss: How To Come Sugar Disease
All Carbs Are Created Equal
Phipps explains that, despite containing similar amounts of carbohydrates, one serving of pasta could have a hugely different effect on your blood glucose levels than one serving of rice. Likewise, that serving of pasta may have an entirely different effect on your blood glucose levels than your friendsâ or even family membersâ. âWeâre all unique,â Phipps says.
You Develop Sores That Tend To Heal More Slowly Than Usual
Cuts, scrapes, bruises, and other wounds heal more slowly in the presence of uncontrolled blood sugar, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Diabetes causes nerve damage and affects circulation, especially in the lower legs and feet, which can delay healing because there isnt enough blood flow to the area. Even minor wounds are more prone to infections, which can become very serious and even result in amputations of the foot. You may notice drainage seeping onto your socks or an unpleasant smell if you develop a foot ulcer, notes the American Podiatric Medical Association.
Recommended Reading: How To Control Urine Sugar
What Causes Hyperglycemia In People With Diabetes
- The dose of insulin or oral diabetes medication that you are taking is not the most helpful dose for your needs.
- Your body isnt using your natural insulin effectively .
- The amount of carbohydrates you are eating or drinking is not balanced with the amount of insulin your body is able to make or the amount of insulin you inject.
- You are less active than usual.
- Physical stress is affecting you.
- Emotional stress is affecting you.
- You are taking steroids for another condition.
- The dawn phenomenon is affecting you.
Other possible causes
- Pancreatic diseases such as pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer and cystic fibrosis.
- Certain medications .
- Gestational diabetes, which happens in 4% of pregnancies, and is due to decreased insulin sensitivity.
- Surgery or trauma.
Foods And Drinks You Must Avoid To Ensure Better Control Over Increased Blood Sugar
According to a widely quoted dictum, Health is wealth and obviously our health has to be our priority. Many other peoples lives and expectations are linked with our good health. Keeping the same in mind, here is the complete array of things you need to eradicate from your plate to have better control over the disease.
1.Refined carbohydrates The prime reason for rising up of blood sugar levels is carbohydrates. Further, refined carbohydrates have a very high glycemic index favoring lifting up of blood sugar too far above than safer limits.
The amount of sugar an average person consumes in a day is reported to be 25g in women and 38g in men. However, the appropriate amount recommends for people with Hyperglycemia is 22g for women and 34g for men.
2. Bottled juices bottled juices are one of the worst things to consume when your blood sugar is high as can be seen from the index of the packets that all the packeted juices are exhaustively rich in glycemic index and calories which will worsen your health for sure.
3.Caffeinated coffees Researches unleash that regular consumption of caffeinated coffee can decrease the bodys ability towards insulin sensitivity and result in lifting up of blood sugar levels.
5. Trans fats Trans Fatty acids or trans unsaturated fatty acids, commonly called trans fats comes with several negative health impacts.
Trans fats are a part of peanut butter, flavored yogurt, junk foods, and packaged snacks.
Recommended Reading: Sugar Tablets Side Effects
Diabetic Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar Syndrome
Hyperglycemic hyperosmolar syndrome is a potentially life threatening condition involving extremely high blood sugar levels.
When your blood sugar gets too high, the kidneys try to compensate by removing some of the excess glucose through urination.
If you dont drink enough fluids to replace the fluid youre losing, your blood sugar levels spike. Your blood also becomes more concentrated. This can also occur if you drink too many sugary beverages.
This condition is called hyperosmolarity. Blood thats too concentrated begins to draw water out of other organs, including the brain.
Any illness that makes you dehydrated or reduces your insulin activity can lead to HHS. Its commonly a result of unmanaged or undiagnosed diabetes. An illness or infection can trigger HHS.
Failure to monitor and manage blood glucose levels can also lead to HHS.
Symptoms may develop slowly and increase over a period of days or weeks. Possible symptoms include:
- fluids given through your veins to prevent or reverse dehydration
- insulin to lower and stabilize your blood sugar levels
- potassium, phosphate, or sodium replacement if necessary to help return your cells to their normal function
Treatment will also address any complications from HHS, such as shock or coma.
Factors that can increase your risk of complications with HHS include:
- advanced age
- severity of dehydration when youre treated
- the presence of other illnesses when youre diagnosed
Take the following steps to help prevent HHS:
What Is High Blood Sugar
High blood sugar occurs when theres a buildup of excess glucose in the bloodstream. This is more often a concern for someone with diabetes than it is for someone without it. Our bodies are typically pretty great at keeping our blood sugar in perfect balance, Deena Adimoolam, M.D., assistant professor of endocrinology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, tells SELF. But in some situations, like when a person has diabetes, high blood sugar can happen.
Blood sugar is measured in milligrams per deciliter , and a fasting blood sugar of greater than 125 mg/dL is considered hyperglycemic, the Cleveland Clinic says. A person can also be considered to have hyperglycemia if their blood glucose level is higher than 180 mg/dL one to two hours after eating, the Cleveland Clinic says.
Recommended Reading: Banana Bad For Diabetes
How Can I Pay For Tests And Diabetes Supplies
Medicareexternal icon, Medicaid, and most private insurance plans pay for the A1C test and fasting blood sugar test as well as some diabetes supplies. Check your plan or ask your health care team for help finding low-cost or free supplies, and see How to Save Money on Diabetes Care for more resources.
Foods That Decrease The Risk Of High Blood Sugar Spikes
1. Bottle gourd juice people all over the world kick start their day with a mug of tea or coffee. But being a person with Hyperglycemia, you arent supposed to do that. Nothing can surpass the nutritious value of bottle gourd juice, a perfect beverage to give your day a healthy beginning. Its taste might irritate you for some time but the benefits are just incredible particularly in times of high blood sugar.
Rest, you are wise enough to make the choice.
2. Vinegar This is something very common to find in Indian households in the form of preservatives for pickles.
Vinegar, especially Apple Cider vinegar can prove to be a boon for people having Hyperglycemia. From activating weight loss, cholesterol reduction to improving heart health and controlling blood sugar, it does it all with no harmful effects. This is a must include the thing in your diet chart if you want to tackle the problem of increased blood sugar with great ease.
3. Fibers switching on to fibers during high blood sugar levels brings you surplus benefits. Fibers have two categories namely soluble fibers and insoluble fibers. It is the soluble fiber that can effectively reduce blood sugar levels and help you lead a healthy lifestyle. These fibers have the ability to slow down the absorption of carbohydrates in the esophagus. Additional advantage includes making your stomach feel full leading to reduced food intake and thereby eliminating the chances for obesity.
You May Like: How To Control Pp Sugar
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.
Show Sources
What Could Be The Worst Effects Of High Blood Sugar
If the condition of high blood sugar continues, then it might lead to blindness, degeneration of external organs, damage to kidney and blocking of a bile duct. It will lead to a slow and painful death.
Its a proven fact that consumption of all these will undoubtedly alter the blood sugar level. But, medication is the most vital part. Being in touch with the doctor and taking medicines on time has proved its worth in maintaining blood sugar level.
You May Like: Sugar Tablet Before Or After Food
Take Your Insulin As Prescribed
High blood sugar occurs when your body has too little insulin, or your body cant use insulin properly. Administering insulin can bring your blood sugar levels down.
Talk to your doctor about how much rapid-acting insulin you should administer when your blood sugar is high.
You may want to check your blood sugar about 1530 minutes after taking insulin to make sure your blood sugar is going down and that its not dropping too low.