Everybody dwelling with diabetes is sure to expertise excessive blood sugars (hyperglycemia) typically. There are just too many variables out of our management to forestall excessive blood sugars from ever taking place.
However the most effective factor we are able to do when blood sugar spikes occur is to assist them come down into a standard vary as shortly as potential.
Listed here are 4 issues you are able to do to deliver a excessive blood glucose stage down shortly.
For those who take insulin…
For individuals with diabetes who take insulin, insulin will all the time play a serious position in the way you appropriate a excessive blood sugar. There are a number of issues to remember if you use insulin to appropriate a excessive blood sugar.
First, examine your ketones
For those who stay with insulin-dependent diabetes, excessive blood sugars can put you vulnerable to creating ketones. Blood sugar ranges over 250 mg/dL with too little insulin can shortly flip into diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) if it continues to rise.
Take a look at your urine for ketones, and make contact with your physician or go to an pressing care facility for those who measure with “reasonable to giant” ketones.
When giant ketones are current, correcting a excessive blood sugar with insulin through pump or injection gained’t be efficient. As a substitute, you’ll possible want intravenous fluids for just a few hours to restabilize.
For those who solely have reasonable ketones or much less, you might be able to appropriate with insulin at dwelling however you’ll possible want a bigger dose than regular. Contact your healthcare workforce for those who take a look at optimistic for ketones and are uncertain of methods to safely handle the state of affairs.
You possibly can study extra in our information: What Ranges of Blood Sugar are Harmful
Take a correction insulin dose
For many who take quick or rapid-acting insulin — Novolog, Humalog, Apidra, Fiasp, Admelog, Afrezza — you may take a “correction” dose to deliver a excessive blood sugar down.
A “correction issue” is decided with help out of your healthcare workforce. This quantity tells you the way a lot 1 unit of quick or rapid-acting insulin will decrease your blood sugar. For instance, a correction issue of 1:50 signifies that 1 unit of insulin will decrease your blood sugar by 50 factors.
It’s necessary to remember how a lot insulin it’s possible you’ll have already got on board in your bloodstream earlier than taking an extra dose of insulin.
Most quick and rapid-acting insulin stays in your system for about 3 to 4 hours, which suggests taking an extra dose of insulin to appropriate a excessive might result in a extreme low blood sugar if you have already got a big quantity of insulin out of your most up-to-date dose nonetheless in your bloodstream.
Additionally, keep in mind to provide that correction dose of insulin no less than two hours to make an impression in your blood sugar earlier than getting annoyed and taking one other injection. You gained’t see a big enchancment in your blood sugar till it’s been in your system for no less than 1 to 2 hours (except you utilize ultra-fast insulins like Afrezza).
Take an “intra-muscular” injection
Insulin was designed to be injected into physique fats, but when your blood sugar is excessive, injecting that “correction dose” of insulin into muscle may help.
Once you inject insulin into muscle, it’s absorbed extra shortly. That is not one thing it’s best to do each day — it is going to possible depart bruising and once more, is just not how insulin is meant to be taken in your on a regular basis insulin wants. However for these extreme highs (blood sugar studying over 250 mg/dL), it may very well be a helpful choice.
Focus on “intra-muscular” injections along with your healthcare workforce earlier than including them to your diabetes administration routine.
Think about using inhaled insulin
Afrezza is a rapid-acting inhaled insulin that some individuals with sort 1 or sort 2 diabetes discover to be very helpful for treating excessive blood sugar ranges.
Inhaled insulin is as efficient at decreasing blood sugar ranges as common insulin however works rather a lot faster.
It’s most likely not going to switch your whole insulin wants, however many are utilizing it along with their regular insulin through syringe, pen, or insulin pump due to how shortly it begins working in your bloodstream.
It’s pretty simple to make use of however the outcomes and expertise of utilizing it will possibly differ from individual to individual.
Ask your healthcare workforce for extra details about Afrezza.
Watch out for low blood sugars
Bear in mind, above all else, it’s very simple to over-treat a excessive blood sugar with insulin and wind up low. Then you definitely’ll be tempted to binge-eat and wind up excessive once more. This blood sugar curler coaster is exhausting — and harmful, too.
Regularly discovering your self on the blood sugar curler coaster means your strategy to taking insulin and/or the way you deal with low blood sugars isn’t working and desires some fine-tuning. Work along with your healthcare workforce to cut back and forestall these wild swings to make sure your total security and high quality of life!
Take any missed medicines
Your physician might have prescribed different medicines to assist preserve your blood sugar in a standard vary. Test that you just haven’t missed a dose.
In case you have missed a dose, take it as quickly as potential, so long as you don’t “double up” in your treatment. Because of this in case your missed dose was a number of hours in the past and your subsequent scheduled dose is in 1 hour, you shouldn’t take each doses so shut collectively.
Taking two doses on high of one another could cause adversarial reactions with some medicine. As a substitute, simply take your subsequent scheduled dose now.
If unsure, seek the advice of the information on the packaging of the treatment or contact your medical workforce.
Different issues you are able to do
Even for those who don’t take insulin, there are a number of issues you are able to do to deliver a excessive blood sugar all the way down to a more healthy vary extra shortly. Let’s have a look.
Train (even simply 10 or quarter-hour)
Bodily exercise is usually a very efficient technique of lowering a excessive blood sugar.
For those who don’t take insulin, train is usually a quite simple strategy to lowering excessive blood sugar ranges. Even only a 15-minute stroll can have a huge impact in your blood sugar.
For those who do take insulin, it’s necessary to know that exercising when your blood sugar is above 250 mg/dL and with out sufficient insulin in your system can truly consequence trigger your blood sugar to rise additional and put you vulnerable to creating ketones.
For those who already take a look at optimistic for ketones utilizing a urine strip, it’s best to not attempt to decrease your blood sugar by exercising. This can solely improve your ketone stage and put extra stress in your physique.
First, you’ll want a correction dose of insulin however for those who plan to train, too, you’ll possible be suggested by your healthcare workforce to cut back the correction dose by 50 to 75 p.c to forestall a subsequent low blood sugar.
Drink some water!
Dehydration could cause excessive blood sugars, which suggests getting hydrated may help stop and cut back excessive blood sugars.
Your blood consists partly of water. Once you don’t drink sufficient water all through the day, the opposite issues in your blood (like glucose) turn into extra concentrated! And thus, increased blood sugar ranges.
that uncomfortable thirst you are feeling when your blood sugars are excessive? Give in to it. That is how your physique helps flush extra sugar out by way of your urine, and the way you replenish the mandatory fluid stability in your bloodstream.
Can oral medicines assist deliver down excessive blood sugar?
Whereas any oral medicines you are taking to assist handle your diabetes (like Metformin) do enhance your blood sugar ranges, they aren’t one thing you’d take an “additional dose” off to appropriate an occasional excessive blood sugar stage.
Nonetheless, for those who notice that you just forgot to take your dose of a day by day treatment, this ought to be a part of the method of bringing your excessive blood sugar down.
Some medicines will be taken late, and a few medicines might have to attend till your subsequent usually scheduled dose. Contact your healthcare workforce to find out if the diabetes treatment you are taking will be taken late after lacking your standard dose.
In case you have been skipping this treatment altogether — for days or perhaps weeks — it’s very possible a big contributor to the rationale your blood sugar is excessive. These medicines are designed to enhance your blood sugar ranges in a wide range of alternative ways.
Speak to your healthcare workforce to higher perceive the medicines you’ve been prescribed and the problems you’re having in taking them as directed.
When to go to the ER
In case you have sort 1 diabetes, blood sugar ranges over 250 mg/dL accompanied by giant ketones and/or signs of DKA is a medical emergency and can possible require a visit to the ER for intravenous fluids.
Let’s check out the signs of ketosis based mostly on how excessive your ketone ranges are.
Small to reasonable ketones (ketone ranges between 10 to twenty mg/dL):
- Elevated thirst
- Frequent urination
- Lack of power
- Craving sugar
Giant ketones / DKA (ketone ranges over 20 mg/dL):
- Extreme nausea & vomiting
- Extreme thirst
- Frequent urination
- Extreme fatigue
- Blood sugar ranges that gained’t budge
- Craving sugar
- Rotten-fruit smelling breath
If you’re puking from a abdomen bug, together with excessive blood sugar ranges, it’s best to completely go to the ER.
Stopping excessive blood sugars
Everybody with diabetes experiences excessive blood sugars typically — there are just too many variables within the human physique out of your management to forestall them altogether.
That being stated, there are just a few blood sugar administration pointers we are able to all comply with to attenuate the frequency of excessive blood sugars:
- Keep away from full-sugar drinks together with soda, juice, espresso drinks, iced tea, and so forth.
- Select your carbohydrates rigorously — starchy carbs from pasta, sweet, bread, desserts, and so forth. will spike your blood sugar probably the most
- Take your medicines as prescribed — and make contact with your healthcare workforce for those who miss a dose to find out for those who can take it late
- Train day by day — even a 20-minute stroll makes an enormous distinction each day
- Drink loads of water to forestall dehydration
And naturally, for those who’re experiencing excessive blood sugars are a day by day foundation and also you’re uncertain of the trigger, discuss to your healthcare workforce about making changes in your diabetes administration routine. A slight improve in your medicines can have a huge impact!
Regularly Requested Questions
It will depend on what you’re doing to get it down. Speedy-acting insulins similar to Afrezza will begin to deliver your blood sugar down in as little as quarter-hour whereas it takes about an hour for normal insulins to start out decreasing your blood sugar.
Oral diabetes medicines take a number of hours and even longer to start out working, which is why they’re poor selections to deal with pressing excessive blood sugars.
There are not any meals that may decrease your blood sugar. If it’s a must to eat whereas your blood sugar is excessive, select small quantities of protein or fats. Keep away from carbohydrates like bread, pasta, or fruit that may improve your blood sugar even additional.
