People who do not have diabetes typically have fasting blood sugars that run under 126 mg/dl. Your physician will define for you what your
target blood sugar should be -- identifying a blood sugar target that is as close to normal as possible that you can safely achieve given your overall medical health. In general, high blood glucose is
defined as a blood glucose over 180 mg/dl. Be sure to ask your doctor what he thinks a safe target is for you. High blood sugars can pose health problems in the short-term as well long-term. Depending on how
high your blood sugars run and for how long, you can wind up in the hospital with one of the problems listed in
complications. So it is important to aim to keep your blood sugars under control, and treat high blood sugars when they occur. What are the symptoms of high blood sugars?
- Increased thirst
- Increased urination
- Dry mouth or skin
- Tiredness or fatigue
- Blurred vision
- More frequent infections
- Slow healing cuts and sores
- Unexplained weight loss
What causes a high blood sugar?
- Too much food
- Too little exercise or physical activity
- Not enough diabetes pills or insulin
- "Bad" or spoiled insulin
- Illness, infection, injury or surgery
- Make sure the cause of high blood sugar is not a blood glucose meter which is not reading accurately.
What should you do for high blood sugars?
- Be sure to drink plenty of water. It is recommended to drink a minimum of 8 glasses each day.
- If your blood sugar is 250 or greater and you are on insulin, check your urine for ketones. If you have ketones follow your sick day rules or call your health care team if you are not sure what to
do.
- Ask yourself what may have caused the high blood sugar, and follow the suggestions outlined on the next page.
- If the answers to the questions on the next page are NO, try to determine if there is a pattern to your blood sugars.
- Check your blood sugars before meals 3 days in a row.
- If > than your target level for 3 days, a change in medication may be needed.
- Call your health care team or adjust your insulin dose following well day rules.
- Call your health care team if you are currently using diabetes pills.
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