Everybody residing with diabetes is sure to expertise excessive blood sugars (hyperglycemia) generally. There are just too many variables out of our management to forestall excessive blood sugars from ever occurring.
However the very best factor we are able to do when blood sugar spikes occur is to assist them come down into a traditional vary as rapidly as attainable.
Listed below are 4 issues you are able to do to deliver a excessive blood glucose degree down rapidly.
Should you 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 bear in mind once you use insulin to appropriate a excessive blood sugar.
First, verify your ketones
Should you dwell with insulin-dependent diabetes, excessive blood sugars can put you susceptible to growing ketones. Blood sugar ranges over 250 mg/dL with too little insulin can rapidly flip into diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) if it continues to rise.
Check your urine for ketones, and get in touch with your physician or go to an pressing care facility should you measure with “average to massive” ketones.
When massive ketones are current, correcting a excessive blood sugar with insulin by way of pump or injection gained’t be efficient. As a substitute, you’ll doubtless want intravenous fluids for a couple of hours to restabilize.
Should you solely have average ketones or much less, you might be able to appropriate with insulin at dwelling however you’ll doubtless want a bigger dose than regular. Contact your healthcare crew should you take a look at constructive for ketones and are uncertain of the right way to safely handle the scenario.
You possibly can be taught 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 set with help out of your healthcare crew. This quantity tells you ways a lot 1 unit of quick or rapid-acting insulin will decrease your blood sugar. For instance, a correction issue of 1:50 implies that 1 unit of insulin will decrease your blood sugar by 50 factors.
It’s essential to bear in mind how a lot insulin you might 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 may result in a extreme low blood sugar if you have already got a major 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 a minimum of two hours to make an impression in your blood sugar earlier than getting pissed off and taking one other injection. You gained’t see a major enchancment in your blood sugar till it’s been in your system for a minimum of 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 might help.
While you inject insulin into muscle, it’s absorbed extra rapidly. That is not one thing you must do every day — it would doubtless depart bruising and once more, is just not how insulin is meant to be taken on your on a regular basis insulin wants. However for these extreme highs (blood sugar studying over 250 mg/dL), it could possibly be a helpful choice.
Focus on “intra-muscular” injections along with your healthcare crew 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 kind 1 or kind 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 so much faster.
It’s in all probability not going to interchange all your insulin wants, however many are utilizing it along with their regular insulin by way of syringe, pen, or insulin pump due to how rapidly it begins working in your bloodstream.
It’s pretty straightforward to make use of however the outcomes and expertise of utilizing it will possibly differ from individual to individual.
Ask your healthcare crew for extra details about Afrezza.
Watch out for low blood sugars
Keep in mind, above all else, it’s very straightforward 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.
Continuously discovering your self on the blood sugar curler coaster means your method 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 crew to scale back and stop 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 hold your blood sugar in a traditional vary. Test that you simply haven’t missed a dose.
When you have missed a dose, take it as quickly as attainable, so long as you don’t “double up” in your medicine. 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 antagonistic reactions with some medication. As a substitute, simply take your subsequent scheduled dose now.
If unsure, seek the advice of the information on the packaging of the medicine or contact your medical crew.
Different issues you are able to do
Even should you don’t take insulin, there are a number of issues you are able to do to deliver a excessive blood sugar right down to a more healthy vary extra rapidly. Let’s have a look.
Train (even simply 10 or quarter-hour)
Bodily exercise could be a very efficient methodology of lowering a excessive blood sugar.
Should you don’t take insulin, train could be a quite simple method to lowering excessive blood sugar ranges. Even only a 15-minute stroll can have a big effect in your blood sugar.
Should you do take insulin, it’s essential to know that exercising when your blood sugar is above 250 mg/dL and with out sufficient insulin in your system can really end result trigger your blood sugar to rise additional and put you susceptible to growing ketones.
Should you already take a look at constructive for ketones utilizing a urine strip, you must not attempt to decrease your blood sugar by exercising. It will solely improve your ketone degree and put extra stress in your physique.
First, you’ll want a correction dose of insulin however should you plan to train, too, you’ll doubtless be suggested by your healthcare crew to scale back the correction dose by 50 to 75 % to forestall a subsequent low blood sugar.
Drink some water!
Dehydration could cause excessive blood sugars, which suggests getting hydrated might help stop and cut back excessive blood sugars.
Your blood consists partly of water. While you don’t drink sufficient water all through the day, the opposite issues in your blood (like glucose) grow to be extra concentrated! And thus, greater blood sugar ranges.
You understand that uncomfortable thirst you’re feeling when your blood sugars are excessive? Give in to it. That is how your physique helps flush extra sugar out by means of your urine, and the way you replenish the required fluid steadiness 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 degree.
Nonetheless, should you understand that you simply forgot to take your dose of a day by day medicine, 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 may have to attend till your subsequent usually scheduled dose. Contact your healthcare crew to find out if the diabetes medicine you are taking will be taken late after lacking your typical dose.
When you have been skipping this medicine altogether — for days or even weeks — it’s very doubtless a major contributor to the rationale your blood sugar is excessive. These medicines are designed to enhance your blood sugar ranges in a wide range of other ways.
Discuss to your healthcare crew to raised perceive the medicines you’ve been prescribed and the problems you’re having in taking them as directed.
When to go to the ER
When you have kind 1 diabetes, blood sugar ranges over 250 mg/dL accompanied by massive ketones and/or signs of DKA is a medical emergency and can doubtless 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 average 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, you must completely go to the ER.
Stopping excessive blood sugars
Everybody with diabetes experiences excessive blood sugars generally — there are just too many variables within the human physique out of your management to forestall them altogether.
That being mentioned, there are a couple of blood sugar administration pointers we are able to all observe to attenuate the frequency of excessive blood sugars:
- Keep away from full-sugar drinks together with soda, juice, espresso drinks, iced tea, and so on.
- Select your carbohydrates rigorously — starchy carbs from pasta, sweet, bread, desserts, and so on. will spike your blood sugar probably the most
- Take your medicines as prescribed — and get in touch with your healthcare crew should you miss a dose to find out should you can take it late
- Train day by day — even a 20-minute stroll makes a giant distinction every day
- Drink loads of water to forestall dehydration
And naturally, should you’re experiencing excessive blood sugars are a day by day foundation and also you’re uncertain of the trigger, discuss to your healthcare crew about making changes in your diabetes administration routine. A slight improve in your medicines can have a big effect!
Continuously Requested Questions
It is dependent upon what you might be doing to get it down. Fast-acting insulins reminiscent of 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 begin decreasing your blood sugar.
Oral diabetes medicines take a number of hours and even longer to begin 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 you must 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.
