Everybody residing 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 will do when blood sugar spikes occur is to assist them come down into a standard vary as shortly as attainable.
Listed below are 4 issues you are able to do to deliver a excessive blood glucose stage down shortly.
When you take insulin…
For folks with diabetes who take insulin, insulin will at all times play a serious function in the way you right a excessive blood sugar. There are a number of issues to bear in mind while you use insulin to right a excessive blood sugar.
First, test your ketones
When you stay with insulin-dependent diabetes, excessive blood sugars can put you liable 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.
Check your urine for ketones, and speak to your physician or go to an pressing care facility if you happen to measure with “average to giant” ketones.
When giant ketones are current, correcting a excessive blood sugar with insulin through pump or injection received’t be efficient. As an alternative, you’ll possible want intravenous fluids for a couple of hours to restabilize.
When you solely have average ketones or much less, you might be able to right with insulin at dwelling however you’ll possible want a bigger dose than regular. Contact your healthcare crew if you happen to take a look at optimistic for ketones and are not sure of easy methods to safely handle the state of affairs.
You may be taught extra in our information: What Ranges of Blood Sugar are Harmful
Take a correction insulin dose
For individuals who take quick or rapid-acting insulin — Novolog, Humalog, Apidra, Fiasp, Admelog, Afrezza — you possibly can 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 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 implies that 1 unit of insulin will decrease your blood sugar by 50 factors.
It’s necessary 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 right a excessive might 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 present that correction dose of insulin at the very least two hours to make an influence in your blood sugar earlier than getting pissed off and taking one other injection. You received’t see a major enchancment in your blood sugar till it’s been in your system for at the very least 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.
If you inject insulin into muscle, it’s absorbed extra shortly. That is not one thing you need to do every day — it should possible depart bruising and once more, isn’t 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 may very well be a helpful possibility.
Focus on “intra-muscular” injections together 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 folks with kind 1 or kind 2 diabetes discover to be very helpful for treating excessive blood sugar ranges.
Inhaled insulin is as efficient at reducing blood sugar ranges as common insulin however works so much faster.
It’s in all probability not going to exchange 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 straightforward to make use of however the outcomes and expertise of utilizing it might differ from individual to individual.
Ask your healthcare crew for extra details about Afrezza.
Watch out for low blood sugars
Bear in mind, above all else, it’s very straightforward to over-treat a excessive blood sugar with insulin and wind up low. You then’ll be tempted to binge-eat and wind up excessive once more. This blood sugar curler coaster is exhausting — and harmful, too.
Often 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 together with your healthcare crew to cut back and forestall these wild swings to make sure your general security and high quality of life!
Take any missed medicines
Your physician could have prescribed different medicines to assist hold your blood sugar in a standard vary. Test that you just haven’t missed a dose.
You probably have missed a dose, take it as quickly as attainable, so long as you don’t “double up” in your medicine. Which means 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 prime of one another may cause opposed reactions with some medicine. As an alternative, simply take your subsequent scheduled dose now.
If doubtful, 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 if you happen to 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 could be a very efficient technique of lowering a excessive blood sugar.
When 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.
When you 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 really outcome trigger your blood sugar to rise additional and put you liable to creating ketones.
When you already take a look at optimistic for ketones utilizing a urine strip, you need to not attempt to decrease your blood sugar by exercising. It will solely enhance your ketone stage and put extra stress in your physique.
First, you’ll want a correction dose of insulin however if you happen to plan to train, too, you’ll possible be suggested by your healthcare crew to cut back the correction dose by 50 to 75 p.c to forestall a subsequent low blood sugar.
Drink some water!
Dehydration may cause excessive blood sugars, which suggests getting hydrated might help forestall and cut back excessive blood sugars.
Your blood consists partly of water. If you don’t drink sufficient water all through the day, the opposite issues in your blood (like glucose) turn out to be extra concentrated! And thus, greater 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 your urine, and the way you replenish the mandatory fluid steadiness in your bloodstream.
Can oral medicines assist deliver down excessive blood sugar?
Whereas any oral medicines you’re taking to assist handle your diabetes (like Metformin) do enhance your blood sugar ranges, they don’t seem to be one thing you’d take an “further dose” off to right an occasional excessive blood sugar stage.
Nevertheless, if you happen to understand that you just forgot to take your dose of a each day medicine, this must be a part of the method of bringing your excessive blood sugar down.
Some medicines could be taken late, and a few medicines might have to attend till your subsequent usually scheduled dose. Contact your healthcare crew to find out if the diabetes medicine you’re taking could be taken late after lacking your typical dose.
You probably have been skipping this medicine altogether — for days or perhaps weeks — it’s very possible a major contributor to the explanation your blood sugar is excessive. These medicines are designed to enhance your blood sugar ranges in a wide range of alternative ways.
Discuss to your healthcare crew 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
You probably have kind 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 primarily based 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 received’t budge
- Craving sugar
- Rotten-fruit smelling breath
If you’re puking from a abdomen bug, together with excessive blood sugar ranges, you need 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 a couple of blood sugar administration tips we will 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 essentially the most
- Take your medicines as prescribed — and speak to your healthcare crew if you happen to miss a dose to find out if you happen to can take it late
- Train each day — even a 20-minute stroll makes an enormous distinction every day
- Drink loads of water to forestall dehydration
And naturally, if you happen to’re experiencing excessive blood sugars are a each day foundation and also you’re not sure of the trigger, discuss to your healthcare crew about making changes in your diabetes administration routine. A slight enhance in your medicines can have a big effect!
Often Requested Questions
It will depend on what you might be doing to get it down. Speedy-acting insulins corresponding 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 begin reducing 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 can decrease your blood sugar. If you need 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 can enhance your blood sugar even additional.
