Blood Sugar Levels

Diabetes can cause three types of problems:

• high blood sugar
• low blood sugar
• complications

High blood sugar

There are times when your blood glucose levels may go too high. High levels are most likely when you are sick or under a lot of stress. When your blood sugar level is too high, you may:

• Have a headache
• Have blurry vision
• Be thirsty and need to go to the bathroom often
• Have dry, itchy skin

High sugar can cause two problems. First, high sugar makes you go to the bathroom a lot, and you can become very dehydrated. Most people who get this syndrome are older people with Type II diabetes. Be sure to drink lots of water when you are sick or have high blood sugar.

Second, ketones may build up in the blood. These waste products then poison the blood. This problem occurs most often in people with type 1 diabetes. You should check your urine for ketones when:

• Have symptoms of high blood sugar
• Have blood sugar over 300 mg/dl
• Are sick

Call your health care provider right away if your blood sugar is high and your urine has ketones.

Low blood sugar

Sometimes your blood sugar level can fall too low. Too-low levels are most likely caused by taking insulin or some diabetes pills. It can be caused:

• Taking too much diabetes medicine
• Eating too little or not eating
• Exercising too hard or too long
• Drinking alcohol without eating

If your blood glucose is getting too low, you may feel:

• Shaky
• Tired
• Hungry
• Confused
• Nervous

If you think your sugar is low, check it. Check also if you feel "odd" or "funny." If your blood sugar level is low, eat or drink something with 15 grams of carbohydrate right away, such as:

• 1/2 cup (1/3 can) of regular soft drink
• 1/2 cup of fruit juice
• 1 cup of fat-free milk
• 2 tablespoons of raisins
• 3 hard candies
• 1 tablespoon of sugar

If you can’t test your blood sugar right then, eat something with 15 grams of sugar, just to be safe.