The Warning Signs of Hyperglycemia | High Blood Sugar

When you have diabetes, your blood sugar is higher than normal.  Normal blood sugar is measured at under 100 mg/dL when blood is drawn after an overnight fast.  You are diagnosed as having diabetes when your fasting blood glucose measures 126 or higher.  Pre-diabetes, a situation where your blood sugars are higher than normal, but not high enough to qualify you as being a diabetic occurs when your fasting blood glucose measures between 101 and 125 mg/dL.  But just because you have diabetes does not mean your blood sugar is high all the time.  Having diabetes means your body doesn't regulate your blood sugar levels as well as someone who doesn't have the disease.   You may at times suffer from hypoglycemia (see Warning Signs of Hypoglycemia), which is low blood sugar, and (more often) have hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar.

Over time, high blood sugar causes serious diabetic complications, so it is important to try and keep your blood sugar as low as possible.  However, no matter how diligent you are monitoring your food intake, exercising, and taking your medication, if you have diabetes you will have hyperglycemic events. High blood sugar symptoms are not necessarily experienced by all people who have diabetes, buy you should familiarize your self with them regardless.

Symptoms of hyperglycemia include:

• Polydipsia, or being excessively thirsty
• Polyuria, or frequent urination
• Polyphagia , or frequent hunger
• Blurred vision
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Difficulty concentrating
• Dry mouth
• Dry or itchy skin
• Unexplained weight loss

If you have high blood sugar for long periods of time, you may experience the following

• Recurrent vaginal (female) and skin infections
• Slow-healing cuts and sores
• Nerve damage causing painful cold or insensitive feet, loss of hair on the lower extremities, and/or erectile dysfunction
• Decreased vision
• Stomach and intestinal problems such as chronic constipation or diarrhea

If you are experiencing any of these signs and symptoms of hyperglycemia, you should discuss them with your physician.  He or she will instruct you on a proper course of action.  This may include adopting an exercise regime, weight loss, or a change in medication.

But What Causes Hyperglycemia?

There are a number of reasons you may be experiencing high blood sugar. These include:

• Consuming too many calories
• Missing your insulin or oral glucose-lowering medicine
• Eating too many grams of carbohydrates for the amount of insulin administered
• Exercising less than usual, or a general decrease in activity
• Strenuous physical activity
• Infection
• Illness
• Increased stress

Treatment of diabetes revolves around reducing hyperglycemia. Symptoms are not always evident, so you need to monitor your blood sugar levels regularly. Your doctor will advise you how frequently you should test yourself. This is a very important part of managing diabetes.

If you neglect your high blood sugar, over time you could develop ketoacidosis (diabetic coma). Ketoacidosis occurs when your body can't produce enough insulin. Without enough insulin, the cells cannot effectively use the available glucose for fuel, this results in the body breaking down fats to use for energy. When fats are used for fuel, the body creates ketones as a waste product. These are excreted through urine, however if your body cannot excrete all the ketones you are creating then they build up in the bloodstream. This is what leads to ketoacidosis.

Ketoacidosis is potentially life-threatening and requires immediate medical attention. Symptoms include:

• Fruity smelling breath
• Shortness of breath
• Very dry mouth
• Nausea and vomiting

If you notice you have hyperglycemia symptoms, you should discuss them with your physician.  While diabetes is not a life sentence, without proper medical treatment you can develop serious complications.  Make a point of knowing the symptoms of high blood sugar.  Symptoms will vary from person to person, so test yourself often so you can get to learn how your body responds to foods and exercise.  Having an understanding of how your body reacts to these things will help you manage your diabetes and live healthier for longer.