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High Blood Sugar Levels

  Click here for some tips for Care Partners

TIPS FOR PEOPLE WITH DIABETES

Having high blood sugar is also called hyperglycemia. It is important to talk to a healthcare professional about blood glucose targets, including any high levels you may experience.

WHAT CAUSES HIGH BLOOD SUGAR

Fasting blood sugar readings are taken in the morning before you eat or drink anything with calories.

  • If your sugar is high first thing in the morning, it may continue to run high throughout the day.

  • Occasional high fasting sugars may be caused by skipping diabetes medication, eating more carbohydrates than usual the prior evening, or eating later in the evening.

  • Routinely high blood sugar readings may mean that your diabetes plan needs to be adjusted by a healthcare professional.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HIGH BLOOD SUGAR

People with diabetes do not always have symptoms when their blood sugar is too high. If you have any symptoms and you do not have the equipment to check your blood sugar at home, contact a healthcare professional to see if a home glucometer is right for you. Symptoms can include:

 

  HOW CARE PARTNERS CAN HELP

  • Remember that your partner's high blood sugar levels are higher than usual diabetes targets. If sugars remain at these levels over time, your partner may be at higher risk of diabetes complications. High blood sugar levels are often caused by consuming more carbohydrates than usual from things like regular pop or fruit juice, potatoes, flour tortillas, pasta, or rice. High blood sugar may also occur due to taking diabetes medicine differently than usual, or from being sick or under stress. 

  • Help your partner try to figure out any patterns with the high sugars. For example, was it related to something they ate or a difference in their diabetes medicines?

  • If your partner has high sugars regularly, recommend that they call their primary care team to see if they need to adjust their diabetes medication regimen.

  • Encourage your partner to limit the sugars and carbohydrates in their diet.

  • If this issue is coming up repeatedly, your partner may want to discuss with their healthcare professional whether it is something their care team thinks is important to their health.

  • If your partner is having very high sugars when they are sick or ill, encourage them to talk to their primary care team about a new sick day plan.

  • Ask your partner more about their feelings about the high sugar reading(s). You can start by asking them for information on the issue they are facing, what is affecting how important they feel it is to try to address it now, and what might increase its importance for them.

  • If your partner does not check their blood sugar but has symptoms of high blood sugar, help them figure out how to start checking and recording their sugar, especially when they have high sugar symptoms.

  • Encourage them to call their healthcare professional for advice.

  • Help them figure out if there is a pattern to the high sugar symptoms. For example, are the high blood sugar readings happening at a certain time of day, or in a certain situation like after eating more sugar or other carbohydrates, or stress?  This could help your partner and their healthcare professional figure out what is causing the symptoms.