Whether you're a newly diagnosed diabetic or one who's been around the block, your future has many highs and lows in store. You'll never know if you're either unless you monitor your levels. I know the finger sticks hurt, but it's essential to check your blood glucose levels throughout the day. Some days more than often, but always before meals and whenever you're "just not sure".

Common symptoms of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) are:

• Increased appetite
• Thirst
• Frequent of urination
• Dry mouth
• Blurred vision
• Weight loss
• Always tired / drowsiness

What to do if you're feeling "high":
Check and confirm your reading.

Give an insulin correction by calculating the units needed to bring you down between 120-80. If you don't know your ratio, contact your doctor to discuss.

Exercise. Walk, run....just moving around helps to lower your sugar.

Drink water. This also helps to speed up the lowering process.

 Common symptoms of Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) are:

Mild-(usually when levels drop around 60-70 mg/dL)

• Nausea
• Hunger
• Nervousness
• Shaking / trembling
• Numbness or tingling in fingers / toes
• Cold and clammy skin
• Unexplained sweating

Moderate:- (usually when levels are around 40-59 mg/dL)

• Confusion: not able to concentrate
• Irritable, angry, or sudden mood change
• Slurred speach / loss of coordination
• Feeling weak / no energy
• Dizziness, blurred vision

Severe- (usually when levels are under 40 mg/dL)

• Loss of consciousness / coma
• Seizures
• Low body temperature

What to do if you drop low:

 Check your reading to know how low you are. There are times when symptoms might "overlap". In other words, you might think you're high when in fact you're low.

ALWAYS CHECK YOUR BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS TO MAKE SURE

If you're mild to moderate, simply drink about 8 oz of juice or a soda (with sugar), or eat a snack of some sort (approx. 15 carbs)

Wait for 15 minutes and check your blood sugar again.

If you're going up any...just sit tight and wait. If you're staying the same or still going down, eat or drink another snack.

Repeat this process until you raise above 80 mg/dL


This ad-free site relies on donations from visitors like yourself to continue to provide free, helpful information 24/7 to those who need it most.

 Please consider a small donation to keep this service running. Type1.mobi is another 100% free public service site from Idea Earth

---