Eating a diet that is high in fiber may help to keep your blood sugar levels under control. (See "Patient education: High-fiber diet (Beyond the Basics)".) A diet that is low in sodium and high in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products can help keep blood pressure under control.
Your blood sugar level rises immediately after eating a meal or snack (Figure 2). In a healthy person, insulin then starts working, and the blood sugar level returns to the pre-meal level 2 hours after eating. In untreated diabetes patients, the blood sugar level does not return to the pre-meal level of its own accord.
If you don't eat, your blood sugar levels are lower and medication may drop them even more, which can lead to hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia can cause you to feel shaky, pass out, or even go into a coma.
You may have briefly felt the effects of low blood sugar when you've gotten really hungry or exercised hard without eating enough. This happens to nearly everyone from time to time. It's easy to correct and usually nothing to worry about. But low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, can also be an ongoing problem.
Target blood sugar levels differ for everyone, but generally speaking: if you monitor yourself at home – a normal target is 4-7mmol/l before eating and under 8.5-9mmol/l two hours after a meal. if you're tested every few months – a normal target is below 48mmol/mol (or 6.5% on the older measurement scale)
This is a common but not-so-obvious sign of blood sugar that is too high: feeling really thirsty and needing to drink more than usual. “Excessive urination, known as polyuria, occurs when glucose builds up in your blood, and your kidneys begin working harder to get rid of the extra glucose,” says Zanini.
Thus, drinking water lowers your blood pressure levels and eases the blood sugar levels immediately.
If your blood sugar level is slightly high for a short time, emergency treatment won't be necessary. But if it continues to rise you may need to act fast to avoid developing diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). If your blood sugar level is 15 mmol/l or more, you should check your blood or urine for ketones.
If you have diabetes, you'll need to check your blood sugar, also called glucose, to know if it's too high, too low, or meets your goal. A diabetic coma could happen when your blood sugar gets too high -- 600 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or more -- causing you to become very dehydrated.
If HbA1c is more than 48 mmol/mol or fasting blood glucose is more than 11 mmol/L, your blood sugar is high. For most people without diabetes, normal blood sugar levels are: between 4 and to 6 mmol/L before meals. less than 8 mmol/L two hours after eating.
The dawn phenomenon leads to high levels of blood sugar, a condition called hyperglycemia. It usually happens between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. The cause of the dawn phenomenon isn't clear. Some researchers believe the overnight release of certain hormones that happens naturally increases insulin resistance.
If your level is between 7.8 – 11.0 mmol/L, this indicates that you have prediabetes. Random blood glucose test. If your healthcare team suspects you may be at high risk for diabetes, they may draw your blood to be tested when you visit them, regardless of whether you have been fasting or have eaten recently.
The dawn phenomenon
In the early hours of the morning, hormones, including cortisol and growth hormone, signal the liver to boost the production of glucose, which provides energy that helps you wake up. This triggers beta cells in the pancreas to release insulin in order to keep blood glucose levels in check.
One of the most common reasons for long-term high blood glucose levels is diabetes mellitus, in which the body has lost the ability to produce or respond to insulin and glucose remains elevated in the blood.
When blood glucose levels are too high, the body is not processing glucose as energy; therefore, tiredness or fatigue may occur.” Fatigue can also coexist with other conditions. These include: Unhealthy lifestyle habits: Poor diet/skipping meals, lack of exercise, excessive caffeine or alcohol intake.
If you are struggling to get up in the morning; feeling a total lack of energy or 'fogginess' or not able to perform the tasks you normally do as simply too exhausted it may be that you actually are suffering from fatigue... and it could be a side effect of your diabetes.
Try to go 10–12 hours each night without eating, Sheth said. For instance, if you eat breakfast at 8:30 a.m. every morning, that means capping your nighttime meals and snacks between 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. each night.
A blood sugar level less than 140 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L) is normal. A reading of more than 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) after two hours means you have diabetes. A reading between 140 and 199 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L and 11.0 mmol/L) means you have prediabetes.
Action to take
If a ketone test shows that ketones are present and a blood glucose test shows that a person's blood sugar levels are 240 m/dl or above, the ADA advise them to see a doctor. Anyone with these symptoms should seek medical help as soon as possible, as DKA can become a medical emergency.
A normal pre-prandial (before meal) blood glucose level will be between 4 and 7 mmol/l. Aftereating (post-prandial) levels should be below 9 mmol/l when tested 2 hours after a meal. When going to bed for the night, levels should be no more than 8 mmol/l.