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high blood sugars
by diby, Jul 21, 2005 12:00AM
hi I have been a type 1 daibetic for about 2 years know, I am 16 years old and I started out well with controling my sugar levels. but know lately I have been having highs usually in the 200's and some times in the 300's, the highest its ever gotten is 500 when I was diagnosed. I was wondering if there was a way I could keep track of my sugar levels easier. and how long does it take for high blood sugars to start causing more serious problems.
Doctor's Answer
by JDRF-Team-SS, Jul 21, 2005 12:00AM
Hi Diby,
I am one of the volunteers here, so, keep in mind that I am NOT a medical professional. My advice, opinions and suggestions are based on my personal experience in caring for my son who is living with type 1 diabetes. He is 10 yrs. old and was diagnosed at age 3. My sister is also a type 1, but was diagnosed in early adulthood at age 24. (9 yrs. ago)
First, I need to mention that there is something called the "honeymoon phases" or "honeymoon period". This is a time during which the pancreas still produces some insulin, so its insulin production has not completely stopped. It has been said that the honeymoon phase could last up to 18 months. During this time, since your body would still be producing some insulin, you would see better blood sugars and require less insulin. This could have been happening to you up until recently.
Do keep in mind that although diabetes is treatable, it can be a hard to control disease. Sometimes we cannot even pinpoint a specific reason for a high blood sugar.
My advice is:
- Always test for ketones if your BG is over 250
- Keep a logbook of your BG's, so you and your endocrinologist can see if there is a pattern - a certain time of day you are experience highs or lows
In addition, you are growing and your demand for insulin is going to continue to change as your grow and require more insulin.
Last August, after 6-1/2 yrs. of injections, my son went on the insulin pump. It has helped us to keep his BG's in tighter control. Sure, he still has lows and highs, but, overall we have better control than we did and he has a lot more flexibility as far as food. He can eat more carbohydrates at one time as long as he accounts for them by entering them into his pump.
The pump is something you might want to talk to your doctor about, but, do be sure to keep a good record of your BG's so that your doc can adjust your insulin dosages accordingly.
As far as your question about how long would it take for high BG's to cause serious problems...I honestly do not know, but, as long as you take note of your highs so that your doc can make adjustments to your insulin and you continue to care for yourself/your diabetes (as it appears you are by posting here:), one would assume that your chances of complications would be reduced. If you went into denial and stopped taking care of your diabetes, then you would definitely be at more risk for serious problems.
Keep up the good work and talk to your doctor about your highs, as well as asking for information about the pump.
Take care,
SS
I am one of the volunteers here, so, keep in mind that I am NOT a medical professional. My advice, opinions and suggestions are based on my personal experience in caring for my son who is living with type 1 diabetes. He is 10 yrs. old and was diagnosed at age 3. My sister is also a type 1, but was diagnosed in early adulthood at age 24. (9 yrs. ago)
First, I need to mention that there is something called the "honeymoon phases" or "honeymoon period". This is a time during which the pancreas still produces some insulin, so its insulin production has not completely stopped. It has been said that the honeymoon phase could last up to 18 months. During this time, since your body would still be producing some insulin, you would see better blood sugars and require less insulin. This could have been happening to you up until recently.
Do keep in mind that although diabetes is treatable, it can be a hard to control disease. Sometimes we cannot even pinpoint a specific reason for a high blood sugar.
My advice is:
- Always test for ketones if your BG is over 250
- Keep a logbook of your BG's, so you and your endocrinologist can see if there is a pattern - a certain time of day you are experience highs or lows
In addition, you are growing and your demand for insulin is going to continue to change as your grow and require more insulin.
Last August, after 6-1/2 yrs. of injections, my son went on the insulin pump. It has helped us to keep his BG's in tighter control. Sure, he still has lows and highs, but, overall we have better control than we did and he has a lot more flexibility as far as food. He can eat more carbohydrates at one time as long as he accounts for them by entering them into his pump.
The pump is something you might want to talk to your doctor about, but, do be sure to keep a good record of your BG's so that your doc can adjust your insulin dosages accordingly.
As far as your question about how long would it take for high BG's to cause serious problems...I honestly do not know, but, as long as you take note of your highs so that your doc can make adjustments to your insulin and you continue to care for yourself/your diabetes (as it appears you are by posting here:), one would assume that your chances of complications would be reduced. If you went into denial and stopped taking care of your diabetes, then you would definitely be at more risk for serious problems.
Keep up the good work and talk to your doctor about your highs, as well as asking for information about the pump.
Take care,
SS
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Just wanna reinforce that it's 100% normal & expected for that honeymoon phase to end. Even if you were 100% perfect with doing all you were taught to do about eating, testing, exercise, etc. (and NONE of us 100% perfect about it), your honeymoon would eventually end.
Sometimes folks get discouraged when their insulin requirements increase and I'm here to say that such changes thru our lives -- especially during the hormonal changes & growing periods of teenhood -- are normal and not something feel upset or angry or ashamed or embarrassed about.
The more openly you can work with your doc and perhaps even a diabetes educator/nutritionist, the more tailored to your lifestyle you can make your diabetes treatment. In my eyes, that's the GOAL ('til we get a CURE), to fit diabetes to our rich full lives and NOT to handcuff ourselves into rigid inflexible treatment plans. Summers can be tough because the usual rhythm of school-centered life changes, too.
Keep up the good work and LIVE every day.