Blood sugar levels

[CME1]

My sister in law takes her blood sugar reading with a One Touch Ultra Smart tester.  She gets a reading of 440.  Sometimes the numbers are even higher.  How can this be so high without major problems?  My husband took his reading and got 86.  She is a believer of herbals and supplements.  Could one of these make a false reading?  We have tried to get her to go to a Doctor, but she won't.

[Forum-VOL-CB]

She should absolutely see a doctor. If her sugars are really that high, she will develop problems sooner or later. Is she losing weight? Thirsty? Tired and weak?

I'm not a doctor, so I can't say if herbals and supplements can cause false readings. She really needs to get to a doctor to find out.

Good luck to you. She's lucky that you are trying to get her help.

[JDRF-VOL-SG]

Well, the fact that the first poster's husband did a comparison test and his number was normal at 86 would seem to indicate that the machine is NOT giving false numbers. Her blood sugar probably really IS that high, and this is extremely dangerous -- could be life-threatening. It really is imperative that she have a true lab test done to see if there really is a blood sugar problem. She could do a glucose test in the lab to compare the number with the number that the lab gets if she thinks that her machine is in error. Which doesn't seem likely to me since your husband's result was normal and significantly lower than hers. Herbs of any sort should not be causing this high reading.  

If she is diabetic, herbal remedies alone will not solve her problem. I also like herbal helps, but they won't fix the root problem, and if she has glucose levels this high, she absolutely needs to see a doctor, have real lab tests done, and get some medications to lower her glucose levels. Herbal remedies help the body try to help itself, but medicines are sometimes absolutely necessary. She could kill herself this way if she doesn't get help. Or cause irreparable complications such as kidney damage or blindness.

[VARIETY]

WE HAVE HAD THE SAME CONCERNS ALSO.WHEN WE LIVED IN FLORIDA WE THOUGHT MAYBE LEAVING IT IN THE CAR OR JUST THE HEAT ITSELF DID DAMAGE TO THE MACHINE.SO WE JUST GOT A NEW ONE.IT IS "VERY" SCARY.I DO WONDER IF THERE ARE FAULTY TESTERS OR WHAT CAN CAUSE THEM TO BE DEFECTIVE??

[JOKO123]

Her blood sugars are way too high and iof they are constanly high, she will run into trouble...
Sounds like she isn't taking enough insulin or maybe none at all if her readings can be over 500...

I am a believer of herbal remedies myself but they must be taken in conjunction with insulin, they alone, ARE NOT ENOUGH- I am 32 and have had diabetes for 30 years. this is nother new to me.
She has to take care of herself or she is going to run into some major problems which can be irreversable. Constant high blood sugars are bad for a number of reasons, perhaps you can email her a link from the JDRF.ORG website giving some examples of the danger of high blood sugars, other than that, there is nothing more you can do, until she wants to do something to help herself.