High A1C at a 14

[shan33]

hi I'm 18 years old and i have had type 1 diabetes since i was 4 years old. Right now my A1C is at a 14 and i feel so sick. Can you tell me how someone would feel with their A1C at a 14. no one seems to understand how i feel and how easy thing are so hard for me to do. thanks -shannon

[pbrosam010]

To all of you with an A1C in the high ranges such as 7 or higher, you need to get to the doctor.  I was just hospitalized for 5 days, 2 of those days in Intensive Care for an A1C greater than 14. If you don't get there, you run the risk of dying. I was feeling very rough and felt as though I was dying.  I had no energy, was losing weight and was up urinating a lot. I was drained.  I went to the ER and was transported by ambulance 3 1/2 hours away to a VA hospital in North Carolina and put into Intensive Care.  They told me that on a scale of 1-10, I was a 10. Ketoacidosis is no joke. Your kidneys will fail you and shut down.  Get to a doctor ASAP.

[Super_sally888]

Hi,

the appropriate treatment for LADA type diabetes is insulin.

[Morganshelo]

Type 1 and type 2 at the same time

[Morganshelo]

I found out last week I have diabetes and I did not know u could of type 1 and 2 at the time but u can and I found out I got both and I been having worst headaches but if u just keep checking your surger u well be fine

[windeagle]

Well I am 41 and I was just diagnosed 3 years ago. the doctor said that i get the latent autoimmune diabetes in adult. I had no clue. I am slim. I don't eat so much. i don't feel uncomfortble. My blood sugars levels 2 hours after each meal have reached 8-15.,my fasting blood-glucose is near 7.i don't using the insulin. I hope this helps a bit.how to do when a guy get the latent autoimmune diabetes in adult?

[Super_sally888]

Hello,

with your a1c at > 14 you have a very high risk of complications, and diabetic ketoacidosis, which can be fatal.

Your average blood sugar is around 400, which is 5x normal.

Are you taking insulin?  Are you taking your basal insulin every day?  Has your dose been adjusted appropriately?  Are you taking fast acting insulin before eating?

I would urge you to work hard to be consistent in taking your insulin regularly and getting the dose optimized.  Are you working with a doctor?

You are very young and have a lot to look forward to in life.  But this necessarily includes controlling your blood sugar better than you currently are.

Is there any option for you to attend a diabetes camp with other young people who are also managing diabetes, to help you learn about how to better control it.

Please post back and ask questions or anything you want and maybe we can help motivate you.

[Cschiralli99]

I'm 16 and my a1c is >14.  I don't feel that bad. I'm still playing three sports and doing ok in school    I have a couple other conditions that contribute to my tiredness but I'm fine

[spawn3731]

Well I am 17 and I was just diagnosed 3 days ago. I had no clue. I am a very very health young man. I rarely get sick due to my strong immune system. Just before Thanksgiving I started to loose weight and by this month I had lost 44 lbs. When we found out that I have type one diabetes we instantly knew why I lost so much. My A1C was above 13 also. My blood sugars levels 2 hours after each meal have only reached under 350 once. I don't seem to be irritable or anything, i do not feel sick, since I have been eating less and not having sugar, I have been feeling really tired and down. Your blood sugar level is at such a high level that it makes sense that your feeling so bad. You need to exercise, get at the very least 10,000 steps a day, eat meals with no more than 45 carb (3 carb choices), eat 3 meals and 3 snacks a day and only 2 carb choices a snack. Drink plenty of water. I hope this helps a bit.

[DennisIDDM]

Sounds to me like you weren't properly Trained on all the phases of Treating your Diabetes with your Insulin/Pump etc...starting with Carb Counting vs Sliding scale to having a Sliding scale for taking a Correction Bolus to get them down to Properly,  not even being Told you have to test every couple of Hours...to Figuring out what your Basil rates should be.. ( if On MDI, probably s/b splitting the does every 12 hrs) and if on Pump,will have several different basil rates thru out 24 hrs...

Suggest you first go see a CDE and start over from the Basics on up... and once you understand all these parts, you can eat what you want, when you want and know how to keep things under alot better control...

Having a High A1c is .like trying to function on less than a few hours of sleep...and your nothing short of being a Zombie...

>If your  family can't afford a CDE? Then You and your parents can go the self taught route, as many of us have too do( with better results I might add ) and get the following Books

>John Walsh> Using Insulin
>Think Like a pancrease
>Dr. Bernsteins Diabetic Solution

Within in a few weeks of Reading and following these Books guides, you will be anew person in no time..

[JDRF-VOL-SG]

Shannon, for me personally, the key to keeping good control is testing often and adjusting to what I see. If you do that every 3 hours or so, your a1c numbers come down all by themselves and all you do is test and adjust. No real miracle except that you do that first blood sugar test and give appropriate quick-acting insulin to normalize it. Then you repeat in a few more hours. I am a graphic designer, and I design some of our nation's coinage. I assure you that when working on a tight deadline for this important work, perfect glucose control is the key to any possible artistic success. I cannot think clearly or "create" when my brain is not able to access sugar properly. I notice that if I go either high OR low, I can't create effectively. It really will help you in many areas of your life if you just start the first test-and-adjust and keep doing it. You are taking the first step by realizing that something needs to change. Good for you! I wish you the best.

[Forum-vol-cmb]

Shannon of course you feel rotten, your blood sugars are constantly very high.  I am sure you feel irritable and exhausted and you might be losing weight because of all the excess sugar in your body that is spilling over into your urine.  Not to mention you probably feel nauseous and probably do not feel  like eating because of the high sugars.  
Why are you not trying to get your blood sugars under control?  Even if you are going through something you should try to get your blood sugars under control. We as diabetics are supposed to try very hard to get our Ha1c under 7.  I guarantee if you get better control of your blood sugars you are going to feel much better.  I don't think things would be so hard for you if you got tighter control.

That said have you seen a dietician and are you regularly seeing an endocrinologist?  I am assuming you are because you know your Ha1c levels.  Is your endocrinologist very concerned about your readings because he should be and so should you.  Not only will you feel better if you get tighter control but you will lessen your chances of getting complications from diabetes if your blood sugars are under control.