What happens when your BG goes too high?

[Totalwar]

Milk and weekabix is quite high in blood sugars.

 

[grovesy]

They are just mixed.

Ashamed to admit this but last week I eat a takeaway pizza, 10” then cheesecake afterwards and my BG was 15 before bed. Now I know this is because I eat all that rubbish. But then today for example I had my breakfast at 9 this morning, 2 weetabix. Took my Bg before having dinner at 12.30 and it was 9.3 and I have no idea why. I feel unwell at the minute and very stressed so not sure if that is the cause. I just find time all so confusing and complicated on top of my existing mental health issues, it’s just tipping me over the edge

What was it before the breakfast?

 

[Autumn2020]

I didn’t test before breakfast as I have tested weetabix lots before and I have always read around 5.3/5.5...2 hours after, just I just assumed it was something I could handle x

 

[grovesy]

I didn’t test before breakfast as I have tested weetabix lots before and I have always read around 5.3/5.5...2 hours after, just I just assumed it was something I could handle x

I are i can see where you are coming from. That is alot out I would have assumed that too. Is it possible you are coming down with something as that can effect levels often before it's obvious.

 

[travellor]

They are just mixed.

Ashamed to admit this but last week I eat a takeaway pizza, 10” then cheesecake afterwards and my BG was 15 before bed. Now I know this is because I eat all that rubbish. But then today for example I had my breakfast at 9 this morning, 2 weetabix. Took my Bg before having dinner at 12.30 and it was 9.3 and I have no idea why. I feel unwell at the minute and very stressed so not sure if that is the cause. I just find time all so confusing and complicated on top of my existing mental health issues, it’s just tipping me over the edge

Number 1, enjoy the pizza.
Number 2, enjoy the cheesecake.
Eating is nothing to be ashamed of.

You need to find a way forward to suit all your symptoms, and mental health is a large part in that.
It is very easy to fixate on nothing but BG, indeed some who have been on here years still do that at times.
This is one of the reasons nurses quite often advise against testing sometimes.
Looking at your Hba1c, you are already doing an amazing job.
Maybe try testing a bit less for a while, and concentrate on how you feel instead.
Diet, weight, exercise are all equally important in this.

 

[Autumn2020]

I am unwell at the moment and really stressed so not sure if that could be effecting it x

 

[Autumn2020]

Number 1, enjoy the pizza.
Number 2, enjoy the cheesecake.
Eating is nothing to be ashamed of.

You need to find a way forward to suit all your symptoms, and mental health is a large part in that.
It is very easy to fixate on nothing but BG, indeed some who have been on here years still do that at times.
This is one of the reasons nurses quite often advise against testing sometimes.
Looking at your Hba1c, you are already doing an amazing job.
Maybe try testing a bit less for a while, and concentrate on how you feel instead.
Diet, weight, exercise are all equally important in this.

Thank you. I may have to so that. I have been looking at a Low Carb, High Fat diet to try and have been looking at some keto baking recipes for a little treat on a weekend, but like everything else the info on weather Keto and LCHF are good for diabetics is so conflicting, it just ends up confusing me and I give up looking. X

 

[travellor]

I am unwell at the moment and really stressed so not sure if that could be effecting it x

Both will raise your BG.
Stress releases glycogen, ready for fight or flight, being unwell does the same, to help your body with the energy it needs to feel better.

 

[Totalwar]

I have MH problems and food is my comfort when I going though a bad time.I can only suggest you talk to your mental health team.

 

[Autumn2020]

I self referred last night to the mental health team, so hopefully this will help me get back on track.

Is there any advice to follow when unwell ?
Thank yo again

 

[mikeydt1]

if it goes above 30 then it is an emergency and people really need to go to a+e the opposite way round can also be an emergency as well.

 

[Totalwar]

Yes I had a reading of 50 once and did go to hospital found out I was diabetic and had thrush both ends lol

 

[Amity Island]

Here it is!

42 Factors that affect BG

A useful list for when you're making that 'piece of cake' calculation :) ETA: Article about the table: https://diatribe.org/42factors

forum.diabetes.org.uk

Mike,

Could I ask. Would a temp level of above say 30mmol be an immediate/short term problem, if it was just momentarily (spike)? I've never seen levels like that so I have absolutely no idea what the implications are.

Thanks

 

[Becka]

Three of my usual evening fasting tests last year were above 30, which I double checked to make sure the reading was accurate. A 32.2, 32.3, and 30.5. They were not close together (a one-month gap, then a four-month gap) so I never went to A&E or sought urgent help. They also came as a big surprise as I was not feeling any symptoms from them.

I was obviously quite worried after the first one (which was pre-Covid) but all my attempts to request help in general from the surgery were ignored, despite me repeatedly pointing out those extreme readings. Then in summer the practice pharmacist needed to contact me about a prescription from a clinic, so I asked him for help and he told me such a high reading was impossible!

Mind, he then also told me that my average fasting levels being consistently around 13 in the morning and 15 in the evening did not imply anything about my overall level. Because my last HbA1c a year ago had been 7.2% / 55 mmol/L it was just a coincidence that I happened to have an exceptional spike just at the moments when I tested pretty much every day for the past six months. Apparently had I tested hourly they would have been much lower. Bizarre. And scary. I know he is not a doctor, but he is still allowed to give medical advice!

So in my case, what happens when your levels go high is not much. No one seems to care much and some people reveal staggering ineptitude. Otherwise, I never felt any different or seemed to suffer any ill effects. My foot check was good last December, and nothing new on my eye screening two weeks ago. And things are much better now thanks to a DSN who finally listened.

 

[Amity Island]

Three of my usual evening fasting tests last year were above 30, which I double checked to make sure the reading was accurate. A 32.2, 32.3, and 30.5. They were not close together (a one-month gap, then a four-month gap) so I never went to A&E or sought urgent help. They also came as a big surprise as I was not feeling any symptoms from them.

I was obviously quite worried after the first one (which was pre-Covid) but all my attempts to request help in general from the surgery were ignored, despite me repeatedly pointing out those extreme readings. Then in summer the practice pharmacist needed to contact me about a prescription from a clinic, so I asked him for help and he told me such a high reading was impossible!

Mind, he then also told me that my average fasting levels being consistently around 13 in the morning and 15 in the evening did not imply anything about my overall level. Because my last HbA1c a year ago had been 7.2% / 55 mmol/L it was just a coincidence that I happened to have an exceptional spike just at the moments when I tested pretty much every day for the past six months. Apparently had I tested hourly they would have been much lower. Bizarre. And scary. I know he is not a doctor, but he is still allowed to give medical advice!

So in my case, what happens when your levels go high is not much. No one seems to care much and some people reveal staggering ineptitude. Otherwise, I never felt any different or seemed to suffer any ill effects. My foot check was good last December, and nothing new on my eye screening two weeks ago. And things are much better now thanks to a DSN who finally listened.

Thanks Becka, that's great. You confirmed what I thought too. A spike in the 30's isn't necessarily going to cause problems. We are all different, but in the 25 years I've had diabetes, I've never had any symptoms when blood sugar temporarily high. I've always dealt with them at meal time if not before. And yes, scary the lack of knowledge in healthcare professionals, hence why so many come to this forum for advice from the people who have first hand day to day experience with diabetes.

 

[Becka]

I never had any symptoms when I was diagnosed despite an HbA1c of 11.2% / 99 mmol/mol, it was discovered when investigating a rheumatic condition, so I guess it is just another of the ways we are all different. Some people feel side-effects of hyperglycaemia when going into double figures yet others, like me, do not feel anything even in the 30s. Thankfully I have no such problem recognizing hypos.

Consistently very high readings are definitely a problem that needs immediate attention, but at least in my experience they seem to be harmless when readings were at their normal levels before and after. Although if anyone else has such a reading and is worried by it then it never hurts to seek help.

At worst you just get peace of mind there is nothing to worry about, but maybe will discover a problem before it becomes a problem. I think my reaction would have been different had I been under control and still testings with 5s rather than regularly going into the high teens.

I know a dying pancreas can sometimes spurt out more insulin than is has been, so I wonder if the opposite is true? That it can have periods where it under-produces. As it is now confirmed that my pancreas no longer produces enough insulin, that would explain why I had isolated exceptional readings.