What's an OK BG level with covid-19?

[Karl_T]

Hello, so I'm a typically 'diet maintained' type 2 person, who used to take dapaglaflozin once in a while if recommended by consultant at check ups, last taken off them 6mths ago.
Tested +ive for Covid three days ago, Just taken my BG and its 11.1 hours after food, I don't do double figures, ever, but have never really had a bad virus before. Is this normal? Worrying? When do I need to get help, how high for how long?

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.

Sorry to hear you have Covid. Hope you aren't feeling too ill with it.
The first thing I would say is drink plenty of carb free fluids when your BG is high as that will help to flush the glucose out through your kidneys. It is easy to become dehydrated when you are poorly so make a point of drinking more.
Do you have any means of testing for Ketones? Ketostix urine test strips perhaps? They can be purchased at a pharmacy for about £5 if you don't have any. At a BG of 11 you are below the normal level at which ketones would be a concern and as a Type 2 I am not sure if you can develop Diabetic Ketoacidosis but with Covid in the mix that could change the goal posts and not enough is known still about how it impacts diabetes.
I would say that if your levels get up to 20 or you feel particularly unwell then ring 111 for advice but hopefully drinking fluids will help to bring things down a bit or at least stop them going higher. A short period in double figures (a few days or even a week or so) shouldn't do you too much damage as long as it doesn't go too high. I went up to 27 one night, not long after diagnosis so I understand it is scary and I spent all night drinking water and going to the loo to slowly bring it down. I think it was down to 22 the next morning, but a huge relief just to be heading in the right direction.

Please keep us posted with how you get on both with BG and Covid but if you are concerned about anything, you can always ring 111 for advice.

 

[trophywench]

When do you need to get help? Right NOW would be my answer to that. Ring 111 asap. If not 999?

With Covid in diabetic patients it was noted fairly early on that ketones appear in the blood with a lot lower BG figures than they normally do - prior to Covid we'd have to be in at least the middle teens for hours and hours before they even started to appear - but with Covid, they can appear when the BG is under 10!

Ketones turn our blood acidic so can kill us when left untreated.

Do it PDQ please.

 

[mikeyB]

That’s advice for T1s, not T2s TW. Diabetic ketoacidosis is rare in T2. And if ketones appeared with BGs under 10 then the vast human population would get ketotic.

So your post is unduly and inappropriately panicking. The OP has slightly raised BGs due to an infection, so the advice to drink plenty of water is perfectly appropriate. And no need to worry.

 

[Docb]

Thank you for that contribution MikeyB, it has saved me having to work out some form of moderation.

@Karl_T, as a T2, best advice is to keep an eye on things but don't panic. Hope the Covid follows the pattern that it does for most people and you are back operating normally after a week or so. Let us know how things go.

 

[Karl_T]

So, 7.2 this morning and 9.7 two hours after lunch. No means to test ketones in the house, and both myself and partner are locked down til the 29th. Also can't smell peardrops on breath as, well, neither of us can smell anything. Keeping fingers crossed for the mo and drinking lots of water.

 

[trophywench]

Well sorry, the info I saw did not differentiate between DKA and HHK - but admittedly it was in about April, hence I sit corrected.

 

[mikeydt1]

if you are unwell then your BS will be all over the place and going off your readings they aren't too bad.

if they go above 30 then it is an emergency or below 4 you need to act.

if you feel really unwell or worried then ring 111 they have an option for those with covid.