Hyperglycaemia – High Blood Sugar

Hyperglycaemia (or ‘feeling high’) is when your blood sugar rises above 10 mmol/l (180 mg/dl). Symptoms of Hyperglycaemia include increased thirst, frequent urination, blurred vision and/or drowsiness.

High blood sugars are caused by too much carbohydrate (excessive snacking), too little insulin or ineffective insulin (that has been left in the heat or well past its expiry date), sickness, or in the case of users of Insulin Pumps, with a blocked line or infected site.

You need to take action to have some insulin.

JadeDiabetes.com will tell you exactly how much insulin to have to correct down to your target level. It will also tell you how much insulin is still active, so that you can prevent yourself getting low.

Why do we need to correct for high blood sugars? Long term, high blood sugars lead to complications, particularly to:

• fine nerves in the eyes – leading to blindness
• fine nerves in the feet and hands – leading to loss of feeling and unnoticed injuries, which lead to gangrene and amputations
• fine nerves in the kidneys – leading to reduced kidney function and failure

So it’s important to keep your blood sugar in the ‘ideal’ range as much as possible – especially while sleeping – that’s 1/3 to 1/4 of the day!