How to Bring High Blood Sugar Down Quickly

Everybody dwelling with diabetes is sure to expertise excessive blood sugars (hyperglycemia) typically. There are just too many variables out of our management to stop excessive blood sugars from ever taking place.

However one of the best factor we are able to do when blood sugar spikes occur is to assist them come down into a traditional vary as shortly as attainable.

Listed below are 4 issues you are able to do to carry a excessive blood glucose stage down shortly.

In case you take insulin…

For folks with diabetes who take insulin, insulin will all the time play a serious position in the way you appropriate a excessive blood sugar. There are a number of issues to bear in mind if you use insulin to appropriate a excessive blood sugar.

First, verify your ketones

In case you stay with insulin-dependent diabetes, excessive blood sugars can put you susceptible to growing ketones. Blood sugar ranges over 250 mg/dL with too little insulin can shortly flip into diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) if it continues to rise.

Check your urine for ketones, and phone your physician or go to an pressing care facility in the event you measure with “reasonable to massive” ketones.

When massive ketones are current, correcting a excessive blood sugar with insulin by way of pump or injection gained’t be efficient. As an alternative, you’ll seemingly want intravenous fluids for a couple of hours to restabilize.

In case you solely have reasonable ketones or much less, you could possibly appropriate with insulin at residence however you’ll seemingly want a bigger dose than regular. Contact your healthcare workforce in the event you check optimistic for ketones and are not sure of the best way to safely handle the scenario.

You may study extra in our information: What Ranges of Blood Sugar are Harmful

Take a correction insulin dose

For individuals who take quick or rapid-acting insulin — Novolog, Humalog, Apidra, Fiasp, Admelog, Afrezza — you possibly can take a “correction” dose to carry a excessive blood sugar down.

A “correction issue” is decided with assist out of your healthcare workforce. This quantity tells you the way a lot 1 unit of quick or rapid-acting insulin will decrease your blood sugar. For instance, a correction issue of 1:50 implies that 1 unit of insulin will decrease your blood sugar by 50 factors.

It’s vital to bear in mind how a lot insulin chances are you’ll have already got on board in your bloodstream earlier than taking a further dose of insulin.

Most quick and rapid-acting insulin stays in your system for about 3 to 4 hours, which implies taking a further dose of insulin to appropriate a excessive may result in a extreme low blood sugar if you have already got a big quantity of insulin out of your most up-to-date dose nonetheless in your bloodstream.

Additionally, keep in mind to provide that correction dose of insulin a minimum of two hours to make an impression in your blood sugar earlier than getting pissed off and taking one other injection. You gained’t see a big enchancment in your blood sugar till it’s been in your system for a minimum of 1 to 2 hours (until you utilize ultra-fast insulins like Afrezza).

Take an “intra-muscular” injection

Insulin was designed to be injected into physique fats, but when your blood sugar is excessive, injecting that “correction dose” of insulin into muscle may also help.

If you inject insulin into muscle, it’s absorbed extra shortly. That is not one thing you need to do every day — it is going to seemingly go away bruising and once more, is just not how insulin is meant to be taken to your on a regular basis insulin wants. However for these extreme highs (blood sugar studying over 250 mg/dL), it might be a helpful possibility.

Talk about “intra-muscular” injections along with your healthcare workforce earlier than including them to your diabetes administration routine.

Think about using inhaled insulin

Afrezza is a rapid-acting inhaled insulin that some folks with sort 1 or sort 2 diabetes discover to be very helpful for treating excessive blood sugar ranges.

Inhaled insulin is as efficient at decreasing blood sugar ranges as common insulin however works lots faster.

It’s most likely not going to switch your whole insulin wants, however many are utilizing it along with their regular insulin by way of syringe, pen, or insulin pump due to how shortly it begins working in your bloodstream.

It’s pretty straightforward to make use of however the outcomes and expertise of utilizing it could actually differ from individual to individual.

Ask your healthcare workforce for extra details about Afrezza.

Watch out for low blood sugars

Bear in mind, above all else, it’s very straightforward to over-treat a excessive blood sugar with insulin and wind up low. Then you definitely’ll be tempted to binge-eat and wind up excessive once more. This blood sugar curler coaster is exhausting — and harmful, too.

Steadily discovering your self on the blood sugar curler coaster means your method to taking insulin and/or the way you deal with low blood sugars isn’t working and wishes some fine-tuning. Work along with your healthcare workforce to scale back and forestall these wild swings to make sure your total security and high quality of life!

Take any missed medicines

Your physician might have prescribed different medicines to assist maintain your blood sugar in a traditional vary. Test that you simply haven’t missed a dose.

If in case you have missed a dose, take it as quickly as attainable, so long as you don’t “double up” in your medicine. Which means in case your missed dose was a number of hours in the past and your subsequent scheduled dose is in 1 hour, you shouldn’t take each doses so shut collectively.

Taking two doses on high of one another could cause adversarial reactions with some medication. As an alternative, simply take your subsequent scheduled dose now.

If unsure, seek the advice of the information on the packaging of the medicine or contact your medical workforce.

Different issues you are able to do

Even in the event you don’t take insulin, there are a number of issues you are able to do to carry a excessive blood sugar all the way down to a more healthy vary extra shortly. Let’s have a look.

Train (even simply 10 or quarter-hour)

Bodily exercise could be a very efficient technique of lowering a excessive blood sugar.

In case you don’t take insulin, train could be a quite simple method to lowering excessive blood sugar ranges. Even only a 15-minute stroll can have a big effect in your blood sugar.

In case you do take insulin, it’s vital to know that exercising when your blood sugar is above 250 mg/dL and with out sufficient insulin in your system can truly outcome trigger your blood sugar to rise additional and put you susceptible to growing ketones.

In case you already check optimistic for ketones utilizing a urine strip, you need to not attempt to decrease your blood sugar by exercising. It will solely enhance your ketone stage and put extra stress in your physique.

First, you’ll want a correction dose of insulin however in the event you plan to train, too, you’ll seemingly be suggested by your healthcare workforce to scale back the correction dose by 50 to 75 p.c to stop a subsequent low blood sugar.

Drink some water!

Dehydration could cause excessive blood sugars, which implies getting hydrated may also help forestall and cut back excessive blood sugars.

Your blood consists partly of water. If you don’t drink sufficient water all through the day, the opposite issues in your blood (like glucose) turn into extra concentrated! And thus, greater blood sugar ranges.

You understand that uncomfortable thirst you’re feeling when your blood sugars are excessive? Give in to it. That is how your physique helps flush extra sugar out by means of your urine, and the way you replenish the mandatory fluid stability in your bloodstream.

Can oral medicines assist carry down excessive blood sugar?

Whereas any oral medicines you’re taking to assist handle your diabetes (like Metformin) do enhance your blood sugar ranges, they aren’t one thing you’ll take an “additional dose” off to appropriate an occasional excessive blood sugar stage.

Nevertheless, in the event you notice that you simply forgot to take your dose of a each day medicine, this needs to be a part of the method of bringing your excessive blood sugar down.

Some medicines could be taken late, and a few medicines might have to attend till your subsequent usually scheduled dose. Contact your healthcare workforce to find out if the diabetes medicine you’re taking could be taken late after lacking your typical dose.

If in case you have been skipping this medicine altogether — for days or perhaps weeks — it’s very seemingly a big contributor to the rationale your blood sugar is excessive. These medicines are designed to enhance your blood sugar ranges in quite a lot of alternative ways.

Discuss to your healthcare workforce to raised perceive the medicines you’ve been prescribed and the problems you’re having in taking them as directed.

When to go to the ER

If in case you have sort 1 diabetes, blood sugar ranges over 250 mg/dL accompanied by massive ketones and/or signs of DKA is a medical emergency and can seemingly require a visit to the ER for intravenous fluids.

Let’s check out the signs of ketosis primarily based on how excessive your ketone ranges are.

Small to reasonable ketones (ketone ranges between 10 to twenty mg/dL):

• Elevated thirst
• Frequent urination
• Lack of power
• Craving sugar

Giant ketones / DKA (ketone ranges over 20 mg/dL):

• Extreme nausea & vomiting
• Extreme thirst
• Frequent urination
• Extreme fatigue
• Blood sugar ranges that gained’t budge
• Craving sugar
• Rotten-fruit smelling breath

In case you are puking from a abdomen bug, together with excessive blood sugar ranges, you need to completely go to the ER.

Stopping excessive blood sugars

Everybody with diabetes experiences excessive blood sugars typically — there are just too many variables within the human physique out of your management to stop them altogether.

That being stated, there are a couple of blood sugar administration tips we are able to all observe to reduce the frequency of excessive blood sugars:

• Keep away from full-sugar drinks together with soda, juice, espresso drinks, iced tea, and many others.
• Select your carbohydrates rigorously — starchy carbs from pasta, sweet, bread, desserts, and many others. will spike your blood sugar essentially the most
• Take your medicines as prescribed — and phone your healthcare workforce in the event you miss a dose to find out in the event you can take it late
• Train each day — even a 20-minute stroll makes an enormous distinction every day
• Drink loads of water to stop dehydration

And naturally, in the event you’re experiencing excessive blood sugars are a each day foundation and also you’re not sure of the trigger, speak to your healthcare workforce about making changes in your diabetes administration routine. A slight enhance in your medicines can have a big effect!

Steadily Requested Questions