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Sunday, March 8, 2009

Info on Diabetes - Living With High Blood Sugar (Part I)


What is High Blood Sugar (a/k/a "hperglycemia")?


Hyperglycemia is a condition when blood glucose levels become very high.


Insulin helps to ease the transportation of glucose through the body. When insulin levels are low, glucose transportation becomes less efficient and the result is higher levels of glucose in your blood.


Blood glucose levels are measured in either milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or Millimoles per liter (mmol/L). Measuring by milligrams per deciliter is the standard measure in most countries, including the United States of America, Japan, Colombia, Egypt and many others.


Most scientific journals now use mmol/L as the primary unit for measurement of blood sugar levels but they also quote mg/dl in brackets.


Blood glucose levels vary between individuals.


The normal range of glucose levels for adults is 80 to 120 mg/dL or 4 to 7 mmol/L when fasting.


If your blood sugar level consistently records above 126 mg/dL or 7 mmol/L, you probably have hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia is said to be in place when the patient’s blood glucose levels are 180 mg/dL.



But you may not notice the hyperglycemia symptoms until blood glucose levels are in the range of 270-360 mg/dL.


Hyperglycemia is common in diabetic people due to low levels of insulin in their bodies. Diabetic people might register chronic hyperglycemia even when in a fasting state.


Hyperglycemia in diabetic people may be either of two types; fasting hyperglycemia or postprandial hyperglycemia.

If your blood sugar is more than 130 mg/dL after fasting for at least 8 hours, it is referred to as fasting hyperglycemia.


Postprandial hyperglycemia does not normally cause your blood sugar to exceed 140 mg/dL after meals except in rare cases which usually involve a particularly heavy meal. If your postprandial hyperglycemia is consistently high, it could indicate the onset of Type II diabetes.


Hyperglycemia in non-diabetic people is primarily due to eating disorders, high stress levels, medications and lack of regular physical exercise.


If you consume too many calories from simple and complex carbohydrates at a single meal, your blood sugar levels may increase.


Certain medications, like corticosteroids, antipsychotic agents, beta-blockers, protease inhibitors, pentamidine, L-asparaginase, thiazide diuretics and niacin can disrupt blood sugar levels.


If your stress levels are very high, you might develop hyperglycemia. When your body is stressed, endogenous catecholamines are released. These tend to increase blood sugar levels.


Physical stress, caused by ailments like flu, colds or other illnesses may start to make your blood sugar levels to increase.


Mental stress, like misunderstandings and emotional upsets at home, school, workplace or between partners may be a factor when blood sugar levels increase.
Common symptoms of hyperglycemia include:

-frequent hunger
-poor healing of wounds
-excessive thirst
-repeated urination
-fatigue
-blurred vision
-excessive weight gain
-regular vaginal infection
-impotence in men
-dry mouth
-drying up of your skin
-groin rash
-itchy skin
-chronic constipation or diarrhea, etc.


If your hyperglycemia condition deteriorates, you could develop other complaints which might include:


-ketoacidosis
-dehydration due to osmotic diuresis (increased urination)
-glycosuria (an excess of sugar in the urine)
-extreme thirst or hunger
-lowered consciousness, and
-an increase in anxiety levels.


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