What r u supposed to do when your sugar is too high?

Question

When you check your sugar level & it's too high how are you supposed to get it down? They tell you take pills but they don't seem to be working? And the vision is blurry? Anyone taking the new medicine Advandamet?

Answer 1

When blood surgar is elevated in diabetes, the sugar can actually enter the focusing lens of the eye. As the solute "sugar' increases, water follows and the lens of the eye "swells". This causes blurry vision which is usually temporary, and resolves when the blood sugar returns to normal. Diabetic can have serious eye disease including diabetic retinopathy and you should be checked by an ophthalmologist shortly. I would also suggest you see an endocrinologist for Diabetes management.

Hope this helps-

Adam D Koenigsberg MD FACS

Ophthalmologist

Jacksonville FL

Answer 2

When my sugars get too high , i need to go for a walk about 10 min and then wait 20 min when you come back home and check your sugar, they should have gone back down to your normal range.Blurry  vision is signs that sugar is too high,and no i do not take the new medicine Avandamet,also have an eye exam if you haven't since being diagnosed with diabetes. Good luck!

Answer 3

It really depends on how high it is, how long it has been that high, and what symptoms you are having.

Newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics can run routinely in the 200s without knowing anything about it for months.  Generally the feel run down and fuzzy-headed due to effects of high blood sugar on metabolism and additional effects of dehydration.

The worst case scenarios include diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA, more common in type 1 diabetics) and hyperglycemic hyperosmolar nonketotic coma (HHNK, more common in type 2 diabetics).

DKA is less an effect of blood sugar and more an effect of the ketones and acid building up in the blood, causing racing heartbeat, labored and fast breathing, sweats, and eventually chest pains, muscle aches, kidney failure, coma and death.  It is due to the body producing ketones when it can't use glucose in the absence of insulin.  It is a MEDICAL EMERGENCY and is treated with IV insulin until the ketone/acid levels normalize (NOT glucose, which usually happens first).

HHNK is a state of severe dehydration caused by high blood sugar levels spilling over into the urine and pulling large amounts of water with it.  Basically, the blood gets dehydrated, followed by the cells, leading to confusion, weakness, lethargy, coma and death.  This is also a MEDICAL EMERGENCY.  It is very important to replace the persons volume, but also to slowly correct the salt concentrations in the body to prevent brain swelling, further damage, and possible death.

It is important to realize that not everyone with high blood sugar has DKA or HHNK, but it should be a consideration in anyone who is showing symptoms.

Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) by itself is not an emergency and can be treated with a diabetic diet, oral medications or insulin, but should be managed with the assistance of a doctor.  Metformin, one component of avandamet, does not cause low blood sugar, but pioglitazone, the other component, can, but usually when used with othr medications.

If your medications aren't working, tell your doctor.  They will likely recommend diet changes, weight loss, and adjustments to your medications.  If it is acute, they will screen you for infection or other conditions which worsen control.