The person gets weak. They get dizzy and disorientated. They start to feel extremely heavy. Their vision gets blurred, they get drowsy and they cannot think straight. This is a scene that happens all the time in a horror movie popular among diabetics called: “High Blood Sugar” (rated G -affects all ages ).

What high blood sugar is

Well, high blood sugar is pretty much when there is a high glucose content in your blood. When not eating, high blood sugar is considered anywhere above 130 mg/dl is considered high. If you are not a diabetic, then your blood sugar is most likely around 100 mg/dl. But, if your blood sugar is higher than 126 mg/dl, then you most likely have some form of diabetes. But when I was diagnosed, my blood sugar was approximately a whomping 745 mg/dl. I was over 7x what the normal amount is! My sugar was so high that it would not even register on a normal glucometer.

Cause and effect

High blood sugar can be caused by many things in diabetics. Physical and emotional stress can be one thing that can launch blood sugar into orbit. As I mentioned in one of my previous articles, being sick can raise blood sugar too. Not being physically active can also make blood sugar jump. Different things can make different people’s sugars go high. Now onto the effects (fun!*)! In high blood sugar, some short term effects include: headaches, blurred vision, and thirst. But with prolonged high blood sugar, it can get worse. Long term complications with prolonged high blood sugar include: organ damage, weakened healing ability, nerve damage, kidney damage, bad vision, hair loss, and reproductive complications. This is why it is crucial to fix it (see below)

*SARCASM YEAH!!! (air guitar)

Fix it!

Fortunately like low sugar levels, highs can be corrected, literally. In T1D, people will often be told to do something called a correction. In a correction, the person gets an extra shot of insulin (a very small amount) to help bring sugar levels down. Currently, I am not on any corrections yet. Drinking lots of water has a chance of bringing it down, but it is not guaranteed. So without corrections, I just need to drink water and hope for the best. Either way, it’ll be a lot better with an insulin pump when I can just correct myself by entering in my blood sugar 😀 .