How much glucose should be in your blood

Wait for 15 minutes and then check your blood sugar again. If you have problems with low blood sugar, ask your doctor if your treatment plan needs to be changed. Many things can cause high blood sugar hyperglycemia , including being sick, being stressed, eating more than planned, and not giving yourself enough insulin.

Over time, high blood sugar can lead to long-term, serious health problems. Symptoms of high blood sugar include:. If you get sick , your blood sugar can be hard to manage. You may not be able to eat or drink as much as usual, which can affect blood sugar levels.

High ketones can be an early sign of diabetic ketoacidosis, which is a medical emergency and needs to be treated immediately. Ketones are a kind of fuel produced when fat is broken down for energy. When too many ketones are produced too fast, they can build up in your body and cause diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA.

DKA is very serious and can cause a coma or even death. Common symptoms of DKA include:. If you think you may have DKA, test your urine for ketones. Follow the test kit directions, checking the color of the test strip against the color chart in the kit to see your ketone level. If your ketones are high, call your health care provider right away.

Lean protein: Meats and other protein-rich foods low in saturated fat. These include boneless skinless chicken and turkey, extra-lean ground beef, beans, fat-free yogurt, seafood, tofu, tempeh and lean cuts of red meat, such as round steaks and roasts, top loin and top sirloin. Choosing these can help control cholesterol. Prediabetes: When blood glucose also called blood sugar levels are higher than normal and not yet high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes.

Prediabetes is also sometimes called impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose. Whole grains: Grains such as whole wheat, brown rice and barley still have their fiber-rich outer shell, called the bran, and inner germ. It provides vitamins, minerals and good fats. Choosing whole grain side dishes, cereals, breads and more may lower the risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer and improve digestion, too.

Health Home Conditions and Diseases Diabetes. Overview Diabetes is a problem that has many consequences: If you have the disease, your body can no longer keep its blood sugar at a healthy level. This can set the stage for many other medical conditions: stroke heart disease kidney disease vision problems and blindness damage to the feet or legs However, there is good news for the 26 million Americans with diabetes—and those at risk.

Prevention Though type 1 diabetes usually develops in childhood or early adulthood, it can develop later in life. Talk to your doctor about some ways to reduce risk: Lose even a little weight. Treatment People with type 1 diabetes need to treat it with regular injections of insulin. To lower your risk of these threats and other complications, your doctor might make these recommendations: Lose weight. Stop smoking. Take aspirin regularly if you are at high risk.

Use medications to control high blood pressure or unhealthy cholesterol. Keep your feet in good condition. Even small blisters or other small injuries on your feet can grow into serious problems. Different non-insulin drugs lower your blood sugar by different actions: They may encourage your pancreas to make more insulin. They can help your body respond better to insulin. They may mimic the action of a substance in your body called GLP-1, which lowers your blood sugar after meals.

Living With You may have many reasons that you are not taking your medicines properly: They have side effects. You have to take a complicated array of many drugs. They cost too much. Many factors affect blood sugar levels throughout the day:. Remember, blood sugar levels can fluctuate throughout the day as a result of the factors previously mentioned.

For this reason, kids with diabetes or hypoglycemic episodes may have to have their blood sugar levels tested in the middle of the night by their parents. Blood sugar levels go up after eating a meal because the body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose, which is then distributed throughout the bloodstream. Blood glucose levels outside the ranges listed above are categorized as either high or low blood sugar. Hypoglycemia happens when blood glucose levels drop too low. Low blood sugar can be caused by many things including the two different types of diabetes, certain medications, alcohol, endocrine disorders, eating disorders, pregnancy gestational diabetes , and disorders of the liver, kidneys, or heart.

Here are some of the most common symptoms that someone with low blood sugar might experience:. If your blood sugar is low you might start to feel some of the first signs of hypoglycemia like dizziness, lightheadedness, or sweating.

The only way to know for sure if your blood sugar is low is to test it with a glucose meter or other glucose monitoring device. This content does not have an Arabic version. Diagnosis Symptoms of type 1 diabetes often appear suddenly and are often the reason for checking blood sugar levels.

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Show more related information. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Ferri FF. Diabetes mellitus. In: Ferri's Clinical Advisor Philadelphia, Pa.

Accessed March 6, Standards of medical care in diabetes — Diabetes Care. Papadakis MA, et al. Diabetes mellitus and hypoglycemia. New York, N. Gabbe SG, et al. Diabetes mellitus complicating normal pregnancy. In: Obstetrics: Normal and Problem Pregnancies. Accessed Jan. Cunningham FG, et al. In: Williams Obstetrics. Artificial pancreas. Accessed March 11, Natural medicines in the clinical management of diabetes.

Natural Medicines. Morrow ES. Allscripts EPSi. Mayo Clinic. Kasper DL, et al. Diabetes mellitus: Diagnosis, classification and pathophysiology. In: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. Accessed April 16, American Diabetes Association. Pharmacologic approaches to glycemic treatment: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes — Facilitating behavior change and well-being to improve health outcomes: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes — Type 1 diabetes mellitus.

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