High blood sugar with type 2 diabetes

Nov 21, 2018

There are many reasons your blood sugar can go too high. It is important to know what causes high blood sugar and why high blood sugar is dangerous.

Causes of high blood sugar

Eating too much carbohydrate
Not doing enough exercise or activity
Insulin or other diabetes medicines may need to be increased
Forgetting to take insulin or other diabetes medicines
Illness or infections
Stress
Injury
Surgery

Signs of high blood sugar

Frequent urination (going pee a lot)
Thirsty and drinking a lot
Dry mouth and dry skin
Blurry vision
Yeast infections in the groin area

How do I treat high blood sugar?

High blood sugar is a blood sugar that is higher than your target range. It is normal to have a high blood sugar once in a while.

Call your diabetes nurses if you have:

High blood sugar a lot of the time
High blood sugar about the same time each day

The nurses can help figure out the reason for the high blood sugar and suggest changes in medicine, exercise, or eating to help the high blood sugars come down.

High blood sugar over a long period of time, such as months or years, causes damage to body organs. This damage is not usually seen for 10 years or longer.

High blood sugars, over time, lead to:

Kidney damage and kidney failure
Blood vessel damage that can cause heart attacks and strokes
Eye problems that can lead to poor vision or blindness
Nerve damage that can cause pain like pins and needles in the feet and legs
Skin infections and sores that do not heal and could lead to surgery to remove a toe, foot, or leg
Sexual problems, such as not being able to get an erection

Keeping your blood sugar normal lowers your risk for these long-term problems.