- Diabetes is a metabolic disorder which, nowadays can be successfully managed with INSULIN, YOUR dedication, adequate education and perseverance. A normal, long life with diabetes is POSSIBLE now days.
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- People with diabetes are NOT allergic to sugar. Nothing terrible would happen if they consume some sugar [unlike people who are allergic to nuts, for example, they could have an instant potentially life threatening reaction if they consumed something containing nuts], however NEITHER HIGH NOR LOW blood glucose [BG] is good for the body.
HIGH BG’s are not good since over time they can damage the fine blood vessels, and further, the organs which they supply. Diabetes DOES NOT HURT on a daily basis, but later, if the organs get affected by poor regulation of blood glucose. Good BG control minimizes the chances of long term damage occurring.
LOW BG’s are more dangerous. All the cells in the body need insulin as the intermediary that allows glucose to get from the blood to the cells. All organs and to a lesser extent the brain, which is not as dependent on the presence of insulin. If the blood glucose keeps dropping, the brain has less and less “food” available in the blood stream, and when it reaches a level where it can not operate anymore, a person loses consciousness. THIS IS WHY YOU NEED TO STAY AWAY FROM THE LOW BLOOD GLUCOSE! - Three key elements which YOU need to get to know well, in order to be able to manage the blood glucose effectively, are:
FOOD you eat
INSULIN you use
YOUR BODY and its reactions to external influences /Insulin, food, exercise, etc/
/Your diabetes team will give you all the guidelines, but over time, YOU will get to know how those elements influence YOU/ - FOOD containing CARBOHYDRATES, raises the blood glucose [BG] level. You need to understand which foods have carbohydrates, how much they have and how they affect your BG. This will help YOU work out how much insulin YOU need to cover that food and you can then infuse the correct amount before you start the meal.
- INSULIN lowers blood glucose [BG] but only during it’s period of activity. Each type of insulin has its’ own duration of activity. Some are long acting [up to 24 hours] some are short acting [3-4 hours] but they work differently in different people. YOU need to get to know how the insulin YOU are using is working on YOU.
- When BG gets over 10, the body tries naturally to get rid of the excess glucose in the blood via urine. This is why frequent urination follows high BG. This is why one is thirsty when BG is high. If we do not take extra water to make up for the loss of fluids – dehydration occurs. [YOU cannot rely on natures way of getting rid of excess glucose. YOU have to help and take an additional, corrective dose of insulin.
- INSULIN is the “KEY” that opens the door into the cells, allowing them to feed on the glucose in the blood stream. If there is no insulin, glucose keeps wandering through the blood vessels, the cells remain hungry. We eat, but our body remains hungry. We eat but we are losing weight.
The more cells there are in the body, the more insulin we need, because there are more doors to the cells to open, more cells to be fed. This is why the amount of insulin needed increases as the body gets bigger as inthe case of a growing child or somebody gaining weight.
- If the cells are starving, they will make a plan and will start using the bodies fat reserves. When this happens, ketones appear in the blood as a by-product of this process. They make blood turn “acidic” – and this is NOT good. The only way to regain the balance is to add INSULIN and drink water to wash away the ketones. Large amounts of ketones in the blood can cause nausea and vomiting – and THIS IS WHAT WE WANT TO AVOID, definitely!
- EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT. We all react to food differently and to insulin differently. The ONLY way for YOU to determine how it affects YOU is to test the BG regularly, write down the results, food eaten and insulin taken in order to observe any trends and to find out what works for YOU.
- Besides the three basic elements, food, insulin and body, there are a few others that influence the daily profile of blood glucose : physical activity, weather conditions, hormones, sickness and growth amongst others. The list is long. For example, HORMONES, which are of course secreted unnoticeably (7 of them, I think) all raise blood glucose. If you get stressed – BG goes up, excited – BG goes up , and so on. So there are so called, force Majuere’s involved, but all you can do is to try to understand their influence on YOU and , again, add insulin to correct the high BG.
- Diabetes does not sleep, it is awake even when you are asleep, but with time, as YOUR understanding grows, the management becomes “easier”, more of a routine and becomes a part of your day, part of you, like getting dressed, like breathing. The sooner you accept diabetes as part of you and try to understand it, the sooner you’ll be able to return to a “normal” life.
- And when you get all that and apply all that you have learned to date and then, unexplainably, the BG jumps to 14 – do not lose your hope and cool.
Firstly, that is just one BG, just one day, temporary, just for a while. Remember that you have Insulin and use it.
Secondly, there is an explanation for it too, as my friend Jelena pointed out, BG was high because you have been given the right diagnosis – you have diabetes ;)