Sick Diabetic With Question?

Blood sugar often rises when one is battling sickness or infection. Keep testing your blood sugar, do correction boluses as necessary, and keep yourself hydrated with non-sugary liquids.

When blood sugar is high, we become more insulin resistant, so it takes even more insulin to bring high levels down. For example, say 1 unit of insulin normally takes you down 50 points. If you blood sugar is over 400, 1 unit might only take you down 20 points. That's why you should keep testing, and make constant adjustments.

Small amounts of ketones are harmless but if you start spilling a lot of ketones and your blood sugar is very high, you could be suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis. This is very serious and requires immediate hospital attention. If you start vomiting, have nausea, abdominal pains, have a pear smell on your breath - all these are DKA symptoms. Go to the emergency room immediately.

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First be careful with what meds you are taking for the cold. Anything like a cough syrup has a lot of sugar, and even cough drops do. You will need to drink a lot of water to get rid of the ketones. If you have any type of infection even a sinus infection, or ear infection your sugars will be high and you will need some sort of antibiotic. If an antibiotic is needed you will notice the change of sugars within 24hrs of starting the rx.