What Levels of Blood Sugar Are Dangerous?

If you live with diabetes, you probably know that life with a condition is similar to walking a tightrope.

Staying within range without too much (hyperglycemia) and low (hyperglycemia) glucose levels is a consistent, balanced act.

But what kind of blood sugar levels are actually considered dangerous?

In this article, we will investigate this issue and provide advice on how to literally manage both the highest and lowest diabetes!

What is normal blood sugar?

According to the American Diabetes Association, normal fasting blood sugar (mornings where you don’t drink or drink water other than 8 hours) is less than 100 mg/dL.

A fasting glucose reading of 100-125 mg/dL indicates prediabetes, and a reading above 125 indicates diabetes.

Fasting blood sugar	result
Less than 100 mg/dl	usually
100 mg/dL to 125 mg/dL	Pre-sugar
126 mg/dL or more	Diabetes

(If you live outside the US and are used to measure at mmol/l, simply divide all numbers by 18)

If you want to test your blood sugar levels two hours after eating or drinking something containing sugar instead (oral glucose tolerance test), here are the numbers you will look for:

Oral glucose tolerance test	result
Less than 140 mg/dl	usually
140 mg/dl to 199 mg/dl	Pre-sugar
Over 200 mg/dL	Diabetes

For more information, see the detailed article. What is normal blood sugar?

Risk of hyperglycemia

Having high blood sugar means that your body lacks insulin, which means that there is too much sugar in the blood. This can happen for a number of reasons. For example, you may be taking enough insulin for Excellal, exercising too little, eating too much, stress, hormonal changes, or lack of sleep.

It is important to remember that high blood sugar is dangerous, but hyperglycemia is almost dangerous Long term (Unless you’re in DKA, this is explained in more detail below.)

This means that in most cases blood glucose levels at diagnosis do not cause long-term complications, and the spikes we saw last week after eating ice cream sundae won’t affect you in the long run.

However, chronic, long-term hyperglycemia (think the lifespan of diabetes with an average blood glucose level of 200 mg/dL) causes diabetes complications in most people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ay2ekl0wyk

What is considered hyperglycemia?

Blood glucose levels are considered high in diabetic patients if they exceed 125 mg/dL, which indicates a diagnosis of diabetes. However, having a blood glucose level of 145 mg/dL usually does not cause any problems (especially if you are planning to sleep or exercise).

For most people, hyperglycemia becomes symptomatic when blood glucose levels reach 180-200 mg/dL.

Glucose levels above 200 mg/dL should be treated immediately with insulin (and water and exercise are also helpful), and glucose levels above 250 mg/dL should be performed with ketone urine tests to prevent spiraling into diabetic ketosidosis (DKA).

This is when the body’s blood changes long and dangerously acidic due to high blood sugar levels and ketones in the blood. This can be fatal if not treated immediately.

This can occur when you’re fighting illness or infection due to a breakdown in the pump injection site, or even if you forget to take insulin for a few days.

Unfortunately, around 25% of newly diagnosed people with type 1 diabetes are diagnosed while already in DKA.

If you have experienced blood glucose above 250 mg/dl along with moderate to high ketones for a few hours, and if you are unable to lower your glucose levels, contact your doctor immediately for emergency medical treatment.

Diabetic patients are at an increased risk of becoming diabetic coma due to hyperglycemia when their blood glucose levels reach 600 mg/dL or higher.

At this point, the blood becomes thick and syrup, causing the filtering process where excess sugar passes through the blood into the urine, pulling large amounts of liquid from the body (called “diabetic hyperosmotic syndrome”).

This is a true medical emergency, extremely dangerous and can be life-threatening. If you are in this situation, you will need to call 911.

What are the symptoms of hyperglycemia?

Symptoms of hyperglycemia may vary depending on the severity.

Early signs and symptoms of hyperglycemia

If your blood sugar level is about 200 mg/dL but isn’t yet dangerously high, you may experience the following symptoms:

I increased my thirst
You need to urinate frequently
Fatigue
Painful muscles
Slightly blurred vision
headache

Signs and symptoms after hyperglycemia

If you have ketones and are at risk of falling into DKA, you may experience these symptoms.

nausea
vomiting
Fruity scented breath
Dry the mouth
Weight loss
Weakness
Extreme fatigue
confusion
Seriously painful muscles
Very blurry vision
shortness of breath
Panel

If you are experiencing any of the late stage symptoms of hyperglycemia, see a doctor immediately.

The risk of hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia, also known as hypoglycemia, can become much more dangerous faster. Hypoglycemia, if left untreated, can quickly cause coma and death in diabetes.

Hypoglycemia in most cases does not lead to permanent complications (unless someone experiences a brain swelling and traumatic brain injury by falling into a diabetic coma), but often causes short-term complications in the form of inability to function physically when experiencing low-level people. They require fast acting glucose (or shots of glucagon) as a treatment.

Symptoms of hypoglycemia can collide with different people at different times, and some may not experience hypoglycemia at all (called not being low). This is extremely dangerous.

Continuous glucose monitoring system and diabetes warning dogs can help people detect lower speeds before they become extremely dangerous.

Whims occur in about 40% of people with type 1 diabetes, and not often in people with type 2 diabetes.

Additionally, one study showed that the average person with type 1 diabetes experiences two episodes of hypoglycemia per week!

Hypoglycemia can occur for many reasons. All of this is the amount of too much insulin in the bloodstream, which produces enough glucose to allow the body to function properly.

The reasons can be everything from taking too much insulin for food, accidentally over-penetrating with an insulin pump, not finishing your diet, drinking too much alcohol, or properly reducing your basal insulin settings, even after physical exercise or exercise.

What is considered hypoglycemia?

For the average person with diabetes, hypoglycemia means less than 80 mg/dL (for pregnant women, hypoglycemia is less than 60 mg/dL if stricter control is required).

Very low blood sugar is measured below 40 mg/dL. All below 40 mg/dl are considered extremely dangerous and potentially deadly.

People are at a significantly higher risk of becoming diabetic coma if their blood sugar levels are unable to exceed 40 mg/dL for several hours.

If a person is experiencing severe, low, low levels and is unable to chew food or swallow liquids, an emergency shot of glucagon (usually thigh muscles or butts) will be required.

What are the symptoms of hypoglycemia?

confusion
Anger/frustration
Sweat/Tilm
Unstable, unstable movements
Rapid Pulse
Hungry
Lethargic
I’m irritated
Dizziness
It’s difficult to talk
Muscle strength loss

If you are experiencing very hypoglycemia below 40 mg/dL, it does not respond to fast-acting glucose or glucagon, take fast-acting insulin within the last 2 hours and call 911 for immediate emergency medical treatment.

This condition can be life-threatening if not treated.

Tips for avoiding high and low blood sugar

Walking the tightrope of life with diabetes is not easy.

We need to work hard every day to make sure that blood sugar levels are not too high or too low and that can be exhausting.

Here are some strategies to keep your blood sugar in balance:

Eat similar foods and meals with predictable carbohydrate counts
Cooking food at home, so you know all the ingredients in your diet
Maintain your routine and eat at the same time every day
Get plenty of sleep!
Double check your insulin dose and make sure you’re not taking too much too little
If you count carbohydrates for your diet and administer insulin for those carbohydrates, eat everything
Check your insulin expiration period regularly
There is always quick action glucose and glucagon nearby
Take all insulin and diabetes medications as prescribed
Wear CGM or have a diabetes alert dog to help you detect hypoglycemia without realizing it
Wear a diabetes alert bracelet
Don’t drink too much alcohol on an empty stomach
Work with your doctor to increase or reduce your insulin needs when experiencing life changes (such as adolescents, pregnancy, aging, racial training).
Treat all hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia early and frequently before it becomes dangerous