Dealing with Hyperglycemia: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Russell

Have you ever found yourself baffled by the ups and downs of blood sugar levels? It’s a journey that many of us go through. Welcome to the realm of hyperglycemia, wherewe’ll explore the symptoms and complications of hyperglycemia together. While the road may have its challenges, there’s a sense of empowerment in understanding and navigating this terrain. Let’s begin.

What is Hyperglycemia?

The presence of too much blood sugar in your bloodstream forms a condition called hyperglycemia. It either means that your body has low amounts of insulin or is unable to use the existing insulin (insulin resistance). It is usually common in people with diabetes, but, non-diabetic people may experience it too. 

When your body has insufficient insulin or is insulin resistant, the glucose doesn’t reach your cells, thereby making it unable to supply energy. As a result, the glucose starts accumulating in your bloodstream, raising your sugar levels. 

It can be dangerous to leave hyperglycemia untreated for a long time, as it has the potential to damage your tissues, nerves, blood vessels, and organs. 

Are diabetes and hyperglycemia different?

Yes. Diabetes and hyperglycemia are related but distinct terms. 

Diabetes is a chronic condition caused due to high blood sugar levels in your blood. It happens because of insufficient insulin or the inability to use insulin in your body. At the same time, hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar levels, is the key feature of diabetes, but it can also occur in people without diabetes because of stress, illness, medication, lifestyle, etc.

Diabetes calls for ongoing management to control the sugar levels, but hyperglycemia is a broader term encompassing high blood sugar levels, irrespective of the cause. The symptoms for both can be similar, but severe hyperglycemia can pose serious health risks and need special medical attention.

What causes hyperglycemia?

For a diabetic person, many things can cause hyperglycemia. Let’s find out what are these:

• Inactivity or not exercising
• Eating beyond what is required by your body 
• Insufficient medicine intake for type 1 diabetes 
• Stressing due to work, family, etc.
• Illness/flu
• Pregnancy
• Conditions that create insulin resistance, such as Cushing’s syndrome and Acromegaly
• Pancreas-related conditions 
• Some medicines 

For a non-diabetic person, the causes of hyperglycemia be:

• Being critically ill
• Having certain health conditions, like pancreatic and hormonal disorders
• Side effects of drugs

What are the symptoms of hyperglycemia?

Recognising symptoms of hyperglycemia is difficult unless your glucose levels are high (more than 180-200 mg/dL). Symptoms develop several days or weeks, but the more concerning part is, the longer your glucose levels are high, the more serious your symptoms get. However, there’s a possibility that some people with type 2 diabetes don’t show any symptoms at all. 

Let’s look at what the symptoms could be.

Early hyperglycemia symptoms:

• Feeling too thirsty or hungry
• Having blurry vision
• Inability to concentrate
• Experiencing headaches
• Urinating very frequently
• Feeling weak or fatigued
• Dry mouth
• Irritability 

Later hyperglycemia symptoms: 

• Having cuts and wounds that heal very slowly
• Recurring infections
• Experiencing weight loss
• Weak vision
• Nerve damage (resulting in insensitive feet, hair loss, or erectile dysfunction)
• Intestinal problems, like constipation or diarrhoea
• Damaged blood vessels and kidney

Are there any treatments for hyperglycemia?

Yes, hyperglycemia can be treated, but it is important that you first talk to your doctor about it. Get a good understanding of the treatments and how they affect your glucose levels. Your doctor may suggest the following measures for hyperglycemia management:

• Taking insulin in the right amounts

  Insulin injections are crucial for diabetes patients and are one of the main ways to treat hyperglycemia episodes. However, the doses required by every person can be different, and you can discuss the same with your healthcare provider.

• Fix your diet
  

  When you modify your diet, follow portion control while eating, and monitor your carb intake, managing your glucose level becomes easy. You can also get a dietician for better guidance.

• Get moving
  

  Exercising or any physical activity helps use up the excessive glucose in your blood, thereby helping control your sugar levels. But remember to avoid exercising in cases of severe hyperglycemia (ketones in urine). It may take your blood sugar levels higher.

• Get your meds

  Take your oral diabetes medication or glucose-lowering medications on time. Your healthcare provider may direct you about the dosage and the timing.

• Be a monitoring master

  You must always keep track of your glucose levels. Glucose tests can sometimes tell about hyperglycemia before it poses a problem. 

• Stay stress-free

  When you stress too much, it can release hormones that spike your sugar levels. Hence, finding ways to manage your stress or using relaxation techniques like reading or meditation can help.

Conclusion

Diabetes management isn’t a short-term thing. It’s a life-long journey. But when done right and with dedication, living becomes easy. It is true even in the case of hyperglycemia, even if it may not be for a lifetime. Just keep looking at your test results, understand them better, identify what is going wrong, and be open with your doctor about the same. It will make a lot of difference. We, at TatvaCare, can make diabetes management simple and easy through our very own smart app MyTatva. It is your personal assitance in the journey of chronic care management that provides features such as medication reminders, easy lab test booking, vitals monitoring, stress management techniques, personalised diet coaching, and more. Download and register on the MyTatva app to learn more. For information on our services call us at +91 99740 42363 or mail at support@tatvacare.in.

About the Author

Medically reviewed by

Dr. Devina Aswal

MBBS, DDM, FCR, CIC