High blood sugar is an emergency condition.

Blood sugar, or glucose, is the main source of energy for your body. After you eat, your digestive system breaks down food into glucose, which enters your bloodstream. The hormone insulin, produced by the pancreas, helps regulate blood sugar levels by allowing glucose to enter cells for energy. However, when this balance is disrupted and blood sugar levels remain elevated for prolonged periods, it can cause a variety of health problems.

Understanding the impact of high blood sugar on your health is crucial in preventing complications and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In this blog, we will explore the immediate symptoms, long-term effects, and strategies to manage high blood sugar to protect your health.

Symptoms of High Blood Sugar

High blood sugar can become quite evident through symptoms ranging from minor discomforts to some serious problems. Hyperglycemia (aka High Blood Sugar) symptoms if detected in the early stages, can result in lesser complications. So, it’s better to look out for the oncoming symptoms as mentioned in the next part of the blog.

Excessive Thirst, Frequent Urination, and Fatigue

Feeling excessively thirsty might be a sign that your sugar level is higher than normal. This happens because your kidneys are trying their best to eliminate excess sugar from your bloodstream. When your kidneys are working this way, they draw more water due to dehydration. Hence, you may experience excessive thirst, and you might drink water, quite frequently.

It is important to know that besides thirst, there are several other symptoms you must look out for. Sometimes, to get rid of the excess sugar content in your bloodstream, your kidneys attempt to get rid of it through urine. The urge to pee frequently might be a sign that the sugar level in your blood is spiking above normal levels, this interferes with your normal activities throughout the day and increases the chance of getting a UTI.

Another common symptom of high blood sugar or hyperglycaemia can be fatigue. When the body is no longer able to process the glucose in your body for energy production, you might feel drained and fatigue quite often. Fatigue often affects your daily-life activities and will definitely affect your well-being.

How It Affects Day-to-Day Functionality

High blood sugar can affect concentration, energy levels, and even mood. As the body tries to fight off the excess glucose, it may bring on mental fog, irritability, and inability to focus. This can stand in the way of your work and daily activities, and it is hard to perform well at your best.

Chronic Effects of High Blood Sugar on the Cardiovascular System

Exorbitant blood sugar levels destroy or damage blood vessels and nerves, increasing the risk of heart disease.

High Blood Sugar’s Link to Heart Disease

Chronic hyperglycemia can cause atherosclerosis, or the accumulation of plaque in the arteries, leading to narrowing and hardening of the arteries. This will impede blood flow, and the heart has to work harder to pump blood, thereby increasing the risk for heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular complications.

People with diabetes, especially those whose blood sugar levels are poorly controlled, have a much greater risk of developing heart disease. In fact, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for people with diabetes.

Kidney Damage and Renal Issues

The kidney is an essential organ for filtering out the waste from your body. If your blood sugar levels remain too high over time, it can cause immense damage to the vitality. Looking out for your blood sugar levels also helps you protect functioning of the kidneys.

How High Blood Sugar Leads to Nephropathy

The complications and problems caused by diabetes can sometimes cause diabetic nephropathy or prolonged kidney disease. The spiking levels of sugar in the bloodstream can destroy the blood vessels inside your kidneys impairing the filtering capabilities of your kidneys, in the long run. This can even escalate to kidney failure, which might need dialysis or even a kidney transplant!

Impact of High Blood Sugar on Vision

High blood sugar can have an extreme impact on your vision, leading to both short-term and long-term problems.

Diabetic Retinopathy Explained

The blood vessels involved in the circulation of blood in your eyes can be impacted with serious damage. When these blood vessels get impaired, they may leak blood or disrupt the blood-flow with blockage and other complications. The hindered flow of blood causes disruption in the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the retina of the eye.

This can lead to vision problems or even blindness. The tricky part is that diabetic retinopathy doesn’t always show symptoms right away, which is why regular eye exams are so important. These check-ups can catch the condition early, sometimes before any noticeable changes in your vision occur.

Effects of High Blood Sugar on the Nervous System

Chronic high blood sugar can also affect the nervous system, leading to painful and debilitating complications.

Peripheral Neuropathy and Chronic Pain

Peripheral neuropathy, a common complication of hyperglycemia, can lead to chronic pain and nerve damage. For individuals with diabetes, regular foot examinations are crucial for early detection and prevention of further complications.

Relationship of High Blood Sugar with Weight and Insulin Resistance

High blood sugar is closely linked to insulin resistance, a condition in which the body’s cells do not respond effectively to insulin.

How High Sugar Impacts Metabolism

In case of insulin resistance, the body must produce more insulin in order to compensate for the inability of the cells to uptake glucose. The result of this is potentially higher levels of circulating insulin, which encourages fat storage and weight gain. Often, excess weight, especially abdominal, exacerbates insulin resistance and starts a vicious cycle.

Connection Between Obesity and Blood Sugar Levels

Obesity is a major risk factor in type 2 diabetes and hyperglycemia. The excess fat, especially abdominal fat, acts to disrupt the body’s use of insulin. Fortunately, even modest weight loss can significantly improve insulin sensitivity and help regulate blood sugar levels.

Lifestyle Changes to Manage Blood Sugar

Managing blood sugar effectively is essential in preventing the long-term complications associated with hyperglycemia. Fortunately, there are several lifestyle changes that can help keep blood sugar levels in check.

Importance of Monitoring and Medication

Monitoring of blood sugar levels must be carried out by diabetes patients or those at risk of developing the same. Your doctor may decide to administer medication, which includes insulin and oral pills, to regulate blood glucose. It is therefore important to heed your doctor’s advice and take your medications as prescribed.

The Role of Diet and Exercise

Diet and exercise is what blood glucose management is. Proper diet, mainly based on whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats, and high amounts of vegetables, is very much good to regulate blood glucose. Also, processed foods, refined sugars, and carbohydrates need to be avoided as well as restricted in one’s diet.

Another good tool for controlling blood sugar is regular physical activity. Exercise helps the body to use insulin more efficiently and improves its sensitivity to insulin as well as helps in maintaining weight. Try to aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week.

Conclusion: Effects of High Blood Sugar on Your Body

High blood sugar affects the body significantly, starting with your heart and kidneys, passing through to your eyes, and eventually to your nerves. The early detection of the signs and symptoms of hyperglycemia and proper management will prevent complications and ensure a healthy life.

By making lifestyle changes, checking your blood sugar frequently, and following the guidance provided by your healthcare provider, you can prevent major health complications caused by hyperglycemia. With such proactive measures now, you will be able to live a healthier life while avoiding the long-term dangers of hyperglycemia.

Remember, managing blood sugar is a lifelong commitment. Start today, take charge of your health, and look forward to a brighter and healthier tomorrow!

References

Effective Management of Diabetes Through Bariatric Surgery

Obesity has become the principal cause of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus these days. Excessive fat deposition leads to insulin resistance, which results in metabolic syndrome. There are various ways to treat type 2 diabetes including lifestyle modification, weight reduction, and drugs including insulin. All these conventional methods have proved to be inefficient in achieving long-term results, highlighting the need for effective management of diabetes.

Surgery has evolved as the most efficient alternative to conventional treatment and results in sustained weight loss and remission or resolution of type 2 Diabetes.

Bariatric and metabolic surgery changes the anatomy of the gastrointestinal tract in a beneficial way, this alteration increases good hormones. After bariatric surgery, there is an augmented release of hormones like GLP-1 and PYY from the small intestine that leads to improvement in high blood sugar levels.

Since bariatric surgery is a highly efficient tool to reduce the blood sugar levels in an obese diabetic patient, there is a need for adjustment of anti-diabetes medicines in these patients post-surgery.

Moreover, there is decreased calorie intake after bariatric surgery for which dose adjustments of the anti-diabetes medicines are needed.

The post-operative diet schedule includes:

Phases 1 and 2 are of clear liquids to a full liquid diet for 2 weeks. At this stage, the calorie intake is about 600 to 800 kcal/day.
Phase 3 is of pureed diet.
Phase 4 consists of a soft to normal diet and the calorie intake is about 1200 to 1500 kcal/day.

Before surgery, patients are usually switched over to intravenous insulin, and blood glucose is monitored at regular intervals.

Similarly in the postoperative period, blood sugar is again maintained on intravenous insulin. On discharge, the patient is shifted to tablets along with long-acting insulin in most of cases for an initial few days.

The patient is taught to measure and chart blood sugar twice daily or in a few cases thrice daily and the doses are adjusted accordingly. Subsequently, as patients lose weight, there is a further decrease in the requirement for drugs. Most of the time, almost all of the drugs are withdrawn to avoid any hypoglycemic episode. It is advised to maintain a blood sugar level between 120 to 150 mg %. Remission of diabetes is seen in close to 80% of patients who do not need any treatment. There is a continuous need for follow-up with at least 3 monthly HbA1c levels.

In patients with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, withdrawal of drugs may precipitate ketoacidosis in the early postoperative period. These patients are monitored carefully for symptoms and signs of diabetic ketoacidosis.

General guidelines:

To Monitor blood glucose at least twice a day with the aim of maintaining it between 110-180mg/dl.

Tab Metformin is started on day 1 of surgery. The long-acting insulin doses are reduced by 50%.

Signs and symptoms of stress hyperglycemia include frequent urination, increased thirst, blurred vision, fatigue, headache or ketoacidosis which includes fruity-smelling breath, nausea and vomiting, shortness of breath, dry mouth, weakness, confusion, coma, abdominal pain, etc. They must be addressed carefully and must be monitored by watching blood gases as well as urinary ketones.
Patients must be educated about signs and symptoms arising from hypoglycemic episodes (Blood sugar less than 70 mg%) like shakiness, dizziness, sweating, hunger, irritability or moodiness, anxiety or nervousness, and headache.
During such episodes, the patient must take 15-200 ml of fruit juice or milk if on a liquid diet. And if on solids, any sweet candy. Similarly patient can take curd or yoghurt if on a pureed diet.
Such people must take adequate protein to avoid episodes of hyper or hypoglycemia.

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Tag: management of metabolism

What Does High Blood Sugar Do to Your Body?