Overview

Your doctor or diabetes care team will give you goals for your blood glucose (sugar) and recommend ways to treat high blood glucose. Here are some general guidelines for treating it.

• Treat mild to moderate high blood glucose.

  Follow these steps if your blood glucose is over the target range set by your doctor. For example, that might be over 11.0 mmol/L for two or more readings a few hours apart.

  • If you missed your usual dose of diabetes medicine, ask your doctor, pharmacist, or diabetes care team if it is OK to take the missed dose later in the day.
  • If your doctor prescribed a dose of fast-acting insulin based on the blood glucose level (correction insulin sliding scale), give the appropriate dose to correct the high blood glucose. If not, call your doctor or diabetes care team for advice.
  • Check your blood glucose 30 minutes after giving the correction insulin to see if your blood glucose is starting to lower.
  • Test for ketones, if your doctor or diabetes care team has advised you to do so. If the results show a moderate-to-large amount of ketones, seek emergency care immediately or call 911.
  • Drink extra liquids to replace the fluids lost through the urine. Water and sugar-free drinks are best.
• Know when to take action.
  • If symptoms of high blood glucose become more noticeable or if your blood glucose level continues to rise, call your doctor.
  • If you start to feel drowsy or disoriented or if your blood glucose continues to rise (for example, above 20.0 mmol/L), call 911 or other emergency services immediately. It's best to have someone with you if you are disorientated so that the person can call for you.
• Recheck extremely high blood glucose.

  Follow these steps if your blood glucose is extremely high—for example, over 34.0 mmol/L. Some blood glucose meters read only levels up to about 22.0 mmol/L.

  • Wash and dry the finger carefully before checking again.
  • If the meter reads high, test the accuracy of the meter, and then recheck the blood glucose.
  • If the meter reads high again, call the doctor for advice or call Health Link at 811.
  • Test for ketones, if your diabetes care team has advised you to do so. If the results show a moderate-to-large amount of ketones, seek emergency care immediately or call 911.

After a high blood glucose episode

After your blood glucose level has returned to a target range:

• Continue medicine as prescribed by your doctor.
• Check blood glucose levels as directed.
• Report the episode and what you did to correct your blood glucose to your doctor or diabetes care team.
• Drink extra liquids to replace the fluids lost through urine.
  • Water and sugar-free drinks are best.
  • Avoid caffeinated drinks and alcohol. Also avoid regular soda pop, fruit juice, and other liquids that contain a lot of sugar.