I don’t usually have a clue when my sugar is up. I check it and it could be 180 or 380 and I don’t usually feel the difference. I am type II on minimed pump x 2 years. A1c 8.7, I hardly ever have lows. I do take beta blockers and my doc says this can be the reason for not realizing lows, I’m not sure about highs.
This isn’t odd. A lot of people I know can’t tell one way or another. This is why it’s always a good idea to test. Some highs and lows can mimic the other. Don’t worry too much though it seems as though you are really on top of things. It’s a lot more common than you think. It’s one of those “am i the only one” theories. Been through it with other things myself!
I on the other hand know when I am having a high and or a low. It’s pretty cut and dry for me.
Have you used any of the online converters to see what an A1c that high translates to, Gail? 8.7 is akin to an average blood sugar of 228 mg/dL. This means you are either consistently in this area or fluctuating higher and lower than 228 and coming up with that as the mean. (Your standard deviation figures would tell you which of those is the case, but this is foreign to most of us.) I’ve been there - many of us have - so don’t get too discouraged.
My point is that with an A1c that reveals a high average and very few lows, you’re actually consistently riding along at an elevated blood sugar level. So your body is going to experience the symptoms of high and low differently than someone whose blood sugars fall in a more desirable range. You’re likely going to feel low symptoms when your blood sugar is actually in a preferred target range and you’re unlikely to feel high unless you’re extremely high. Your body has an equilibrium and resetting it is the hard part of where you are right now.
I used to feel high only above 300 back when I was in the 8s and above. Now that my A1c is in the 6s, I start getting high symptoms above 140. You’re just going to have to communicate with your doctors, adjust your meds, and watch your pre- and post-meal blood sugars to decide whether you need to make dietary adjustments for now. I’m a type 1, so take my advice with a grain of salt here. I’m sure your doctor has an end goal in sight for you of tighter control. I would be less concerned with whether or not I felt the symptoms of a high than whether my blood sugar was in range or not.
I think it is more of a constant high. I rarely get up in AM under 180 and it’s up from there. A1c went up a whole point in 3 months.
Hi Gail,
I’m in your neck of the woods in Radford.
I can feel highs, though I can’t tell the difference between really high-high highs & not so bad highs. Telltale sign for me is a pounding head & my heart rate.
With your consistent highs, your body has gotten used to feeling a certain way. Is your doctor open to making adjustments to get your BG under better control?
He makes pump adjustments every 3 months and I make them at will. This has gotten worse over the last 3-6 months. Daily creeping up over 300, 350 isn’t unusual.
So sorry to hear this. Know you must be quite worried with constant 300’s. Have you spoken with him recently about this? I freak if I get one close to 200.
Are there any other meds you’re taking, beside the beta blockers, that can cause high BG?
I take several. I don’t think they raise the sugar. I don’t know what to say about the sugars. Dr just adjusts the rates and goes on. Must think I’m a lost cause. I’ve always had trouble in the evening. I run a basal of 3.6 units per hour from about 4p - mn. My other basals are not as high. I can’t say I worry a lot, I am concerned that my vision is not as good as it was. I am going to try to exercise more. It hasn’t helped in the past but it’s worth a try again.