Repeating just because this point resonated in the echo chamber that too often is my skull. 
Use over time of resonate:
My intention to seek feedback from this community was not to imply that any blood sugar rise alone would indicate covid. Perhaps I could have stated this more clearly.
I think that an unusual blood sugar rise in the context of the more mild common symptoms of the Omicron variant (runny nose, sneezing, headaches) would afford those of us who follow our blood-sugar closely with an added reason to raise suspicion.
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I very rarely get headaches, and on Sat I had a very bad one. My glucose levels certainly were wildly off. Sunday my levels were much more stable, but I started sneezing constantly and I normally never do that unless I have a cold, and I rarely have colds. Last night my levels rose and they seldom do that at night. They are better today.
Saturday my levels rose to 220 which is very rare for me. I got them down without too much trouble, but gave too much insulin and then ate too much and then I was really on a rollercoaster for the rest of the day. I also wasn’t exercising. I had also eaten too much fat on New Year’s Eve.
I have certainly been thinking of Covid, but it would have been extremely hard for me to get it. The Covid levels here are fairly low and I almost never go out. My husband doesn’t either.
I feel pretty good today. I am still waiting to see if I am actually sick.
Sorry you are not feeling well, Marilyn. Since you focus every day on keeping your glucose levels well managed, your experience would make me suspicious about covid.
This Omicron virus, if I’m to believe comments from various sources, is a whole order more contagious than previous variants. In fact the number of people on average that every infected person infects is though to be 10, the so-called “R nought or R sub zero” number. Some experts have said that Omicron contagiousness is approaching the measles virus.
Taking a brief break from your usual eating style and exercise habits could be an explanation for your blood sugar excursions. When I relaxed my eating habits over Thanksgiving, it took me a few days to reign things back in. I did better at my Christmas family meal.
I think this is significant and bodes well for your continued health. The other options, like a covid quick test or the more definitive PCR test, each come with their own downsides. The quick test suffers from false negatives and the PCR test means going out and exposing yourself to more Omicron challenges. I think standing pat and closely watching how you feel is a rational path to take.
I have a few quick tests, but haven’t used them for the reason you stated. My son and DIL were here on Christmas Eve, but they hardly go out and always wear masks, and they didn’t get sick. Also a friend expectedly stopped by on Christmas Eve, but he was well masked and we talked outside. I wasn’t masked though. As far as I know he is well. Other than that we haven’t come in contact with anybody.
Only 8 people out of 100,000 in our county get Covid daily at this point. I can’t believe that I could be that unlucky, since we have taken such extremes to not get sick. One never knows though.
I hope that life returns to normal sometime in the not too distant future.
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If I hadn’t been cheating, and cheating I was, all of this would have been a great deal easier to figure out. Oh well, I enjoyed what I ate and drank, and only do it rarely.
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You can’t cheat on yourself Marilyn. Most of us eat too much crap this time of year.
I call it a healthy diet time out.
I’m back on it now, but my sugars were so off the last 2 weeks, my doctor told me that I need to do new basal rate determinations.
I told her I’ll see how things level out after the holidays.
I’ve returned to normal.
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Or as Dr. Bill Polonsky calls it, “a healthy good-enough!”
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I got covid Dec 2020. My symptoms started like cold symptoms and severe body aches. It was 3 days in before I lost my taste and my temperature rose. I think it was around this time my bs started to go up but I really don’t remember now. I went the full 10 days feeling miserable and my cough getting worse. My fever finally broke on day 11. I had a cough for 4 months. The exhaustion finally lessened the end of last summer although I still have days I must take a nap. My insulin use went thru the roof. Before getting sick my tdd was about 60-80 units a day. I went over 200 units per day until last summerish. But that’s also the time my doc put me on victoza. Now I’m at about 160 units a day. I’ve asked if there’s been any post covid studies or somewhere I can put my experience but both my gp and my endo are unaware of any.
I don’t recall any rise in bs with vaccine shots.
So rise in bs was not a first symptom but an ongoing symptom for me.
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This is ringing shockingly true for me, and I really thank you for sharing this specific tidbit. For more than a week I was fighting shockingly terrible numbers. I almost never touch a toe over 180 anymore, but was seeing BGs over 300. My 98% TIR 70-160 dropped to less than 40%. (It’s also why I haven’t been posting, was feeling pretty ashamed of myself.) Seemed like I was always chasing highs all of a sudden. Even my sick day basal profile wasn’t working, as I was still seeing highs and then abnormally violent lows. After reading this, I went back to normal basal profile,
but cranked my correction factor way down (less sensitive/give more correction insulin), and started giving ridiculous amounts of mealtime insulin, and I’m finally back to nearly normal. “Nearly” because I keep getting scared by all my insulin on board and foil myself with a banana or something. I eat moderate carb, usually less than 100 grams a day. A typical meal is 5-6 units for me, maybe 8 or 9 max if there’s rice or pasta and I need a major super-bolus boost. I’ve been dosing 12-14 instead, while eating even less than usual. That’s a Christmas feast dose for me, and terrifying to see when I’ve eaten very little!
I don’t know if I’ve had/have Covid, though. I haven’t felt symptomatic, just freaky BG and more tired than I should be. My county is only testing those who are symptomatic, or who have known exposure via the statewide tracking app.
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My entire family had COVID in March 2021; my t1 son’s blood sugar was actually on the lower side. He had a very high fever and exhaustion, and after the vaccines, he did not have significant glucose variations.
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I can say that there’s no need for that but I suspect I would have the same feelings! Thanks for sharing your experience.
I’ve heard more than one expert say that this Omicron variant is so contagious that it will likely find each of us given enough time. I’ve also read several accounts of people who have been very careful regarding using a mask and limiting social interaction carefully yet still contracted Covid.
Don’t you think there would be some health value in knowing whether you’ve had Covid or not? I believe the symptoms that you’ve reported here are more than enough to justify getting a PCR test. As people with diabetes, especially T1D, our symptoms to Covid are likely not completely congruent with the gluco-normal population. If it were me and I was faced with a fastidious bureaucrat gatekeeper, I would just tell them what they want to hear.
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Honestly, no. Not anymore. I sorta assumed we have gotten it, as I agree that just about everyone will eventually. If I was actually ill or scared, I would knock down walls to get the test and subsequent treatment. But I’m doing great now that I’ve figured out how to control my BG again. A blood test won’t change anything there. I’d still have the same uncertainty about my amount of bolus insulin, and the same question about when this excessive need will wear off. I’m prepared for the hypos when that day comes. I’m still rural and reclusive, that’s not going to change. I seldom leave the property unless it’s for outside fun/sport. Groceries are obtained with zero contact on the every 6-8 week shopping trips. They open the car trunk and load them without ever coming face to face.
At the start of the pandemic, we assumed that we would be among the earliest infected, just because my husband was always traveling internationally, and even got stuck in some scary places without high standards of virus etiquette. Think customs workers hacking in your face with no attempt to even cover up. But we tested negative for antibodies and tested negative at countless number of swab tests. It got to the point where we figured we were putting ourself at more risk going to the place where all the sick people were if we didn’t actually need medical assistance.
My MIL (retired psychiatrist) is head of the medical board for our clinic, so I have a lot of inside info on what’s going on there. They’re desperately strapped for resources. Not the actual testing materials, but it’s really hard to keep the normal family medicine and trauma bay operations running soothingly and staffed, when the trauma bay has essentially been turned into the sick wing and medical staff has to spend an eternity suiting up in full protective gear each time they come near to a potential Covid patient, and budgeting for all the extra equipment and disposables, and how to deal with them and the additional biohazards because the country already has inadequate garbage infrastructure… It all works best when they aren’t further burdened by us relatively healthy people just looking for confirmation. They do heavily recommend that anyone who suspects they have Covid but isn’t symptomatic to get tested at one of the larger facilities, but that involves a long drive to more populated areas of the state.
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My fever varied a lot. From normal to over 100, back and forth.
I think there is a lot of value in frequent temperature checks. If I had only checked once, I might’ve never actually known and gotten tested.
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I do temperature and blood pressure every morning, while I wait out the thyroid med fasting period. Gotta do something.
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I was positive for antibodies, the after a year went by, I
no longer had them.
Not sure if it was because I had such a mild case of it or is that’s just the nature of Covid
That is how it works, which is why people get reinfected (as well as the fact that prior infections may be less protective against new variants, which seems to be the case with all priors and Omicron), and why even if a person has had COVID, they should be vaccinated (which lowers risk of reinfection by a lot in people with prior infections).
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(Replying to Sally7) I’d instead say “people who have not been diagnosed (yet) with diabetes.” They’re probably considered pre-diabetic, which to my mind is a diagnosis that allows the medical establishment to ignore the disease for a while longer.
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That’s when I take my shower - and I like to take long showers. 
Prediabetes is like being a little bit pregnant.
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