How To Lower Your Blood Sugar When It's Really High

​This article is written for type 2 diabetics who need help coming down from a very high blood sugar during a single, isolated high blood sugar event.

If you want to try an stabilize your baseline, consider signing up for my Baseline Blood Sugar Challenge course.

​THIS ARTICLE IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL MEDICAL ADVICE.

If you're a type 2 diabetic and your blood sugar is high right now (greater than 300mg/dL for at least 6 hours), the first thing you should do is call your doctor. So, if you haven't called anyone for help yet, please stop reading this article and call your doctor. If your doctor is able to help, then you need not read on.

Also, if you are having symptoms of Diabetic Ketoacidosis, stop reading this article and go to the hospital immediately. Diabetic Ketoacidosis can kill you if left untreated.

But. If you're in a situation where your blood sugar has been high for an extended period of time, you could perhaps consider taking the following steps to solve your blood sugar problem.

Disclaimer: This is friendly, non-medical advice from a random diabetic person you don't even know, which is a very (very) poor substitute for real, actual medical advice. Use at your own risk.

First, you should try and lower your blood sugar without injectable insulin by completing the following steps:

1. Check your blood sugar. Write down the time and your blood sugar level. 
2. Drink water (this doesn't actually lower blood sugar, but it helps flush sugar and ketones from your body, if you have them). Continue drinking water, but please don't make yourself sick.
3. Move. As in, walk. Walk around the block or walk in place or haul your ass up and down the stairs for 30-60 minutes. Walking helps your cells become less insulin resistant, which is what you need right now. Do NOT engage in high-intensity exercise, because strenuous exercise could make your blood sugar higher.
4. Take a warm (not hot) shower for 15 minutes (this helps the insulin flow).
5. Check your blood sugar again. Write down the time and the blood sugar level. Did your blood sugar go down after you walked and showered? Great! Repeat the above steps until your blood sugar is back into your target range.

If your blood sugar didn't go down, and if you can't get access to medical assistance, you could consider taking insulin just this once to lower your blood sugar, as long as you promise to call your doctor when s/he is available to tell them what you did. You'll probably get yelled at for using insulin without your doctor's permission, and for following advice you found on the internet. And your doctor would totally be correct to yell at you for doing this. Also, keep in mind that if you accidentally take too much insulin, you could die. Which would be very bad. So, be careful.

To fix your blood sugar with insulin, complete these steps:

STEP 1: GET THESE SUPPLIES AT WAL-MART
1. 1 bottle of Reli-On Regular Insulin ($26)

*This insulin costs over a hundred dollars at other pharmacies. Wal-mart sells it for $26. It's also not the best insulin for treating highs. There are better insulins out there, but most of the good ones require a prescription. This insulin, in most states, does not require a prescription.

2. 1 bottle of ketone test strips ($10-$20, depending on the brand)

​3. 3 or 4 bottles of Powerade ZERO (you MUST get the sugar-free "ZERO" version or your blood sugar will go even higher)

​4. 1 box or 1 packet of 30 unit (1/3cc) Syringes (needles)

​STEP 2: FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH INSULIN TO TAKE

If your blood sugar is 300: Take 2 units of Regular Insulin
If your blood sugar is 350: Take 3 units of Regular Insulin
If your blood sugar is 400: Take 4 units of Regular Insulin
If your blood sugar is 450: Take 5 units of Regular Insulin
If your blood sugar is 500 or more: Take 6 units of Regular Insulin

STEP 3: CHECK KETONES
Use the ketone test strips (ketostix) to check if you have ketones. Ketones can be bad if they are present with prolonged high blood sugar. After you give yourself insulin and continue to hydrate yourself, your ketones should go away.

STEP 4: GIVE YOURSELF AN INJECTION OF INSULIN
This helpful youtube video will show you how to do it. Remember that on a 30 unit syringe, each line equals one unit. If you are using a 100 unit syringe, each line equals two units. This is why our instructions suggest 30 unit syringes. Less confusion. Please don't take any more than 6 units at a time unless your doctor says its ok.

​STEP 5: MOVE, MONITOR, HYDRATE
1. Continue to move (walking is great!).
2. Continue to check your blood sugar every 2 hours for the next 8 hours. You may not see any results for about 4 hours. You have to be patient.
3. Do not eat anything that contains carbohydrates.
4. Drink Powerade Zero to help replace any electrolytes you may have lost.
5. Take a warm (not hot) shower about 30-60 minutes after taking the injection. This will help the insulin flow.
6. Continue checking ketones every 4 hours.
7. If you start to feel worse, or if you start having symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis, get yourself to the hospital right away!
8. After 7 hours, if your blood sugar still isn't below 300, call your doctor or repeat the above steps again. Do NOT take another dose if you haven't waited the full 7 hours.

Remember, insulin is very dangerous and can cause severe low blood sugars if not used correctly. If you have a low blood sugar episode, treat it immediately with quick acting sugar.

Also remember that everyone processes insulin differently. Some people might find that the above dose worked really well to lower blood sugar, while others (more insulin resistant diabetics) may have blood sugar that won't budge with this amount of insulin.

I hope this helps you solve your single, isolated high blood sugar problem. And again, if you are looking for more help and support with blood sugar management (and if you need some motivation to get out of your diabetic rut), sign up for one of my BootCamp for Betics courses!

With Diabetic Love,
Kara