glucose of 597, please help!

[ill13632]

I was in the hospital for a GI bleed and given IV cipro/flagyl.  at 8am I had a serum glucose level of 597 despite being on metformin.  what does this mean?  I've been taking metformin off and on at 500mg/day but should I be on a high dose of insulin?

[diabetes86]

So .....  WHY cant you drink diet soda?
clearly you need more help than metformin you need to see an endocrinologist.

Did you chart your BG and diet?
trying diet and met and not seeing results is discouraging, you need to see results to help motivate you.

See an endo, get control or suffer  YOUR choice.

  I chose control  I eat low carb and take insulin my A1c is 6.6 its not that I dont like carbs ... i love FF, potato chips, Corn, hash,  I just like my eyes better.   I can still have that stuff once in a while.   I get a kiddy FF and through out 1/2 of them (Istill take insulin for the 1/2 that I do eat)

[ill13632]

it's a terrible disease.  I've been trying to manage with diet and metformin but don't exercise and stopped diet and am drinking too much sugar.  

it leads to blindness, bell's palsy, heart disease and vessel/nerve damage, brain damage

[Super_sally888]

Hello,

it takes lots of skill and tools to manage diabetes.
I can recommend the following books which are excellent training tools for your wife to take control of her diabetes and minimise both highs and lows:-

Using Insulin - John Walsh
Diabetes Solutions - Dr. Richard Bernstein
Think Like a Pancreas

All are available on Amazon.com or maybe from your local library.  I particularly like Bernstein's book.

[vincecristina59425]

my wife is in and out of the hospital. they thought she was a type 2. she is 36 years old. we came to find out she is a type 1. glucose between low 30's and high 600's. how we found out was her Diabetic doctor took her off all her meds and the next day I had to call 911. " great Doc huh". when she was in the ER her blood was 689. they asked me why she was not on medication for type 1 and I told them what her Doctor did and they told me they did't know if they could save her. I later found out her Doctor had blinded a woman who had type 1 by taking her off her Meds. with all my wife has been through you should trust your gut and if the metformin is not working you have type 1, not 2 and should go to another Doctor. PLEASE Help yourself ! I woke up at 430 AM to my wife in bad shape tested her and she was a 38.GOD it is so hard on me to see her that way. we do everything right and she still has problems.24 years together and to see her go through it kills me. I hope you have better luck then my wife. Vince.....

[ill13632]

I think the CVS meter is reliable and I had stopped taking metformin, extended release is easier on the stomach.  at the hospital they weren't giving me metformin when I had the 597 reading that really worries me.  and I got all these UTIs and even an infected abscess on my back that they had to operate on and drain in the ER

[diabetes86]

The max Met is 2450 mg  

When after eating is your BG 180 1 hour, 15 minutes , 3hours?

the A1C test tells you what the AVERAGE BG is.  BG over 140 causes damage to your body.

make a chat of
time.......................carbs eaten.................BG

one item per line i.e.

7:30.......................15 carbs (breakfast)
8:30..............................................................160

That will give you knowledge as to how your body handles carbs.
knowledge is power IF you use the knowledge to make changes

[Super_sally888]

Hello,

If your blood sugars are going this high (even your fasting is very high), you need to be on insulin (maybe still continuing with the metformin, which is an insulin sensitiser).  

You will need to work with your Dr. to start and learn to adjust your insulin.  You will need to frequently test your blood sugar.

Please know that 597 is dangerously high and must be treated.

In addition, you need to stop drinking sweetened drinks, eating sweetened and processed foods (particularly those made with flours) and adopt a llower carb way of eating.

Regular exercise is also important for helping to control blood sugar.  A minimum of 30 minutes of aerobic exercise a day.

[ill13632]

I was hospitalized when they took this reading of 597.  should I be on insulin instead of or in addition to metformin?  usually on the cvs meter my readings are lower but are these inaccurate?

[ill13632]

I've never had a reading this high, I was mostly on a liquid, jello diet

[ill13632]

is my diabetes really bad?  are the ha1c tests inaccurate then?  usually I am from 120-185 after eating/drinking.  what should my metformin dose be, I read you can take up to 3g day?  the extended release is better on the stomach

[diabetes86]

Infection and stress are just 2 of the things that can raise BG.
You cant tell BG by how you feel.  you know insulin worked as your BG went from 597 to 123

After your better you might want to have GTT test done (glucose tolerance test)

[ill13632]

the blood test said TEST REPEATED and I think they gave me a shot of insulin but I didn't feel much different, I also had high serum glucose AM of 173, 123.  all this time the endos were telling me I wasn't diabetic, I was on a high sugar, soda, juice, high carb diet, some drinking