High blood sugar levels, or hyperglycemia occurs in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. When the levels are too high the result is one or two more other symptoms such as:

• frequent urination
• excessive thirst and an urge to drink large amounts of fluid
• fatigue
• blurred vision
• difficulty concentrating
• a headache

These symptoms are all related to your blood sugars being high and your body’s inability to clear it from the blood-stream and convert it to energy.

There are two types of hyperglycemia:

Fasting: This is where the level is higher than 130 mg/dl (7 mmol/l)

After-meal or Postprandial: A level higher than 180 mg/dl (10 mmol/l) is considered high.

This could be a signal that you:

• need a higher dose of insulin
• have forgotten to take your insulin-injection or insulin-stimulation medication
• didn’t take your medication at the right time
• need to check your carbohydrate ratio; perhaps it exceeded the dose of your medication
• ate too much food generally and did not adjust your medication. The food you eat and the medication you take need to be balanced
• could be under emotional pressure, or stressed
• have an infection or are ill
• exercised less than usual
• have lost weight
• have taken another medication which has blocked the effect of your insulin medication

Hyperglycemia happens to most diabetics at one time or another but if your have high blood sugars often, please consult with your health care provider.

Dawn Phenomenon: Another reason for high blood sugar levels early in the morning is because as dawn approaches, usually six to ten hours after bedtime, the insulin-action wanes. The liver appears to do a rapid clearing of insulin around this time. Also many insulin-dependent diabetics have an early morning surge of growth hormone which is an insulin-antagonist and this too can be responsible for the sugar levels to be high. If your blood sugars are often above 126 mg/dl (7 mmol/l) upon wakening, try to lower them by doing some type of physical activity in the evening. This moves glucose into the muscles for hours afterwards.

If you are having insulin-injections, your health care provider may need to adjust the timing or the amount of your evening dose.