High blood sugar self-care

High blood sugar can harm you. If your blood sugar is high, you need to know how to bring it down. If you have diabetes, here are some questions to ask yourself when your blood sugar is high:

• Are you eating right?
• Are you eating too much?
• Have you been following your diabetes meal plan?
• Did you have a meal or a snack with a lot of carbohydrates, starches, or simple sugars?

Are you taking your diabetes medicines correctly?

• Has your health care provider changed your medicines?
• If you take insulin, have you been taking the correct dose? Is the insulin expired? Or has it been stored in a hot or cold place?
• Are you afraid of having low blood sugar? Is that causing you to eat too much or take too little insulin or other diabetes medicine?
• Have you injected insulin into a scar or overused area? Have you been rotating sites? Was the injection into a lump or numb spot under the skin?

What else has changed?

• Have you been less active than usual?
• Do you have a fever, cold, flu, or another illness?
• Are you dehydrated?
• Have you had some stress?
• Have you been checking your blood sugar regularly?
• Have you gained weight?
• Have you started taking any new medicines such as for high blood pressure or other medical problems?
• Have you had an injection into a joint or other area with a glucocorticoid medicine?