Do you know what high a1c symptoms are? If not, this blog post is for you! It's important to know the warning signs of high blood sugar levels. High A1C can cause many problems and lead to serious health issues. This blog post will give you a list of high a1c symptoms, side effects, and simple solutions that will help lower your risk of developing diabetes or other complications due to high blood sugar levels.
In this Diabetic & Me article, you will learn about:
- What is the A1C blood test?
- What to do with your high blood glucose levels?
- What are the symptoms of a high A1C?
- How can you lower your A1C levels?
What is the A1C blood test?
The A1 blood test is a test to measure your average blood sugar level over the past three months. The AIC test is also called a hemoglobin test or glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAIC). This type of diabetes test checks for high levels of glucose in the blood, which can cause many problems if left untreated.
If you've been diagnosed with diabetes, it's important to know what your A1C level is. The American Diabetes Association recommends that the goal for people with diabetes should be less than 7%. This can not only help prevent cardiovascular disease and kidney problems but also have huge effects on preventing blindness and nerve damage. Even if you don't have any of those symptoms yet, a regulated blood sugar level will decrease your risk over time.
The benefits of this diabetes test include being able to detect diabetic symptoms before they arise with routine screening or prevent diabetes complications when you already have diabetes. If you have started showing signs that suggest an increase in A1C, then it may be time to see your doctor about possible treatment options including medication changes, exercise programs, and meal plans.
By keeping your A1C number within your target range you can prevent complications such as kidney disease and heart attack. If you are unsure of your A1C number or have any questions about this test, contact a doctor who specializes in diabetes to learn more about the difficulties with high levels of blood sugar.
You can use the A1c calculator to convert your average blood sugar levels into you A1c % levels.
What Do You Do if Your Blood Sugar is Too High?
The best thing to do when your blood sugar levels are too high is to eat low carb and high protein meals and drink a high amount of water. Did you forget to take your insulin? You can do a correction bolus or take your medication before you eat. If the high blood sugar continues, contact your doctor and ask them to review your current dosages of insulin or if they need to prescribe another type of medicine for diabetes that will help keep blood glucose levels within the normal range.
Keep testing your blood sugar levels at regular intervals to make sure your high blood sugar is dropping, and if so, not dropping too fast and too much.
What Causes Hyperglycemia?
The best thing to do when your blood sugar levels are too high is to eat low carb and high protein meals and drink a high amount of water. Did you forget to take your insulin? You can do a correction bolus or take your medication before you eat. If the high blood sugar continues, contact your doctor and ask them to review your current dosages of insulin or if they need to prescribe another type of medicine for diabetes that will help keep blood glucose levels within the normal range.
Keep testing your blood sugar levels at regular intervals to make sure your high blood sugar is dropping, and if so, not dropping too fast and too much.
How Do You Feel When Your A1c is High?
If your blood sugar level is too high, you may experience symptoms such as:
- tiredness
- increased thirst and frequent urination, or both
- nausea or vomiting
- dry mouth
- blurred vision that doesn't go away when you look at something else
- drowsiness to the point of feeling like being drunk. If this happens, do not drink alcohol because it will make things worse. Drink water instead! Alcohol can cause your blood sugar levels to spike up even more by slowing down how quickly your liver processes food as well as breaking down carbs in high amounts due to many sugars (alcohol). Drinking too much coffee while high on insulin may also lead to a dangerous drop in blood sugar levels so try avoiding caffeine if possible until you get back into balance again with medication dosages.
What Do You Feel Like When Your Blood Sugar is High?
If you experience any of the above symptoms always test your blood sugar levels with a glucose meter. Don't forget to check for ketones when your blood sugar is high. Urinating for ketones is an important precautionary measure to take if your blood sugar reaches 250 mg/dL (14 mmol/L), particularly when you are experiencing the flu or diarrhea. If your urine contains a high number of ketone bodies, call your physician immediately as this could mean diabetic ketoacidosis and can lead to coma.
What Causes a Sudden Increase in A1c?
A sudden increase of at least three points within one year could mean that something serious has happened such as pregnancy, puberty, illness or diabetes-related complications like nephropathy (kidney problems), neuropathy (nerve problems), injury/surgery, prescription drug side effects, or eating disorder/lack of hunger from depression.
Not paying too much attention to your blood glucose levels could also be the reason for the sudden increase. Unregulated blood sugar levels and bad management increase A1C levels.
What Happens When A1c is Too High?
When your glucose levels are too high you can damage your body. High blood sugar levels increase your risk for blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, stomach ulcers, and nerve damage.
People with diabetes with a higher A1C may experience blurred vision or headaches because the excess glucose in their bloodstream is being used as a fuel source for anaerobic metabolism which raises lactic acid production. Other possible signs include nausea and vomiting, extreme thirst followed by increased urination.
Additionally, they will feel fatigued or have difficulty concentrating on mental tasks such as memorizing things like phone numbers. Frequent infections can also be one sign that you need to get control over your diabetes management plan again!
Talk to your doctor if your blood glucose stays are too high frequently or stay high for a longer time.
What Are High A1c Levels' Side Effects?
The side effects of having a high A1C are increased risk for cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high blood glucose, and decreased blood flow. A high blood sugar level can lead to kidney failure, heart attack, stomach ulcers, nerve damage, and more. Therefore it's important to keep your A1C between 4% and 6%. The goal for most diabetics is 7% or less. Talk to your doctor if you have signs and symptoms of too long high glucose levels.
If your levels are over 13% you may experience blurred vision or headaches because the excess glucose in your bloodstream is being used as a fuel source for anaerobic metabolism which raises lactic acid production.
How Long Can You Live With High A1c?
Predicting how long you will live with a high hemoglobin A1C is difficult. The good news is that you can lower your A1C levels and be healthy again.
Luckily, there are plenty of ways to increase your blood sugar control and get that number back where it should be!
According to Medical News Today, a 55-year-old male with type 2 diabetes is expected to live for another 13.2–21.1 years, while the general expectancy would be 24.7 more years of life without any disease or condition at all! A 75-year-old man who also suffers from this illness might expect 4.3 – 9.6 more years of living compared with 10 additional healthy and happy ones if he didn't have it
The good news is that people with diabetes live longer thanks to medical advancements and better care.
How Can I Lower My A1c Quickly?
You can lower your hemoglobin A1C by making lifestyle changes like tracking the number of carbohydrates in your diet, exercising regularly, or checking blood glucose levels more than once a day with an at-home glucometer. Make sure you always listen to the medical advice from your doctor.
Conclusion
It’s important to stay healthy and lower your A1C levels with the following tips. Make sure you test your blood sugar levels regularly, eat a diet low in carbohydrates, exercise, and keep track of what you're eating. You can also speak to an endocrinologist about medications that may be right for you. These are all great ways to maintain good health while keeping high diabetes-related risks like heart disease or kidney failure at bay. Stay healthy and lower those A1C levels.
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