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How To Bring Down Blood Sugar Level?

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Posted on Thu, 11 Dec 2014
Question: Blood sugar is up to 533. How can I get it down fast? Take novolog and levimeir.
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Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (53 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
You should use novolog...

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

since you're already using aspart and detemir insulin, you've got the answer you need!
Detemir insulin is the basal insulin that helps your body maintain a better fasting and postprandial glucose control and aspart insulin is the bolus insulin that helps you avoid high glucose excursions after meals.
The immediate answer is to take more bolus insulin. I couldn't tell how many units could be enough for you. A fair estimation can be achieved if the total number of units per day to maintain the optimum glucose level is known.
Exercising (unless contraindicated) helps as well.
What makes me thoughtful about your case is how did your blood sugar get that high? 533mg/dL is very very high and indicates a very bad glucose control.
Sometimes infections or other conditions may cause increased insulin needs and increased glucose levels. Certain drugs also do so (corticosteroids for example).
If you're taking such drugs or are ill then increased insulin dosage is warranted. Usually a 10-15% increase is sufficient.
Good glucose control requires a healthy diet, that prevents body weight increases, regular physical activity and appropriate insulin use.
If your average fasting blood sugar is higher than the target levels of 80-120mg/dL then increasing the basal insulin is appropriate.
After your fasting blood sugar gets close to target then bolus insulin should be increased according to requirements (carbohydrates in meals and pre-prandial glucose levels).
Perhaps I've gone too far but I think I've presented some important facts.
So a "fast" answer is novolog (bolus insulin) and exercise. Please remember that novolog will act over the next 5 hours or so. This means that you shouldn't expect your blood sugar to return to normal levels in half an hour or a couple of hours.
I hope I've helped!
If you need further clarifications, please ask!
I'll be glad to answer.
If not, then please rate my answer and close this discussion.

Kind Regards!
Note: For further follow-up it is advisable to consult an emergency medicine specialist. Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E
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Answered by
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Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis

Internal Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :1999

Answered : 3817 Questions

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How To Bring Down Blood Sugar Level?

Brief Answer: You should use novolog... Detailed Answer: Hello, since you're already using aspart and detemir insulin, you've got the answer you need! Detemir insulin is the basal insulin that helps your body maintain a better fasting and postprandial glucose control and aspart insulin is the bolus insulin that helps you avoid high glucose excursions after meals. The immediate answer is to take more bolus insulin. I couldn't tell how many units could be enough for you. A fair estimation can be achieved if the total number of units per day to maintain the optimum glucose level is known. Exercising (unless contraindicated) helps as well. What makes me thoughtful about your case is how did your blood sugar get that high? 533mg/dL is very very high and indicates a very bad glucose control. Sometimes infections or other conditions may cause increased insulin needs and increased glucose levels. Certain drugs also do so (corticosteroids for example). If you're taking such drugs or are ill then increased insulin dosage is warranted. Usually a 10-15% increase is sufficient. Good glucose control requires a healthy diet, that prevents body weight increases, regular physical activity and appropriate insulin use. If your average fasting blood sugar is higher than the target levels of 80-120mg/dL then increasing the basal insulin is appropriate. After your fasting blood sugar gets close to target then bolus insulin should be increased according to requirements (carbohydrates in meals and pre-prandial glucose levels). Perhaps I've gone too far but I think I've presented some important facts. So a "fast" answer is novolog (bolus insulin) and exercise. Please remember that novolog will act over the next 5 hours or so. This means that you shouldn't expect your blood sugar to return to normal levels in half an hour or a couple of hours. I hope I've helped! If you need further clarifications, please ask! I'll be glad to answer. If not, then please rate my answer and close this discussion. Kind Regards!