High blood glucose, or hyperglycemia, is a hallmark of diabetes. Left uncontrolled, it can cause many problems, from short-term symptoms such as hunger, dry mouth, and fatigue to long-term complications such as nerve damage, kidney disease, foot problems, and cardiovascular disease, to name a few. Read the articles in this section to learn how to lower blood glucose levels and prevent complications.

Hyperglycemic Crises by Robert S. Dinsmoor

One type results in about 100,000 hospitalizations a year with a mortality rate of under 5%. The other is thought to cause fewer hospitalizations, yet the mortality rate is about 15%. Severe hyperglycemic conditions, known as diabetic ketoacidosis...

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Managing Hyperglycemia by Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E., and Belinda O'Connell, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.

When you were diagnosed with diabetes, your doctor probably told you that your blood glucose levels were too high. Indeed, high blood glucose, or hyperglycemia, is the hallmark of diabetes. Regardless of your knowledge of diabetes at that time, you may...

Strike the Spike by Gary Scheiner, M.S., C.D.E.

Today’s the big day! After months of working hard to achieve tight blood glucose control and actually succeeding most of the time, you’re about to get the result of your latest glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) test, the blood test that gives you an...

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