Dear She Sugar

A question I frequently receive from other parents is – What does hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) really feel like?

Many parents feel frustrated at times trying to interpret their child’s behavior with Type 1 Diabetes. Are they being a kid that needs to be reprimanded or are they feeling poorly? Could they be playing me? I mean really, how terrible could high blood sugar make you feel? Are they tired from staying up late last night or from their busy day today? Any of these questions ring a bell?

Once you feel well equipped with these new life challenges and think you have it all figured out, there are always curve balls. All of us have parented our kids treating them like our other kids only to figure out they had a high or low blood sugar. These situations happen, even to those who are all over life with Type 1 Diabetes. You must remember your good intentions and chalk it up as another wonderful learning experience.

Because I live my life with Type 1 Diabetes I feel like I have an innate connection to blood sugars and behavior changes. That’s not to say I’m always right though- truthfully my other daughter is usually right! I do have great empathy for my daughter when she is experiencing hypo or hyperglycemia- I know how rotten the feeling can be.

The best way for me to explain hyperglycemia to someone without diabetes is probably the way you feel after Thanksgiving dinner. You feel the post dinner coma coming on. Tired, full, slow moving, a little grumpy- then add the flu on top of that (with really high blood sugars). Nausea, achy muscles, stomach ache, increased thirst and urination, headache, blurry vision. It is really hard to do much when you feel that way, right? All you want to do is lay on the couch and cover with a warm blanket and they do too (waiting for the insulin to kick in, drinking and taking frequent trips to the bathroom…).