December 19, 2005
Other, Type 2
Question from Moore, South Carolina, USA:
My blood sugar is totally out of control. My fasting blood sugars, in the morning, are 165 to 185 mg/dl [9.2 to 10.3 mmol/L]. I have been checking them now for over two years and have never found it under 100 mg/dl [5.6 mmol/L]. Two to three hours after eating, my blood sugar is always over 200 mg/dl [11.1 mmol/L], and sometimes as high as 300 mg/dl [16.7 mmol/L].
When I go to the doctor, he does an A1c test and always calls and says it is okay, 6.7. I am on no diabetes medication. I have had some blurred vision and infection in one of my eyes, also difficulty holding that eye open.
Recently, I went to the doctor for a check-up and my potassium was elevated. It has been elevated the last two times I have gone to the doctor. He just tells me not to eat bananas or oranges or drink orange juice. With my sugar being out of control, I already wasn’t drinking orange juice. I am very worried about this. Is this not a red flag? I also had breast cancer a year ago and had radiation and am currently taking Arimidex. Is the potassium connected to the diabetes?
Answer:
There are many reasons why you might have an elevated potassium. This needs to be evaluated in terms of how high the potassium is and what its cause might be. When blood sugars are high at the time of the blood draw, it can be a reason for higher potassium levels. As far as the blood sugars, if you are not on any medications, fasting glucose levels are elevated, and the A1c is higher than normal, some physicians would treat that. Part of the justification for that is that there is no safe level of elevated blood sugar. There are several medications available that would have a good chance of lowering the A1c into the normal range. You might feel better, too.
JTL
