September 25th, 2008People with diabetes, would a reading of over 600 be considered fatal?
I have a girl at work who is diabetic. Anyway, she claimed she had a reading of over 600 first thing in the morning and again later that morning. She got off work early. She looked fine and was working until noon, when she happened to leave early and on payday. Suspect she’s full of crap and is taking advantage of us not really knowing the deal. What would be happening to a person if there blood was showing over 600 for their blood sugars?
September 29th, 2008 at 4:14 am
the reading , if it was that high would have put the girl in a diabetic coma
October 1st, 2008 at 11:02 pm
that high, may not be fatal, but certainly dangerous and if untreated, could become fatal. Some can tolerate a high reading, but most people would slip into a diabetic coma and have to be in the ICU for diabetic ketoacidosis for a couple of days while doctors slowly bring the sugar down to healthy level. Someone reading that high, and having no symptoms…probably BS….
October 4th, 2008 at 8:05 am
If your blood sugar level tops 600 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), the condition is known as diabetic hyperosmolar syndrome. When your blood sugar gets this high, your blood becomes thick and syrupy. The excess sugar passes from your blood into your urine, which triggers a filtering process that draws tremendous amounts of fluid from your body.
Left untreated, diabetic hyperosmolar syndrome can lead to life-threatening dehydration. Prompt medical care is essential.
Diabetic hyperosmolar syndrome can lead to convulsions or coma. Kidney damage is possible if the muscle fibers begin to break down. Blockages within the blood vessels may lead to a heart attack. Without prompt treatment, diabetic hyperosmolar syndrome can be fatal.
Hope this helps!!! she’s full of s**t if she isn’t showing symptoms.
October 4th, 2008 at 11:19 am
A blood sugar over 600 is serious business. I would be worried about her blood pressure, dehydration and build-up of acid in her blood stream, which can effect her breathing and cardiac function. I would assume that most diabetics know of these dangers, so it’s hard to know if she said it was 600 because she knows it would cause concern or if it really was. I hope she is okay.
October 6th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
My girlfriend had a reading over 600 and felt fine. People are different. I also seen her as low as 26. She felt worse with the lower numbers.
October 9th, 2008 at 11:17 am
well everyone is different i have been a diabetic for 30 years, bu t with a reading of over 600 she would be unable to drive for sure and should be on way to hospital with a call to doctor or 911. She could go unconscious, or worse. And it could be fatal if not gotten under control.
October 9th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
For people who have a sudden increase in blood sugar to 600, it would probably be fatal.
On the other hand, those with poorly controlled diabetes who have persistently high blood sugars can have amazingly high readings and not have any immediate symptoms. My personal record was seeing someone with a blood sugar reading of about 1000, and the gentlemen was feeling perfectly normal. Of course, his chances of developing coronary artery disease down the road was much higher than the average person.
In short, immediate symptoms from diabetes has more to do wtih CHANGES in blood sugar rather than the absolute number, so it is quite possible our coworker’s readings were accurate.
On the other hand, one has to wonder why someone with a medical condition is blithely informing her coworkers of her medical status….
October 10th, 2008 at 1:37 am
probably hypoglycemic. if your blood sugar goes to zero your dead. ideally around 100 is good. so i’m thinking shes pulling a fast one cuz she don’t know. and first ask her how she is measuring it? i use a simple analyzer. poke finger with a lancet, get blood into a little white electrode thing and the meter gives a reading in 10 sec or so. its called “ascensia” contour. look it up on google
October 11th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
trust me, she would not be able to hold her head up! she would be feeling very dizzy with a severe headache,thirsty and urinating frequently! but it is not a death sentence
October 15th, 2008 at 4:15 am
my sugar has gotten to 400 and i want to sleep realy bad i would not be bouncing off the wall..i feel like im bouncing when my sugar drops more to 40
October 16th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Everyone has a different tolerance for highs and lows and if she can tolerate a sugar that high showing no symtoms chances are her body has been out of control for a long time and become accustomed to it.
Normal symptoms would be excessive thirst , hunger (for some) Nausea , vomitting . Skin feeling like it was being poked by tiny hot pins (nerves inflamed by too much sugar)
Coma for some . Racing heart from the dehydration. Being very sleepy. The person would have an almost fruity smell to thier skin .
I have known people to show no signs but those people let thier sugars stay too high too often . The thing with diabetes is the person doesn’t always look sick but they can be .
The last time I had ketosis I looked fine but was not . I was at a very high sugar level (625) and ended up in the ER then the hospital for a week getting fluids and potassium.
You could ask her if she would let you see her meter. Sometimes when a diabetic gets an infection your sugar can rise quickly within a few hours be through the roof . Antiboitics will right it and most diabetics have sick day instructions from thier doctors. Hope she’s doing better.
October 19th, 2008 at 4:24 am
To determine how symptomatic you are from your diabetes,isn’t really from the height of your blood sugar reading- it is more from how much built up acid you have in your body from not being able to metabolze the sugar.
When you have diabetes mellatus, you cannot metabolize glucose so your body becomes “acidotic” . When a person’s pH is lowered from 7.4 (normal) to 7.2 or below from diabetes they are much more likely to feel ill than when their blood sugar goes from 300-400.
Now eventually the high blood sugars will lead to increase acid production and she will start feeling ill and tired (also dehydrated from loosing water throug the kidney)
So she is not necessary “full of crap”, but she is a very non-compliant patient.
October 20th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
well, she could slip into a diabetic coma. If I were her, I would not mess with that kind of crisis.
October 20th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
It is possible to have such a reading from time to time without it being fatal. But you would definitely be feeling the effects. Nausea, headache, confusion, feeling woosy, etc. A prolonged glucose level like that could definitely end up in a coma.
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:03 am
I think your co-worker is full of crap. At best, a person with a blood sugar reading of 600 would lose consciousness. I am assuming that you are this girl’s supervisor. I would suggest checking into whether or not this suggestion is legal. Then I would suggest that you ask her to let you watch her take a reading and show you that her sugar is that high. Also, maybe you and other co-workers should learn a bit about diabetes. I am type II and I have made sure that some of my co-workers know what to do if I run into trouble while at work. That is recommended for all diabetics.
December 24th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Your post is very interesting. I’ve read your blog for few days now and I trully enjoy your blog. Thank you for your great work!