Managing Your Diabetes When You Get Sick

Reviewed by Robert Ehrman, MD

How can you stay well when you get sick? This may sound like a trick question, but if you have diabetes and get sick, it places your body under added stress. Your blood glucose may be harder to control. This can lead to ketoacidosis and diabetic coma if you have type 1 diabetes. People with type 2 diabetes—especially seniors—may be at risk for a similar condition. These dangerous and life-threatening problems can be avoided most of the time by following five steps.

  1. Know how to care for yourself on sick days.Work with your diabetes care team ahead of time to be sure you know what to do the next time you get sick. Write down your plan and share it with your family members and caregivers. You most likely have a diabetes care routine for when you are well. When you get sick, check your blood glucose every 3-4 hours. If you have type 1 diabetes, check your urine ketones at the same time. If you have type 2 diabetes, ask your health care team if you need to check for ketones when you are ill, and keep the strips on hand. Work with your health care team when you are well on designing a plan to adjust your medicines, and create a sick-day meal plan. Some medicines, including those sold over the counter, can affect your blood glucose levels. Talk with your Walgreens pharmacist or health care provider for guidance. Read all labels carefully. Avoid medicines that say they are not safe for people with diabetes or that have sugar or alcohol.
  2. Know when to call your health care provider.Sometimes when we get sick, we don’t want to admit it. We think we can tough it out. We may not want to bother our health care providers because we think they are too busy. But, that may not be in your best interest if you have diabetes.- Call your health care provider if you have been sick for 1 or 2 days without getting better.

    – If you have a fever for more than a day or you have been vomiting or have had diarrhea for more than 6 hours, call your health care provider for instructions.

    – Moderate to large amounts of ketones in your urine may be a danger sign your blood glucose is too high.

    – If your blood glucose is above 250, even though you may be taking extra insulin based on your sick-day plan, call your health care provider.

    – If you take medicine to manage your diabetes, and your blood glucose level rises to more than 250 and stays there for more than a day, it’s time to call your health care provider for further instructions.

    – If you have symptoms that are early signs of ketoacidosis or dehydration (i.e. chest pain, difficulty breathing, fruity-smelling breath, abdominal pain, dry or cracked lips or tongue) or you are not sure how to care for yourself, call your health care provider right away. If your family notices you are groggy or confused, they need to take you to the emergency room or call 911.

  3. Know how to contact your diabetes care team.Keep the names and phone numbers of your diabetes team members where they can be easily found. Include how to reach them on days, nights, weekends and holidays. Remember to include the number for the nearest 24-hour Walgreens pharmacy.
  4. Know what to tell your diabetes care team when you make the call.Calling your health care provider can sometimes be a stressful experience in itself. They often have limited time, or you have to relay information through the office staff. Make a list of your key discussion points and have it in front of you when you make the call. Your health care provider will ask what you have been doing to care for yourself so far. It will help to keep a log from the start of your illness of the medicines you have taken, how much you have taken, how long you have been sick, your food intake, any loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, weight loss, temperature, blood glucose level and urine ketone levels. Key behaviors are important, too. Are you sleepier than usual or more irritable?
  5. Emergency room tips.If you have to go to an emergency room, make sure you or your family members tell the staff you have diabetes. Let them know the full list of the medicines you take and have taken for your illness, including prescription, nonprescription and herbal products. Have your diabetes identification in full view.The most important thing you can do is plan ahead, especially during cold and flu season. These five steps can help you stay well the next time you get sick.
  • Register For This Twitter Chat Series

    When you register, we will send you timely reminders about upcoming Twitter chats via email.

    Simply enter your email address below and click on the "Register Me" button.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Constance Brown-Riggs, MSEd, RD, CDE, CDN—an award-winning RD, certified diabetes educator, and past national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is the author of The African American Guide to Living Well With Diabetes, which received the Favorably Reviewed designation from the American Association of Diabetes Educators, and Eating Soulfully and Healthfully with Diabetes.

Dr. Lori Shemek, PhD, CNC, CLC, the best-selling author of “Fire-Up Your Fat Burn! and leading health and weight loss expert, is also known as “The Inflammation Terminator.” She has made it her mission to educate the public on the toxic effects of certain foods and lifestyle choices and how they create inflammation in the body. She is a leading authority on inflammation and its role in weight loss, preventing disease and optimizing health.

Rebecca Bitzer – MS, RD/LD, CEDRD is an award-winning Registered Dietitian, writer, speaker, blogger, and REBEL Dietitian business owner. Rebecca and her team of six Registered Dietitians have counseled thousands of clients struggling with diabetes for over twenty-five years. They work closely with each other along with internists, endocrinologists, therapists, and families.

Maureen Sullivan – RN, CDE has worked for many years as a Registered Nurse, most of them in emergency and trauma services. She is a Certified Emergency Nurse, Certified Diabetes Educator, and the former manager of a hospital stroke program. Maureen’s wealth of knowledge, passion for nursing and education, and ability to engage people makes her an excellent teacher and a captivating lecturer. Recently, Maureen has been concentrating on writing, speaking and teaching, as well as working on her award-winning weekly podcast, “The Health and Humor Show.”

Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN is a nutrition communications specialist, registered dietitian in private practice, social media consultant, speaker, spokesperson and corporate consultant. She is currently the owner of Nutrition Starring YOU, LLC and www.NutritionStarringYOU.com. Lauren strongly believes that we should “Think Healthy, not Skinny”, and “EveryBODY is unique, your diet should be too”. Lauren was co-host of the Family Food Experts Kitchen radio show, available for listening on iHeart Radio and iTunes. Also known as one of the “NutritionBabes”, Lauren co-founded NutritionBabes.com, a popular Health and Wellness website in 2009. NutritionBabes.com was voted one of Healthline’s Top 100 Health Blogs in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Mark Heyman, PhD, CDE is a clinical health psychologist and the director of the Center for Diabetes and Mental Health (CDMH). In addition to treating patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, Dr. Heyman provides training for health care providers on how to identify and address the emotional and behavioral aspects of diabetes in their patients. He also works with pharmaceutical and medical device companies to help them understand these issues and incorporate this information into their sales, marketing, and patient education materials. He is particularly interested in empirically supported behavioral interventions that promote behavior change and improve physical and mental health in people with diabetes.

Katie Ferraro, MPH, RD, CDE is a nationally-recognized registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator and author with an expertise in nutrition communications and curriculum development. She is the co-author of “Diet Therapy in Advanced Practice Nursing” (McGraw Hill, 2014) and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Nutrition at the University of California San Francisco and University of San Diego’s graduate schools of nursing.

Dr. Beverly S. Adler, PhD, CDE (aka “Dr. Bev”) is a clinical psychologist and certified diabetes educator, author and speaker. She specializes treating the emotional issues of people with diabetes. In her private practice, she provides individual, family and/or group therapy utilizing a cognitive behavior therapy orientation, combined with a spiritual approach. Her goal is to empower her patients to manage their diabetes.

Dr. Bev is the author of two self-help diabetes books. She has written numerous articles which are published in print and online – always focused on diabetes from the emotional perspective. She also speaks to audiences of people living with diabetes, as well as, to audiences of healthcare professionals and diabetes educators. Dr. Bev, herself, has been living successfully with type 1 diabetes for 40+ years.

In August 2016, Dr. Bev was honored to receive the “CDE Entrepreneur of the Year” Award from her Metropolitan NY Association of Diabetes Educators.

Jill Weisenberger, MS, RDN, CDE, FAND is an internationally recognized nutrition and diabetes expert with more than two decades experience. Through writing, speaking and one-on-one coaching, Jill empowers people to grab control of their health. She has worked as both a nutrition counselor and a diabetes educator in the hospital and research settings, and now in private practice in Newport News, VA. Jill is known for her practical approach and caring attitude. Her no-nonsense strategies to eating well include foods that both taste good and are good for you.

Marlene Koch (pronounced ‘cook’) is a nationally recognized nutritionist, popular TV personality and New York Times bestselling author. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from UCLA with a Bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Science. She is a registered dietitian and one of a select group of dietitians to hold an advanced certificate in Child and Adolescent Weight Management from the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics.

Marlene has taught professional chefs from the American Culinary Federation the principles of healthy cooking and eating. She has been adjunct Nutrition professor and cooking instructor for Columbus State College and the Columbus State Culinary Academy, and she is a nationally recognized expert in weight loss, diabetes, child and adolescent nutrition, and sugar substitutes.

Marlene has sold over one million cookbooks, and is a regular guest on QVC.

Barbara Ruhs – MS, RDN is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and owner of Neighborhood Nutrition LLC, a consulting firm focused on providing solutions to help food companies and supermarkets improve consumer health & wellness. She’s a former supermarket dietitian and has run a successful business for 17 years. A leader in the field of nutrition, her mission is to help people by impacting the way food is produced, marketed and sold. She’s a strong advocate for supermarket dietitians and believes the retail food industry has the greatest potential to impact public health.

Cheryl Orlansky has over 25 years of experience in health promotion and chronic disease prevention and management. Her first career as a registered dental hygienist led her towards a path of wellness and nutrition! Her expertise is in diabetes, weight management and cardiovascular disease for individuals and groups. She works in a large private practice including endocrinology, internal medicine, rheumatology, neurology and sleep medicine. She is an award winning dietitian with current leadership positions in state and local dietetics organizations.

She has been interviewed and quoted in media outlets for WebMD, Atlanta Sports and Fitness, Georgia Public Broadcasting, and the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. She has partnered with V-103 Radio to lead supermarket tours as part of a community outreach during National Nutrition Month.

Cheryl helps her clients reach balance through lifestyle choices: cooking and eating, activity and purpose in life.

Jackie Newgent, RDN, CDN, is a registered dietitian nutritionist and classically-trained chef. With a passion for helping people (including her father) with diabetes, she’s author of The With or Without Meat Cookbook: The Flexible Approach to Flavorful Diabetes Cooking and the award-winning The All‐Natural Diabetes Cookbook, both published by the American Diabetes Association. Jackie is also author of 1,000 Low-Calorie Recipes and Big Green Cookbook. Her next book, The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook—2nd Edition, was published in 2015.

Nutritionist Rania Batayneh, MPH is the author of the best-selling book, The One One One Diet. She holds a master’s degree in public health nutrition from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and is also a Wellcoaches Certified Health and Wellness Coach endorsed by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

OmnichannelHealth Media, publisher of DiabetesDigest.com, does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information.