can very high suger level kill you?

Question

my friends brother went to the hospital this morning with high suger level ....it was like 900.....he 's never had this before...anyway i dont know anything about diabetes. they said the normal level was supose to be around 100....it sounded bad...is this really bad, could it kill him?

Answer 1

Yes it can;

Answer 2

Just a clarification for Tony, who answered this question first. A high glucose reading doesn't necessarily mean the person ate too much sugar. There are only three types of nutrients: fats (lipids), proteins, and carbs. Carbs are converted to glucose molecules in the body. A person with diabetes has a problem processing these glucose molecules (sugars) because, for whatever reason, their pancreas doesn't produce insulin to do the job efficiently. For some people, they can control their glucose (sugar) levels with diet and exercise. For others, it is necessary to be on medications (insulin or oral meds) along with diet and lifestyle changes. These changes can be very hard for many people, especially in a society that tends to over-eat and be too stationary to begin with. If you have a friend who has diabetes, they need your support, not your judgements about what or how they are eating. Lifestyle changes are hard to make sometimes.

Answer 3

Left untreated it can kill. His blood sugar level is indicative of diabetes. This is why diabetes is so dangerous, because it will sneak up on people. Most people ignore the warning signs, especially the younger people. I've seen some pretty high blood sugars come ito Urgent Care. Some people go into a coma when their blood sugars hit 400 while others I have seen were almost 1000 and they were still alert. He will get the treatment he needs now and should be fine as long as he follows good eating habits and takes care of himself. Good luck!

Answer 4

Very high blood sugar can cause someone to become 'acidotic', where their blood actually becomes acidic, to vomit a lot, to go into a coma, to become dehydrated...it can do a lot of different things depending on if he's type one or type two. But if he's going into the hopital now and he's not on the brink of death already, he's probably going to be okay. They're going to give him a lot of IV fluids and he'll be there for a couple days. If he hadn't gone to the hospital or seen a doctor, it would have killed him. The important thing now is for him to take care of his diabetes and prevent something like this from happening again. Over the long term, Diabetes can cause kidney failure, blindness, increased infection rate, skin ulcers that result in amputations...encourage him to take care of himself!

Answer 5

This is a very serious condition. Diabetics can develop something called hyperglycemic hyperosmolar non-ketotic syndrome when blood sugar gets too high. In this case the body starts to spill glucose (sugar) into the urine where is is not supposed to be. The sugar pulls water and electrolytes with it causing severe dehydration. The electrolyte imbalance can lead to heart palpitations and other heart and muscle problems. The treatment for these patients is admittance into the hospital, iv fluids, followed by iv insulin, then replacement fo electrolytes.

Answer 6

Yeah. It's a good thing it was caught--hope it hasn't done much damage.

High blood sugar causes sugar crystal buildup in blood vessels--this leads to blockage of blood flow and can cause blindness and amputations when parts of the body die off from lack of blood. It also increases the risk of heart disease and heart attack.

It can destroy kidneys because they can't deal with the extra stress of filtering all the sugar out of the blood. Sugar is a diuretic, so the kidneys try to make a lot more urine to get rid of the sugar. Then, if they're ruined, a person has to go on dialysis (usually, they're not in good enough shape to get a kidney transplant.)

It's a terrible condition and I hope he gets it under control. Proper diet, meds, and insulin can help if he has diabetes (the most likely cause of high blood sugar.)

Answer 7

Most machines, Blood Testing Glucose machines don't test that high. The Glucose machine will just indicate HIGH and believe me that is bad, At that high of mg a Diabetic would Comatose, and be out for the count. Staying in that Comatose state would kill him if not brought down immediately. It's a wonder he was allowed to leave the house un- less no one else was there to stop him.

Answer 8

Yes if it goes untreated for a period of time it's a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) occurs primarily in type 1 diabetes and is characterised by hyperglycaemia, polyuria, polydipsia, hyperventilation and dehydration. Stresses such as infection, inappropriate withdrawal of insulin, acute myocardial infarction or trauma are the commonest precipitants of DKA. In adolescents, omission of insulin is a common cause.

DKA is a medical emergency requiring specialist care. Management should generally be undertaken in hospital, however, it is important that treatment should be commenced as early as possible. Initial treatment includes rehydration using normal saline, and insulin replacement.

Answer 9

Very high levels of anything can be fatal:

High sugar
High sodium
High cholesterol

I would suggest that your friend's brother listen to doctor's orders and eat healthy. A level of 900 is pretty bad.

Answer 10

that high of a number can be very harmfull. But He is in the hospital and is being taken care of. He more then likely has type 1 diabetes and he his family and friends can/will learn about it together. The hospital staff will help everyone cope.

Answer 11

Yes, it can kill-my husband had about 500 without knowing he was diabetic. Yes, he can get a shock and go to a coma and never wake up.