High levels with a minor infection?

[Kathy from UK]

Hi,
Gary has been on background insulin for 2 weeks now, started on 10 units once a day and now on 18.
The insulin is working (orals meds didn't) and his levels are slowly decreasing. They are still very high, but the nurse wants to bring them down slowly to avoid hypos.

I understand that illness will push blood glucose levels up, and have seen this happen with Gary previously. Now, in the last 48 hours or so he's started with a minor infection - no raised temperature, loss of appetite etc.

His levels have risen from low teens to late teens.
Would you expect such a minor infection to push his levels up so much?

[REDLAN]

short answer is yes.

It would seem to be the most likely explanation for the rise in blood glucose you have observed.

I have type 1, so I'm not sure if my experiences are relevant, but I get similar rises in BG with infections. I also get unexplained rises in blood glucose 2-3 days before getting an infection - which can act as a useful early warning system.

Once the infection is over, Gary's BG should return to where it was before. If it doesn't then something else may be responsible for the rise.

[Kathy from UK]

Thanks Redlan - sure enough, as he started to improve his levels dropped down to where they were before.

It's interesting that you get an "early warning sign" - I'll bear that in mind in case it happens with Gary although I haven't noticed it happening yet.

Another thought - several health professionals have commented that Gary's overall levels spike high and low (or should I say lower - all his readings are high) in an unusual manner.
We know his immune system behaves in a strange way....I wonder if the sudden peaks are caused by it reacting?

Just a possibility I guess.