During an illness, remember the 3 M's:
Medication
Continue and possibly increase diabetes medications during illness. The routine dose of insulin and oral medications should be taken at the usual time. Supplemental doses may be required for elevated glucose levels. Your physician can determine medication changes based on your monitoring results.
Meals
Maintain your normal meal schedule. If nausea or loss of appetite make you unable to tolerate solid foods, replace with clear liquids that supply calories. Drink plenty of water, tea, broth, or diet soda; 1 to 2 cups every hour.
Monitoring
Increase the frequency of your blood glucose monitoring during illness. Higher than usual levels of blood glucose, urine glucose, and urine ketones are associated with illness. All of these measures should be tested every 4 to 6 hours. Non-typical monitoring results should be communicated to your health care professional.
Call your doctor if you have: