Sarah Howard
Sarah Howard (nee Tackett) has dedicated her career to supporting the T1D community ever since she was diagnosed with T1D while in college in May 2013. Since then, she has worked for various diabetes organizations, focusing on research, advocacy, and community-building efforts for people with T1D and their loved ones. Sarah is currently the Senior Manager of Marketing at T1D Exchange.
Sarah and her husband live in NYC with their cat Gracie. In her spare time, she enjoys doing comedy, taking dance classes, visiting art museums, and exploring different neighborhoods in NYC.
My BG can go up or down when I am quite sick. It doesn’t always act the same. I didn’t realize hypoglycemia was a concern until my endocrinologist informed me.
I don’t usually notice being mildly ill or notice the effects on my BG.
Oddly I do not feel mildly ill ever in the last 5-10 yrs. If I get ill, and the only time I feel ill is if I get a GI virus or gastroenteritis. and then it is not mild . that has happened a total of 3 times in over 40 yrs.
Like you, I’m never sick. Which really makes me wonder a lot about immunity. I do still wear a mask when away from home, and am not at the age when life is all about crowding into arenas for concerts, but I go to the food co-op every day, and live in a condo building with an elevator. I love whatever is at play in staying healthy!
When I am not feeling my best I am less active. When I am less active, my blood sugar is usually higher.
It’s hit or miss with blood glucose with me. Sometimes it goes up when I’m mildly ill, sometimes it does not. I would say that it goes up more often than not. Sometimes I get stuck in the 200’s and have to pump extra insulin to get it down. I’ll sometimes pump extra insulin for several days until all returns to “normal” (whatever that is).
I answered “rarely elevated”, but there is more to the story. For a true infection like sinus or ear, our son will run very low a few days prior, then higher as need for antibiotic becomes evident. For simple cold, however, our son’s BG will tend to run lower. A few days of 100% in range is usually an indication that a shoe is about to drop!
Just got over flu. Now that raised my BS!! Especially in the morning. But mild Illness hardly a blip
Like everything with diabetes – sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s unpredictable and you just have to deal with whatever happens that day.
I rarely get sick so I have little experience with elevated BS from illness. Had COVID in Jan and for the 3 days before I got tested, my BS were wildly elevated and I couldn’t figure out why. Once I tested positive, it all made sense.
My bg levels are usually unchanged or slightly lower.
When I’m feeling ill, I need to use more insulin than usual, but am usually able to keep my blood sugar at normal levels.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If I don’t feel well I’m not going to eat as I normally would nor be as active. If I’m running a fever my bg is usually high. Otherwise it definitely varies depending on the reason for the illness.
I don’t know what “mildly” ill means. If I have a runny nose from allergies, no my BG stays steady. But, if I have a fever, then yes, my blood sugar goes way up. During Covid, I was tired and my blood sugar rose a little. That was it.
I hardly ever feel ill. My sugar is often the signal to me I’m in trouble somewhere, especially with infections.
I know no one will believe me, but I very rarely get sick. I got a very mild case of Covid and was out changing my car battery and picking up my daughter from the airport thru out that five-day event.