Okay…let it be known that I’m not asking for medical advice. I’m just looking for your experienced opinions.
If you want to throw your age and sex in here, that would be helpful as well. Thanks to all who participate! Oh. Also, are you type I or II?
Much depends on when you test. Before meals between 90-110
I would get concerned if consistently results were > 150
Over 200 with no apparent reason
Type 2
38; male; Type 2. It’s been recommended that I keep the morning fasting BG ? 110. I am concerned if it’s over 140 then or before dinner, and alarmed if it’s over 200 at any time.
Just saw Diabetes Guy today and I am definitely in that “concern” category. My fasting BG, slowly creeping up after 2 years of good control, is now consistently hovering around 150 and today’s A1c read 7.2 (we want it ? 7.0 and ideally ?6.0).
I’m currently on metformin (1500mg/day). It worked a little better when it was the extended release type, so we’re going back to that. DG also wrote me a scrip for Actos, which supposedly boosts insulin uptake. Has anybody any experience with Actos?
?s = “< or = to” signs.
Current Guidelines for Tight Control
Rapid Testing:
Fasting(Not Eaten in > 8 Hours): <100 mg glucose / dL serum
Post-Prandial(After Eating): <140 mg glucose / dL serum after one hour; <120 mg glucose / dL serum after one hour
A1C Testing: Measures load of sugar-bonded red blood cells: expressed as % of total red cells. Best goal is to maintain 4% tp 6% A1C. Some sources use <7% for DM patients.
Also, consider blood pressure, BMI, serum lipids and urinary protein.
Should it be <120mg/dl after two hours? (You say one hour twice.)
70-120, unless it’s right after a meal and then it can be higher. I’m most comfortable when it’s in the mid-80s.
If it’s hovering around 175-200 and I’m not stressed out or sick.
Above 170 for no reason, especially if it was normal the last time I checked.
21, f, Type I
This is all mg/dL, btw. My last A1c was 7.0 and I got hollered at. I’m supposed to be down to 6.0 by the spring. If it’s not, I’ll have to give up my insulin glargine/insulin aspart combo and go back to regular/NPH, and that means no more flexible mealtimes. Dammit.
Yes … PPG should be <120 mg/dL after two hours …
It is important to monitor things besides sugar. A number of things cause problems in Type 2 DM: hyperglycemia(too much serum glucose), hyperlipidemia(too much serum cholesterol) and hyperinsulemia(too much serum insulin)…
It sounds like you would all be “alarmed” if you tested around 225 after fasting for three weeks running, huh?
That is in the “see the doctor within two days” category for me. I’m 48, female, and I take insulin, though I developed diabetes as an adult.
My dad was diagnosed as “borderline” years ago. They gave him a diet that would control the blood sugar and cholesterol, and it worked. This is how he’s tested at the doctor’s office over the last three weeks. The doctor is sending him a diet in the mail. He is not on “glypicide” or whatever that booster pill is, and he’s not on insulin. They gave him a testing kit. Does this sound like the reaction your doctor would have?
You would all HATE our endocrine team here.
We use different figures of measurement (**mmol/L ** not mg/dL), but basically the aim is physiological glucose measurements i.e. below the threshold needed to be diagnosed as diabetic.
Which means:
Blood glucose of between 4-6mmol/L
HbA1C of less than 6%
BP of 120/80
A BMI of less than 25
Fasting lipids at the lower end of normal.
Anyone who isn’t achieving that gets medicated and exercised until they do, so most patients with type 2 diabetes are on 4 or more medications, a calorie controlled low fat, salt and sugar diet and 2 hours of aerobic exercise a week.
The rate of complications has fallen dramatically since they’ve brought that protocol in, but the patients are less than thrilled.
He exercises daily. He’s a mall-walker and does like 30 minutes a day at a fast clip. He’s 76, drinks 4-6 shots of whiskey/day (which I understand by itself doesn’t affect blood sugar) and enjoys sweets. However, he’s been very good, diet-wise during this testing period so he’d have good numbers and not have to go on medication. My initial feeling, based on information on line from the American Diabetes Assn. and other opinions, is that this time the problem cannot be controlled by diet. Maybe I’m wrong…
Alcohol may affect blood glucose, and it can certainly affect blood pressure- hypertension is one of the important risk factors for cardiovascular events.
If at all possible, can you get him to cut down on the whiskey?
From this site: http://www.diabetes.org/type-1-diabetes/alcohol.jsp
The American Diabetes Association suggests that you have no more than two drinks a day if you are a man and no more than one drink a day if you are a woman. This recommendation is the same for people without diabetes.
Yes, I believe he will cut out the daily cocktail (he adds a bit of ginger ale to his whiskey, which I think is the bigger problem with diabetes). He won’t cut it out altogether unless he absolutely had to, but I believe he’ll willingly cut his consumption in at least half.
I’m in the UK, and use the same units that Irishgirl’s talking about, but I’ll convert my numbers.
My main problem is that I end up going hypo in the middle of the night, which causes my fasting levels to be too high. However, since my results during the day are pretty tightly controlled, its not as much of a problem as it could have been.
Do you all test throughout the day or is it a once in the morning kind of thing usually?
Do you all test throughout the day or is it a once in the morning kind of thing usually? Oh. And another question…do you manage your diabetes via a GP or do most diabetics see a “specialist” (endocrinologist???)?
:smack:
90<BG<150 is good
BG<90 or BG>180
BG<60 or BG>220
Male, 44, Type II, diagnosed about 10 years now. I also had an RNY gastric bypass in June, and I’ve lost 75 lbs so far. I stopped Actos cold turkey, I’m weaning myself off glipizide at the moment, and I haven’t touched the Metformin at all.
I also try to test twice a day, usually as I get up, and either right after work, or just before bed. In practice, I’m lucky to get in 1 test a day.
Primary management is by primary physician, but I’ve recently started seeing an endocrinologist also.