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can anyone explain glucose levels

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Posted 7/29/2007 12:17 AM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone,

I bought myself one of those testing kits for when I was away on holiday. I just don't know when I should be testing, what time of day etc. I also don't really know what levels I should be looking out for. I go back to the doctors on Wednesday when I'm sure she'll tell me everything but just thought I'd ask here first. The levels seemed to be totally different every day. I took a test in the morning before breakfast, and also in the afternoon after eating. The levels in the morning ranged from 6.4 to 11.4 and the afternoon ones were from 3.2 to 7.8. What does all this mean??? sorry for all the questions, i'm sure once wednesdays appt has been i'll be a little better informed. thanks

Posted 7/29/2007 1:57 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Lion,

I'm in the US, and our numbers are calculated differently here, so I looked on Google and found this link for you to read a little about it:

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/diabetesbloodsugar.htm

The article also says ideal readings are as follows:

What should glucose levels be?

The ideal values are:

  • 4 to 7mmol/l before meals.
  • less than 10mmol/l 90 minutes after a meal
  • around 8mmol/l at bedtime.

I hope the article helps you.

My morning readings are a bit high, too. A bedtime snack seems to help with that... (for me a piece of apple with a spoon of peanut butter helps, others have different snacks that work best for them.) 

:-)  Bear 

Posted 7/29/2007 8:10 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Bear,
I am confused...................you posted
"My morning readings are a bit high, too. A bedtime snack seems to help with that... (for me a piece of apple with a spoon of peanut butter helps, others have different snacks that work best for them.)"
Why do you want your morning levels to be high............would you not want to be in the normal range? Unless you are an insulin deprendent diabetic?
Just wondering, I am not a diabetic. smile However I do have a friend that is.
Thanks
Posted 7/29/2007 10:15 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Skitt,

I know it makes no sense, but for some reason, if you don't have a snack at bedtime, morning readings are higher. I think it's called "dawn effect"... something like that. It's caused by your sugar getting low while you sleep and you produce too much glucose to make up for the low, hence you wake up with higher sugars than normal. Having a small snack at bedtime with some carb and protein will counteract that effect, and your sugars will be in a more normal range when waking. I read all this here from the experts, and sure enough, a snack helps me. It just seemed that Lion's sugar was a bit high on waking, so I mentioned to try a snack to help keep it lower. Sorry if it made no sense... tongue

Bear

Posted 7/31/2007 3:06 AM (GMT 0)
I was told it's somewhat a "rebound" effect when you don't eat before bed. Your blood sugar most likely dips to a low (usually under 4.5) and your body will rebound to make up for it. Thus, the higher readings. I found that when I started testing at 3am, I could better manage my morning readings. If the readings were higher than 7, I'd shoot a few units of insulin. If they were lower than 4.5, I'd have a very light snack (usually a tablespoon of peanut butter or a glass of milk). It has definetely helped in keeping my glucose levels between 4-7.

For myself, I was told my goals are to be 4-7 fasting and then 5-10 1-2 hours post meals (for myself, I test between 1- 1 1/2 hrs).

My own personal schedule for testing is first thing when I wake up, after breakfast (1 - 1 1/2 hrs post), then 2 hours post lunch, then 1 - 1 1/2 hrs post dinner and of course, before bed, then usually at 3am. It seems excessive to some, but I got the advice from a friend who has Type 1 diabetes and is the same age as myself. It has definetely helped me gain control with my diabetes. I still have issues here and there, but it's definetely more controlled now than it was six months ago.
Posted 7/31/2007 9:04 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, thanks for your replies.
I was curious about the readings taken after meals. A few of the readings I have taken in the afternoon after my lunch have been lower than my ones taken before eating. They have been 3.2, 3.8 & 3.8 the last 3 days. I thought they should have went up though. All the rest went up after eating. Any ideas, thanks x
Posted 8/1/2007 12:41 AM (GMT 0)

Hi Lion,

I'm really not that familiar with the UK equivalents on the BG readings... maybe some UK members would know better... but from the chart I copied, that's below the before meal readings. What are you usually eating at lunchtime? Maybe that's a factor. I'm not sure...

Hope some others will know more

Bear

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