where should levels be?

[licklemoose]

what are good levels for type 2?

 

[Mbaker]

Hi @licklemoose I would suggest some starting points are:

• HbA1c under 42
• Fasting blood sugars circa 5.5 or below
• Blood sugar spikes after eating of 2 mmol or less
• Blood pressure of less than 140 / 80
• HDL higher than LDL
• Triglycerides of < 1
• Sleep circa 7.5 hours
• Kidney function higher than 60
• Qrisk2 of < 10%
• Vitamin D > 50 nmol / L
• Serum Potassium > 3.50 mmol / L
• Serum Magnesium > 0.70 mmol / L
• Nutritious food - as high as possible
• Fun and living life to the full - As much as possible

 

[pleinster]

what are good levels for type 2?

Personally, I am relatively happy if my meter reads between 5.4 and 6.8mmols. A really good day for me be readings between 5.2 and 6.2. I want my reading two and half hours after any meal to be no more than 2mmols above the pre-meal reading. What is it usually? 5.2-7.5 (depending on what I eat). I am not on any meds for diabetes and manage purely through a low carb diet (which has brought my levels down quite successfully) . I would agree with the solid info that @Mbaker has supplied...except that as a renal transplant patient with one tiny kidney, 60% function would be remarkable BUT 60% and above would certainly be considered normal in a healthy person. I have tagged @daisy1, who will be along to provide you with some very good info.

 

[licklemoose]

Hi @licklemoose I would suggest some starting points are:

• HbA1c under 42
• Fasting blood sugars circa 5.5 or below
• Blood sugar spikes after eating of 2 mmol or less
• Blood pressure of less than 140 / 80
• HDL higher than LDL
• Triglycerides of < 1
• Sleep circa 7.5 hours
• Kidney function higher than 60
• Qrisk2 of < 10%
• Vitamin D > 50 nmol / L
• Serum Potassium > 3.50 mmol / L
• Serum Magnesium > 0.70 mmol / L
• Nutritious food - as high as possible
• Fun and living life to the full - As much as possible

todays fasting blood was 6.7
blood pressur right now is 121/81 (im on propranolol)
drs refuse vit D tests
potassium is 4.06 mmol/l (3.5-5.0)
im allways told kidneys are good
sleep now thats a good one.....i dont sleep well at all due to high cortisol (taking holy basil to lower it) i did sleep when i was on trazadone but stopped working and a higher dose made me a zombie
took melatonin and that worked well
put on mirtazapine for depression and that helped but im weaning off that now as it makes me so hungry and has caused weight gain
exercise is going up the stairs to pee and that does me in due to shortness of breath caused by thyroid levels being right off
i do have one of them pedal things that you can do while sitting down but not been able to do that due to flare up (hidradenitis) and water retention makes it painful

 

[daisy1]

@licklemoose

Hello and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.