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When can you say, your blood sugars are under control?

Listlad said:
I just wonder to what degree we can say that most of the population have their blood sugar under control?
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Probably less than one might think, but even more worrisome is how many people may have their blood sugar under control, but have no clue that they are requiring huge and unrelenting quantities of insulin in order to achieve it. Even most GPs don’t seem to understand the significance, so there’s zero chance that it would ever cross the mind of the uninformed layperson.
 
Jim Lahey said:
Probably less than one might think, but even more worrisome is how many people may have their blood sugar under control, but have no clue that they are requiring huge and unrelenting quantities of insulin in order to achieve it. Even most GPs don’t seem to understand the significance, so there’s zero chance that it would ever cross the mind of the uninformed layperson.
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I hear you, Jim. And so presumably even though the blood sugar levels are under control in the shorter term, they are not really at all, not in the long term.
 
Starfish18 said:
When can you say, your blood sugars are under control?
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From a T2D perspective IMO
  • When you have non-diabetic HbA1c results over an extended period
  • When your fasting BG level is nearly always at the level you aim for
  • When you don't have many unnecessary spikes in BG
  • And for me, when I don't have to think about Diabetes very often
 
Listlad said:
I hear you, Jim. And so presumably even though the blood sugar levels are under control in the shorter term, they are not really at all, not in the long term.
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Well, probably in more individuals than we would like to think. Hyperinsulinemia can precede a clinical diabetes diagnosis by a decade or more, and considering the apparent epidemic in cases of diabetes, I dread to think how many more are unwittingly waiting for the inevitable. In the US, some estimate that up to 80% of the population have hyperinsulinemia. The world is heading for metablic meltdown :(
 
Jim Lahey said:
Well, probably in more individuals than we would like to think. Hyperinsulinemia can precede a clinical diabetes diagnosis by a decade or more, and considering the apparent epidemic in cases of diabetes, I dread to think how many more are unwittingly waiting for the inevitable. In the US, some estimate that up to 80% of the population have hyperinsulinemia. The world is heading for metablic meltdown :(
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I agree and with the OP in mind, it could be argued that members on this forum are more in control of their blood sugar levels than Joe Public, these days.
 
Listlad said:
I agree and with the OP in mind, it could be argued that members on this forum are more in control of their blood sugar levels than Joe Public, these days.
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Very possibly. I would think there are a great many undiagnosed full-diabetics, even. Lots of people don’t go for regular health checks. I was one of them! My diagnosis came about because an optician found diabetic retinopathy during a regular prescription eye exam :nurse:
 
Mel dCP said:
Another T1 wading in here... from my perspective, I can keep things under very tight control with the aid of a very low carb diet, a tubeless insulin pump amd constant glucose monitoring with alerts on my watch that buzzes my wrist if I get near to going out of range, and I can fix it before it does - most of the time. It’s pretty intensive management but like driving, the mechanics of it become second nature after a while. I can mostly maintain non-D levels while working erratic hours as a supply science teacher and community first responder. Sometimes I think about it a lot, sometimes a little. But it’s worth it (for me) to do that.

Tl;dr - I’d say I have my blood sugar under control. But it’s hard work.
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Can I ask what pump you use that connects to your watch in that way? I’ve injected since diagnosis in 1992 but having some issues and think it’s time for a pump...
 
Pippa1988 said:
Can I ask what pump you use that connects to your watch in that way? I’ve injected since diagnosis in 1992 but having some issues and think it’s time for a pump...
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My Omnipod pump doesn’t connect to my watch, but I believe there’s a Medtronic loop system that has CGM integrated. The watch is connected to my Libre sensor via a MiaoMiao Bluetooth transmitter, and for now the two systems are completely separate.
 
Brunneria said:
The next thing I eat could send me up to the mid teens in mmol/l.
Successive meals like that would see me up there (or higher) in the longer term.

I view it as a moment by moment thing, so I am temporarily 'in control' now.
3 hours time? We'll see when I get there.
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Same here.
 
I don't think I am in 'control'. My glucose levels stay in range due to insulin injected and eating carefully. Events in my life that cause a greater amount of emotion affect my glucose levels more than food and exercise. For instance when our dog died I went hypo in minutes. At work I get hypo feelings and do something about that immediately just because of the pace. I'm absolutely not in control of my appetite and obey its command immediately but fortunately I just keep eating cheese and red cabbage until I'm so full I can hardly believe a little person like me could eat so very very much. I believe there is a greater intelligence that I share my body with (I believe this is true for others as well). It's the greater intelligence that controls me and knows me better than I do myself.
 
Starfish18 said:
When can you say, your blood sugars are under control?

As the title says!
Tia :)
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@Starfish18 I got my hba1c blood test result back yesterday, on the test report it states that:

Very good control: <43 mmol/mol or <6.1%
Good control: 43 to 53 mmol/mol or 6.1% -to 7.0%
Suboptimal Control: 54 to 64 mmol/mol or 7.1% to 8.0%
Poor Control: 65 to 75 mmol/mol or 8.1% to 9.0%
Very Poor Control: >75 mmol/mol or >9.0%

The cut off point for T2 diabetes is a hba1c level equal to or greater than 48 mmol/mol or 6.5%
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I have mine under very good control at this point in time at 34 mmol/mol or 5.3%%.
 
Emma_369 said:
I think it’s a very personal opinion as we all differ on aims/targets/general life viewpoints.
For me personally, at the moment, I feel I’m in control. I can’t handle the idea of diabetes beating me. Of it controlling my life. Of course to an extent it does - I have to eat a certain way to get my levels but I’ve accepted that as just my life now and most of the time am happy with that. For me I don’t want to see a reading above 5.3 for an FBG and don’t want to be above 6.0 at any other testing time (except 1hr after food which I occasionally still check to see the peak and to ensure that 2hr reading is coming back down and not a false figure)
At present I class my levels as stable as I’ve been within these parameters for a few months now. I’m not naive - a cold next week, work stress next month, my body just changing within itself next year - I’m not under control forever. But I don’t live my life worrying about tomorrow - I used to!! Diabetes has completely changed my outlook on life. When a day comes where I’m not I’ll deal with that then, make adjustments, re-evaluate.
But today I’m in control. Today I’m winning
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If I had a blood sugar reading between 5.3 and 6.0 I wouldn't consider myself as being diabetic
 
Mplyon said:
If I had a blood sugar reading between 5.3 and 6.0 I wouldn't consider myself as being diabetic
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Imagine you have a bucket with a hole in the side. If you never fill it up to the hole then the bucket seems perfect but it isn't. If you have good control of diabetes you are avoiding the consequences but it hasn't gone away.
 
Mplyon said:
If I had a blood sugar reading between 5.3 and 6.0 I wouldn't consider myself as being diabetic
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For me, low carb allows me to stay in those ranges - for now. I’d rather stay in the ‘safe zone’ for as long as is possible than push my boundaries and risk complications. I’m 33 - need to live with this illness for a good many years. Whilst I can achieve numbers like that in my opinion that I should strive to stick to them
 
Emma_369 said:
For me, low carb allows me to stay in those ranges - for now. I’d rather stay in the ‘safe zone’ for as long as is possible than push my boundaries and risk complications. I’m 33 - need to live with this illness for a good many years. Whilst I can achieve numbers like that in my opinion that I should strive to stick to them
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I have been on a low carb diet for two years now trying to get my blood sugar down to normal but I can't do it I have lost to much weight as I was only 8 stone at the start and I am now 7 stone 3 but my sugar is between 6.2 and 7.8 I am so paranoid about what I eat my husband tells me off
 
Never, at 60 I've adopted the intermittent fasting way of life for the past 3 Months, ay. My lowest weight in 25 years, T2 for two years now, no meds and feeling fantastic.

Would not wa t to go back and eat **** again, insanity
 
Mr_Pot said:
Imagine you have a bucket with a hole in the side. If you never fill it up to the hole then the bucket seems perfect but it isn't. If you have good control of diabetes you are avoiding the consequences but it hasn't gone away.
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Good analogy.

Reminds me of a song though.
 
Adding the pre diabetic angle.

My 1c is now well into non diabetic levels and I feel better than I have in decades. Even after meals over 6 is rare and haven't seen a 7 since pizza Gate.

I have most likely saved my pancreas from total meltdown avoiding t2. So my numbers are pretty much like a normal person on a good diet.

But.....

I am coming to the belief after a lot of reading that I have had mild rh for years. My late teens at a guess.

I now stay sharp and bright all day. Just eating a fraction of what I used to. Its amazing. Since dumping carbs my body no longer demands a snooze to get through the day.

I would say it's your lifestyle you need to control. The bg will follow.
 
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