I Have A Real Concern....

[lindijanice]

Hello All, I finally have to put this out there.....I have a real concern about comments made about "high" blood sugars that are well within The Range for persons with diabetes....It really distresses me that there are those who feel a blood sugar of 6 is "high" and will lead to "damage if continued"...Give me a break and every other person who is struggling to have blood sugars in the 6's!! Please people, remember that we are all unique and if we fall within The Range we are doing well. It may not be what you want for yourself, but don't put down someone who isn't getting 3's and 4's like you.

I feel like cringing every time I read something like that because it makes me wonder what newbies are feeling, or those of us who will never see the low end of The Range - including myself and I have been at this a long time....Some people with diabetes will always have issues and to read something like that that inherently implies judgment, criticism, or at worse fear mongering, we need to encourage them not discourage them, scare them, or give them yet another thing to stress over concerning this disease.

I'm done with my rant except to add that The Range is there for a reason, so let's not forget that....L

 

[Goonergal]

Hi @lindijanice and thanks for the post. Debate is always good.

I agree that no one should be putting others down on here - for any reason. If that’s happening, the relevant post should be reported.

However as we are all different and have our own targets, I think it’s important to be supportive of everyone on here - those trying to get to or stay at the lower end of the range deserve support, encouragement and empathy as much as those working above that. The battles are different but equally important to each individual.

It can be difficult for newbies - we all go through those early stages - but I see lots of support, encouragement and reassurance going on. Speaking personally when I was first diagnosed and found my way here, I found it interesting and helpful to see a range of approaches, all of which helped me to figure out my own way forward.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

I try to stick to the published guidelines, where new forum members are concerned about their own measurements I would only ever point them towards the guidelines such as those published by diabetes.co.uk.

 

[kitedoc]

Hi @lindijanice, I agree with you.
Let us not be too precious about reporting one's BSLs nearer the lower end of the normal range ( and the number of hypos which occur as a result) and bemoaning the presence of BSLs near the upper end.
I try to answer posts about why a person's BSL is definitely higher or lower that the expected range but reporting BSL as a routine rather than for sharing experience or asking a question does seem rather trite in some ways (putting on helmet, kevlar vest and gas mask as I type)!!
All of which begs the question of why does a human, non-diabetic body's physiology usually maintain BSLs in the stated range?
Our brain and emergency bodily responses certainly tend to let us know when BSLs are too low. Although the fact that our brain might use ketones as fuel in certain circumstances might muddy this a bit. But still, too low is disastrous for the brain.
We know that sustained BSLs above a certain level cause harm long term. Too much glucose hanging around for too long leads to things called AGEs (Advanced Glycation Endproducts) which are thought to contribute to the many of the complications of diabetes. see clinical.diabetesjournals.org Glucose, AGEs and Diabetes Complications Clinical Diabetes Oct 2003 Peppa et al
We might assume that upper limit of normal BSLs both fasting and after food in a non-diabetic is a compromise.
On one hand having sufficient glucose in the blood after a meal to then enter the body cells whether with insulin's aid or without (e.g. the latter into brain and liver cells) and use of liver storage of glucose, released between meals, to keep BSLs from dropping too low plus the liver's ability to convert some ingested protein to glucose and on the other hand having some glucose sticking to proteins in the body to form AGEs.
Maybe some level of AGEs can be tolerated because the body has ways to protect itself against AGEs up to a certain point and the above article points out that treatment by the food industry has increased pre-AGE products in food. So excessive glucose in the blood is not the only source of AGEs that we as diabetics need to worry about.
We also know that if our body has to secrete more and more insulin or we inject more and more insulin as diabetics that excessive insulin has its downsides too. see diabesity.ejournals.ca Hyperinsulinaemia: A unifying theory of chronic disease? Diabesity 2015 1 (4) Crofts et al.
And we have the study about cardiovascular disease and diabetes; see" HBA1C as a risk factor for cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause mortality in diabetic and non-diabetic populations: a systemic review and meta-analysis" Cavero-Redondo et al BMJ Open Vol.7 issue & 2015 where the least mortality was found to be with HBA1C readings between 6.0 and 8.0 % for diabetic populations and between 5.0 and 6.0 % for non-diabetic populations. So is vying for an HBA1C less than 6% (42mmol/mol) wise?
Of course we do not know why the death rate may increase when a diabetic maintains a HBA1C less then 6% (42mmol/mol) ? more hypos and how predictive are statistics and how accurate and reliable is HBA1c as a marker of diabetes control when it measures an average not the range of BSLs over time.
As diabetics we do the best we can. I admit that no one can stop people posting their results but is it really necessary?
Do you seek a weather report that tells you and others that the wind speed is precisely 4 knots from the NNW when you know that is just in one place and that it will very likely to different everywhere else OR is saying the windspeed is within the predicted range of 3 to 7 knots from the NNW to NNE good enough?

 

[Fenn]

This is very interesting, I agree in a way with you OP I am having great difficulty getting my numbers down to perfect which is actually discouraging but then I suppose those posted perfect numbers are also acting as a wish list and must be inspiring me to try even harder.

Which of those will win I dont know, is it a good idea to start the day off with a bg in the mid 8’s and be dissapointed as soon as I open my eyes? Or would it be better to not test and not have the target of lower fbg which has got to be a healthy target?

I was under the impression that we must get our numbers under 6 if we dont want complications later on, I read and accepted that numbers consistantly over 6mmol is doing damage to our organs so only hitting that magic 6 for five minutes a week is pretty depressing.

But I guess if you have worked hard to get great bg numbers why wouldnt you shout that from the rooftops?

If I understand kitedocs post and I hope I do, perhaps I shouldnt be so discouraged by not reaching numbers I am trying to and fear I never will.

Perhaps us folks not doing so well should post our numbers more? To make us fellow “failers” feel better and the successful folks feel great lol

Interesting as I never looked at people posting their perfect numbers as anything but a good thing

Not sure how much sense that makes, as usual