I was recently told I have type 2 diabetes after getting my blood and urine tested. Since then I have started taking metformin twice per day. What I was wondering is my Doctor showed me on her monitor that my my blood sugar was 82 in a red box. What does 82 mean and where would that put me on a scale of severity. For example from high to severely raised blood sugar. Thanks. Also to add I also have been diagnosed with NAFLD but without inflammation so any advice on how to manage this would be great.
Need help understand blood levels
- Thread starter Ryansworld
- Start Date
- Messages
- 13,465
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Hi @Ryansworld and welcome to the forum.
82 is likely to be your HbA1c. That’s a 3 month estimate of your average blood sugar levels. On the scale, it’s fairly high, but not off the scale. In the Uk an HbA1c of 48 or above is classed as diabetic, with 42-47 pre-diabetic, so you’re a way into the diabetic scale.
However it’s more than possible to change that. Many of us here have got down to non-diabetic numbers from the same or a higher starting point - my own number on diagnosis was 108, but it’s been at non-diabetic numbers for over 3 years now.
This has been achieved mainly through diet, and specifically reducing carbohydrates. The same way of eating should also help with NAFLD. Take a look at dietdoctor.com for more information, recipe ideas and handy graphics about foods and their carb contents.
Most of all, keep asking questions and let us know how you get on.
82 is likely to be your HbA1c. That’s a 3 month estimate of your average blood sugar levels. On the scale, it’s fairly high, but not off the scale. In the Uk an HbA1c of 48 or above is classed as diabetic, with 42-47 pre-diabetic, so you’re a way into the diabetic scale.
However it’s more than possible to change that. Many of us here have got down to non-diabetic numbers from the same or a higher starting point - my own number on diagnosis was 108, but it’s been at non-diabetic numbers for over 3 years now.
This has been achieved mainly through diet, and specifically reducing carbohydrates. The same way of eating should also help with NAFLD. Take a look at dietdoctor.com for more information, recipe ideas and handy graphics about foods and their carb contents.
Most of all, keep asking questions and let us know how you get on.
Hi @Ryansworld and welcome to the forum.
You have already been given some good advice.
Most GPs and Diabetes Burses tell those T2Diabetics who are not on Insulin or another powerful Blood Glucose reducing medication not to test their glucose levels with a BG meter. This advice is OK for people who are content to use increasing and more powerful medication as time goes on and who are not prepared to make some fairly small lifestyle changes to reverse their T2D without going down the increasing medication route.
But for those of us who fear Diabetes complications such as Retinopathy and Neuropathy this advice is just crazy. How can you tell if what you are doing is working if you don't test more than every 3 or 6 months? - Was that meal you had 2 months ago one you shouldn't have repeated, or was it OK?
The way to know for certain is to test before meals and then again 2hrs later . Then you know what the food did to your Blood Glucose and can adjust your diet so as to keep your T2 Diabetes under control or even reverse it.
There is little to choose between the more affordable Blood Glucose meters ( all BG meters sold in the UK conform to the exact same standards). The major difference is the cost of the testing strips (you use 1 for each test but you don't need a new lancet for each test - or even each day) and if you are testing as most of us did then in the first couple of months i.e. before and then 2hrs after each meal, you will get through quite a lot of testing strips.
The testing strips are specific to particular BG meters. The meters with the cheapest test strips are the Spirit Tee2 and the SD Gluco Navii which both have strips at a price of around £8 for 50.
You have already been given some good advice.
Most GPs and Diabetes Burses tell those T2Diabetics who are not on Insulin or another powerful Blood Glucose reducing medication not to test their glucose levels with a BG meter. This advice is OK for people who are content to use increasing and more powerful medication as time goes on and who are not prepared to make some fairly small lifestyle changes to reverse their T2D without going down the increasing medication route.
But for those of us who fear Diabetes complications such as Retinopathy and Neuropathy this advice is just crazy. How can you tell if what you are doing is working if you don't test more than every 3 or 6 months? - Was that meal you had 2 months ago one you shouldn't have repeated, or was it OK?
The way to know for certain is to test before meals and then again 2hrs later . Then you know what the food did to your Blood Glucose and can adjust your diet so as to keep your T2 Diabetes under control or even reverse it.
There is little to choose between the more affordable Blood Glucose meters ( all BG meters sold in the UK conform to the exact same standards). The major difference is the cost of the testing strips (you use 1 for each test but you don't need a new lancet for each test - or even each day) and if you are testing as most of us did then in the first couple of months i.e. before and then 2hrs after each meal, you will get through quite a lot of testing strips.
The testing strips are specific to particular BG meters. The meters with the cheapest test strips are the Spirit Tee2 and the SD Gluco Navii which both have strips at a price of around £8 for 50.
