optimum blood levels ?

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bigdhughes

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Just a quick question! Its come to my attention that on here the accepted optimal blood sugar is 5.00? While through my entire life i have been taught that is is about 7 by my specialists and gp's.....have i been trying to obtain a blood level my whole life that is still to high?

thanks
Declan
 
totsy

totsy

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everyone has different views,
some like to be as low as poss without being hypo whereas others manage well a bit higher, i myself prefer to be in the 5,s or 6,s before food and similar after and that suits me :D
 
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hanadr

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Doctors and other authorities decided on 7 for a variety of reasons, some to do with the risk of hypo and some, I suspect, because they thought that most diabetics can achieve 7 and they don't like to make it too hard.
I usually say 5, because that is close to the average for a non-diabetic. Not much work has been done on non-diabetic blood sugars, but Bernstein quotes anecdotally that 85mg/dl is the most frequent value he's found in non-diabetic visitors to his office. 85mg/dl translates to 4.7mmol/l. I just rounded it up to 5 for convenience.
FOR MYSELF
I cannot see any point in setting a target that is higher than the normal blood glucose level of a non-diabetic. I am someone, otherwise fit and healthy, whose metabolism doesn't work quite correctly if I eat carbs, I am NOT some poor sick thing called a "DIabetic", who cannot be asked to restrict the diet in case it's too much for me to handle.
We know that even people not diagnosed as diabetic, whose blood glucose tends to run "high", tend to evelop thos problems usually thought of as "diabetic complications.
Bernstein believes that pretty well ALL diabetics can learn to control BG to non-diabetic levels. In fact he calls the alternatives" uncontrolled".
PS

Of course that doesn't chime with the "Diabetics can eat anything they like " message.and "just take some more medication to cover it."
PS
I just noticed this is in type 1 diabetes. I only look for New Posts
That doesn't change what I've written. Bernstein is a T1 diabetic and has been for about 50 years.
 
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bigdhughes

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Thanks for the replies guys. I wouldn't be comfortable with going below 6 really with the danger of hypo's. I am one of those people that the 7 is aimed at appropriately, i might have a mental breakdown if i'm constantly fretting about my blood sugars.
 
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cugila

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bigdhughes said:
Just a quick question! Its come to my attention that on here the accepted optimal blood sugar is 5.00? While through my entire life i have been taught that is is about 7 by my specialists and gp's.....have i been trying to obtain a blood level my whole life that is still to high?

thanks
Declan
Click to expand...


I don't know why you think that this forum has a set optimum Bg level ? There is certainly no level that we espouse on here which is anything like that ? :?

Everybody has their own targets that are usually discussed with their HCP's. Some are very low as with Hanadr, others are set higher, something similar to your own target levels. My own personal levels are to remain between 4 - 6 mmol/l if at all possible. However, my Endo/DSN both gave me target levels of between 4 - 7 mmol/l. They are still happy when I consistently achieve my OWN target levels, the lower the better, providing I don't drop below 4 mmol/l, hypo territory !
 
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bigdhughes

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apologies, "Its come to my attention that on here the accepted optimal blood sugar is 5.00?" is a question. I didnt take it as fact, it just seems that every thread i read spoke about Bg of 5-6. I assumed that everyone here was trying to obtain blood levels in those numbers.
 
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cugila

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No apologies are necessary. :D

We like to keep the Bg numbers down as low as we can because this in turn will bring down your HbA1c level. The figure most HCP's seem to rely on.
 
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howie

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i wasn't sure who/what to believe on 'optimum levels', so i tested some of my mates before and after meals and they're hitting 5.0's all the time. maybe 6-7 after meals.

i try and imitate that as much as poss.

howie
 
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bigdhughes said:
Just a quick question! Its come to my attention that on here the accepted optimal blood sugar is 5.00? While through my entire life i have been taught that is is about 7 by my specialists and gp's.....have i been trying to obtain a blood level my whole life that is still to high?

thanks
Declan
Click to expand...

HI Declan, I would listen to your specialists, if you trust them and have a good relationship then there is no reason to think why you wouldn't aim for their numbers? I remember being told that 7 or 8 was just fine, although that was back in the 80's :wink: 6 is my magic number now and I'm happy with that as I am diabetic, so don't expect to have perfect, non diabetic numbers. I guess the main thing is if your eyes/feet/kidneys/heart etc are in good shape then 7 isn't too high for you 8)
 
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