Hi all - Can someone please put my mind to rest. The 'normal' reading for mmo/L state that pre food it's 4 - 5.9 and that post food (1.5 hours), it's up to 7.8. Does this mean any number up to 7.8 or from 4 to 7.8? The table doesn't make this clear. Thank you John M.
Hi Sawsmith and welcome to the forums.
I'm not entirely sure I completely understand your question. So maybe a bit more explanation for my answer. Most of us find that a meal with any carb in will raise BG a bit. I can have some meals that won't affect my BG at all and the post-meal reading can be very slightly less than the pre-meal one. This could also be due to normal meter error of course.
Most T2s, unless on medication, will never find their BGs under 4. The liver is supposed to ensure that doesn't happen by dumping stored glucose, so levels stay up. If you're seeing readings of 4 or under, particularly after meals, I'd advise finding out why. It could simply be a meter problem.
The table here gives a number of ranges:
Normal blood sugar ranges and blood sugar ranges for adults and children with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and blood sugar ranges to determine diabetes.
www.diabetes.co.uk
The non-diabetic (which is what you are) post meal target is under 7.8. There is an assumption that after the meal the BG will be up from the pre-meal reading, which is why I think it doesn't say "4 to 7.8".
You'll have started at 4 (at the very, very lowest) and it will have gone up some. Many of us also don't want a rise of more than 2mmol/l after eating - I'd want to look more at readings that were 4.5 pre-meal and 6.8 post meal.
Hope that helps, and if I've missed the point please ask again.