What Is Acceptable Blood Sugar

When To See A Healthcare Provider

Getting professional medical advice from a healthcare provider like an endocrinologist is the best way to learn more about whether your blood sugar levels are where they should be. Not getting proper treatment for low or high blood sugar levels can be serious and lead to health complications, especially for those with diabetes. Diabetes complications include nerve damage, kidney disease, heart disease, or heart attacks.

If you see a healthcare provider about your blood sugar levels, be prepared to answer questions about risk factors like what you eat, how much you exercise, and about your family history. Some healthcare providers may want to take a blood sample to test your blood sugar levels. They may also order an A1C test, which is a blood test that measures blood sugar control over three months. You may have to fast eight hours beforehand to get accurate test results, so its always a good idea to check before your appointment. Your healthcare provider can create a diabetes treatment plan if you are prediabetic or have diabetes.

Be sure your treatment plan includes instructions on when you would need to seek emergency medical care. Emergency rooms are equipped to handle high blood sugar levels and can administer treatments like insulin therapy and fluid or electrolyte replacement.

What Is The Normal Blood Sugar Level For Teens

Teenagers are recommended to have a blood sugar range between 70-150 mg/dL. It’s not easy for a teenager to maintain a tight range, therefore it’s important to aim for these numbers to give them a bit more flexibility.

• Fasting: 70-150 mg/dL
• Preprandial : 90-130 mg/dL
• Postprandial : Less than 140 mg/dL
• Bedtime: 90-150 mg/dL

What Does A High Blood Glucose Level Mean

If your fasting blood glucose level is 100 to 125 mg/dL , it usually means you have prediabetes. People with prediabetes have up to a 50% chance of developing Type 2 diabetes over the next five to 10 years. But you can take steps to prevent Type 2 diabetes from developing.

If your fasting blood glucose level is 126 mg/dl or higher on more than one testing occasion, it usually means you have diabetes.

In either of these cases, your provider will likely order a glycated hemoglobin test before diagnosing you with prediabetes or diabetes. An A1c shows your average blood sugar over a few months.

There are a few different types of diabetes. The most common forms are:

• Type 2 diabetes : T2D happens when your pancreas doesnt make enough insulin or your body doesnt use insulin well , resulting in high blood glucose levels. This is the most common type of diabetes.
• Type 1 diabetes : T1D is an autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells in your pancreas for unknown reasons. Your pancreas can no longer produce insulin. At diagnosis, people with Type 1 diabetes usually have very high blood glucose .
• Gestational diabetes: This condition can develop in pregnant people usually appearing during the middle of pregnancy, between 24 and 28 weeks. The high blood sugar goes away once the pregnancy is over. Pregnant people have screenings for gestational diabetes with a glucose challenge test and/or glucose tolerance test.

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Why Do Blood Sugars Matter In Diabetes

A key part of managing diabetes involves checking blood sugars, or glucose levels.

In type 1 diabetes , a persons pancreas does not produce the insulin they need. In type 2 diabetes , the body may not make or use insulin correctly anymore.

For either T1D or T2D, ensuring glucose levels stay as level as possible is the goal. Sometimes insulin or diabetes medications are used based on the type of diabetes and personal needs. Many factors affect glucose levels, including food, exercise, insulin, medications, stress, etc.

Glucose level targets may vary for everyone based on their unique needs.

The Nuances Of Low Glucose

In a recent study, researchers reviewed the published literature to see if low fasting glucose levels affected healthy peoples long term risks of health problems, like strokes and heart attacks. They found that healthy non-diabetic people who had baseline fasting glucose levels of less than 72 mg/dl had a 56% increase in all-cause mortality compared to people with normal fasting blood glucose levels. Also, the risks for heart attacks and strokes were higher in people with baseline fasting glucose levels less than 72 mg/dl. This result is likely due to the body releasing more epinephrine to counteract the low glucose levels too much epinephrine for too long leads to heart problems. Interestingly, people with low fasting glucose levels of less than 83 mg/dl but higher than 72 mg/dl did not have an increased risk of future heart attacks and strokes.

While there has been an association between low fasting plasma glucose levels and worse health outcomes, it is not clear whether transient dips in glucose levels during a continuous 24-hour period are unhealthy for nondiabetic individuals. Part of the reason that this is unknown is that continuous glucose monitoring is a relatively new technology and has been studied more extensively in diabetic individuals than in healthy individuals.

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Now That Youre Checking Your Blood Glucose What Do The Numbers Mean

Depending on your diabetes treatment plan, your doctor or diabetes educator may advise you to check once a week, once a day or up to 10 times a day . But what does it mean when you see a 67, 101, or 350 on your meter? And what is a normal blood sugar, anyway? Great questions! After all, if you dont know what the numbers on your meter mean, its hard to know how youre doing.

The American Diabetes Association provides guidelines for blood glucose goals for people with diabetes, and the goals vary depending on when youre checking your glucose:

Fasting and before meals: 80130 mg/dl

Postprandial : Less than 180 mg/dl

By the way, these guidelines are for non-pregnant adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Children, adolescents and pregnant women may have different goals.

Your blood glucose goals may be different, however. If youre younger, have had diabetes for a shorter amount of time, or are not taking any medicine for your diabetes, your glucose goals might be a little tighter, or lower. Likewise, your blood glucose goals may be higher than what ADA recommends if youre older, have diabetes complications, or dont get symptoms when your blood glucose is low.

Bottom line: talk with your health care provider about the following:

When to check your blood glucose How often to check your blood glucose What your blood glucose goals are

Determining The Right A1c Goal For You

Just because a normal blood sugar range of 70 to 130 mg/dL is considered the healthiest doesnt necessarily mean thats the appropriate goal range for you especially if you have type 1 diabetes, or take insulin as a person with type 2 diabetes.

The reason this may not be the right goal for you is that extremely tight blood sugar management in people taking insulin can potentially lead to frequent low blood sugars which can be dangerous.

Achieving extremely tight blood sugar management, like a range of 70 to 130 mg/dL, also often requires a strict nutrition plan, more frequent than usual blood sugar monitoring, precise medication management, and most importantly, years of experience studying your blood sugar levels.

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What Is Normal Fasting Blood Sugar And What Is A Diabetes Blood Sugar Level

The results of the fasting blood sugar test will come back as a number:

• 99 mg/dL or lower: This is a normal fasting blood sugar level.
• 100125 mg/dL: Fasting blood sugar in this range typically indicates prediabetes. This means your blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as diabetes.
• 126 mg/dL or above: This indicates high blood sugar, the main sign of diabetes.

If you have a high fasting blood sugar level, your healthcare provider may repeat the test to make sure. If the test reveals that you have prediabetes, your healthcare provider will recommend you repeat the fasting blood sugar test every year or two. The results will help you know whether you are progressing to Type 2 diabetes.

Diagnosing Prediabetes Type 2 And Type 1 Diabetes

Depending on which country or medical organization you ask, the qualifying numbers for normal versus prediabetes versus diagnosed type 1 or type 2 diabetes can vary slightly.

The following blood sugar and A1c results are used to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes according to sources including the American Diabetes Association and Diabetes UK:

Prediabetes

• HbA1c: 5.7 to 6.4 percent
• Fasting: 100 to 125 mg/dL
• 2 hours after a meal: 140 mg/dL to 199 mg/dL

Type 1 or 2 diabetes

• HbA1c: 6.5 percent or higher
• Fasting: 126 mg/dL or higher
• 2 hours after a meal: 200 mg/dL or higher

Please note:Type 1 diabetes tends to develop very quickly which means that by the time symptoms are felt, blood sugar levels are generally well above 200 mg/dL all the time. For many, symptoms come on so quickly that they are dismissed as the lingering flu or another seemingly ordinary virus.

By the time blood sugar levels are tested, many newly diagnosed type 1 patients will see levels above 400 mg/dL or higher. If you do suspect that you or a loved one has type 1 diabetes, visit your primary care or urgent care immediately and ask for a urine test to measure ketones in addition to testing blood sugar levels and A1c.

Read more about ketones at diagnosis in ourDiabetic Ketoacidosis Guide.

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Remedies For High Sugar Level

If the blood sugar level is between 180 to250 mg/dL, seek medical advice and take medicines. Cut off a fast-acting carb diet. Dont take processed food and sugary items.

If the blood sugar level is> 250 mg/dL, you need immediate medical attention. If left untreated, it can lead to coma and high ketones in the blood. So test for ketones and get insulin therapy as soon as possible.

If you experience high sugar levels on regular basis, you are advised to do the following:

Many diabetic patients are aware of the changes they need to make in their diet or daily routine but are not able to follow them due to various reasons. Lack of motivation and proper knowledge is the most common reasons. A constant push from a diabetes reversal coach along with the guidance of a Diabetologist can help regulate blood sugar levels.

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Check Your Blood Sugar Often

Checking your blood sugar levels often and writing down, or using an app to track the results will tell you how well you are managing your diabetes. Talk to your doctor and diabetes educator about how often you should check your blood sugar.

• Not everyone with diabetes needs to check their blood sugar every day. But some people may need to check it many times a day.
• If you have type 1 diabetes, check your blood sugar at least 4 times a day.

Usually, you will test your blood sugar before meals and at bedtime. You may also check your blood sugar:

• After you eat out, particularly if you have eaten foods you dont normally eat
• If you feel sick
• Before and after you exercise
• If you have a lot of stress
• If you eat too much
• If you are taking new medicines that can affect your blood sugar

Keep a record for yourself and your provider. This will be a big help if you are having problems managing your diabetes. It will also tell you what works and what doesnt work, to keep your blood sugar under control. Write down:

• The time of day
• The amount of carbohydrates or sugar you ate
• The type and dose of your diabetes medicines or insulin
• The type of exercise you do and for how long
• Any unusual events, such as feeling stressed, eating different foods, or being sick

Many glucose meters let you store this information.

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Risks Of Abnormal Fasting Blood Sugar Levels

As suggested earlier, the normal fasting blood sugar level is between 70-100mg/dl.

• If your blood sugar level is below 70mg/dl then you may have hypoglycemia or low blood sugar.
• A blood sugar level of 100 suggests prediabetes or borderline diabetes.
• A blood sugar of 120 mg/dl is an indication of diabetes.

What Do My Results Mean

When you finish the blood glucose check, write down your results and note what factors may have affected them, such as food, activity, and stress. Take a close look at your blood glucose record to see if your level is too high or too low several days in a row at about the same time. If the same thing keeps happening, it might be time to change your diabetes care plan. Work with your doctor or diabetes educator to learn what your results mean for you. It can take time to make adjustments and get things just right. And do ask your doctor if you should report results out of a certain range right away by phone.

Keep in mind that blood glucose results often trigger strong feelings. Blood glucose numbers can leave you upset, confused, frustrated, angry, or down. It’s easy to use the numbers to judge yourself. Remind yourself that tracking your blood glucose level is simply a way to know how well your diabetes care plan is working, and whether that plan may need to change.

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How Is Diabetes Diagnosed

A diagnosis of diabetes is usually made when fasting blood sugar is above 126 mg/dL or the A1c is 6.5% or higher.

HBa1c is the level of glycated hemoglobin and represents blood glucose control over last 3 months by measuring glycated hemoglobin levels.

If your fasting blood sugar levels are between 100 and 126 mg/dL you can be diagnosed with prediabetes.

In some individuals diabetes may develop quite quickly and this can cause very high blood sugar levels that range between 200 mg/dL and 400 mg/dL or above. This often leads to a life threatening condition requiring hospitalization and sometimes intensive care treatment.

If you have any of the following symptoms, it’s important to speak to your doctor:

• Increased urination
• Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
• Slow-healing cuts and bruises

A diagnosis of diabetes is a serious matter, but it doesn’t mean your life has to change dramatically. There are many treatments available that can help you manage your condition and live a long, healthy life. Treatment usually involves a combination of lifestyle modification, medication, diet, and exercise. You’ll work with your healthcare team to create a treatment plan that’s right for you.

High Blood Sugar Symptoms

Hyperglycemia is the medical term for high blood sugar. Hyperglycemia happens when the body doesnt have enough insulin or when it cant use insulin correctly. Many things can cause high blood glucose levels like Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, stress, illness, or the dawn phenomenon. If you have hyperglycemia or suspect you may have it, talking with a healthcare provider is always a good idea. A doctor can help you determine whats causing your high blood sugar levels and help you lower it to a healthy range.

Here are some of the most common symptoms that may indicate hyperglycemia:

• Fruity-smelling breath

Your healthcare provider will give you a treatment plan that indicates when you should seek immediate medical attention.

When patients experience any of these accompanied by elevated blood sugar levels, diabetic patients are advised to go directly to the ER to avoid diabetes-induced coma, says Vikram Tarugu, MD, a gastroenterologist and the CEO of Detox of South Florida. Patients who have elevated blood sugar may also present with frothy, ketone-like smelling breath.

Here are some lifestyle changes and medical treatments that can help treat hyperglycemia:

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When Should I Go To The Hospital For Blood Sugar

Certain symptoms of blood sugar levels signal when you should seek medical help. Typically, if you feel extremely fatigued, notice increased thirst and urination, or weight loss, you should seek help right away. These symptoms can signify an abnormal blood sugar level and/or other health conditions. A routine health check is also advised, even if you do not show any symptoms.

Consequences Of Blood Sugar Levels

Whilst most symptoms of low and high blood sugar levels are mild, they can worsen if left untreated and sometimes have long term consequences and/or complications. Overtime, a high blood sugar level is what can cause consequences. Lack of treatment can cause severe damage to the blood vessels and lead to complications such as:

• Damage to the eyes and/or loss of vision
• Nerve problems in the feet leading to infections

To avoid long term consequences and complications, it is advised to take all precautionary measures and treat your blood sugar level so that it can be maintained at your ideal reading. So do so, follow all treatment methods, stay on track with checking your level daily and seeking help if symptoms persist.

If you have any more questions, here are a few of the most frequently asked questions which may answer your concerns:

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