High limit for BG?

[mho357]

I think I know where my number should be for 2 hour PP.

Do I have a target for the peak? That is, does it matter if I break 200 if my 2 hour is 120? If it does matter (I suspect that it does), what is the limit?

Since I'm not on any meds I can't do anything except take note of what I ate to avoid a repeat. So far, I have focused on the 2 hour number and the fasting number.

I think that this question might only apply to type 2's - right?

Thanks,

Mark

[princesslinda]

Hi Mark, good question. I have read that some damage can actually occur at levels above 140, so my guess is that as close to 140 or less a T2 can keep things, the better we'll be. I'm sure that to be at 140 2 hrs post meal, one would have been higher in the interim between eating and the 2 hr reading...this is where testing at 30 minutes, 1 hr, 90 minutes then 2 hrs would probably come in handy to truly show how much you spike after certain foods.

Personally, I work very had to keep my 2 hr post meal reading at 120 or less (but I do have the benefit of help from medication).

If you're worried that you might be spiking quite high before your 2 hr reading, you could try the every 30 minute testing occasionally to see how you're doing.

Keep in mind, however, that everyone has a peak after meals, non-diabetics just usually come back to their normal levels more quickly than we do. For example, my husband (not a diabetic)can eat a really high carb meal, then 2 hrs later be in the 80's. We've even eaten the same healthy meals and he is much lower at 2 hrs than I am. (He's been my guinea pig on occasions ;) )

[pjams]

I agree with what Linda says, In addition to keeping the PP numbers below 140, I aim for 50 points above the pre-prandial numbers. Many times my numbers are in 70's and 80's, so 120 to 130 would be my goal. It is not always easy. Sometimes the food tastes very good and sometimes I am hungry.
JayP

[xMenace]

I think that this question might only apply to type 2's - right?


Wrong . ;)

[moorejames]

Most of the things I've read suggest that it's the prolonged exposure to high BS that is the problem, so using that theory, I guess it wouldn't matter how high you spiked as long as you were at your target at 2 hrs.

Still, I can't help but think that if prolonged exposure to really high #'s causes damage, then it's not out of the realm of possibility that abnormally high spikes would also cause damage (a smaller, but still cumulative) amount of damage.

I like the idea of keeping the spikes to no more than 50 points, why invite damage? you just have to be disciplined to achieve it (or take the proper meds, in the right amount at the right times).

jm

[iDream]

I've only had my gcm go over my high (180) once.....I look at it every second so my bs never has a chance to go nearly that high...

[rzrbks]

Have visited with several CDEs on this very topic.

Consensus of the 7, from 4 different programs, is that having 2 hr pp reading in YOUR target range is the key to good health.

Medicine is an art, not Gravitational Physics.

Every one of us is different and must, with the help of our Professionals, find the targets and goals that work best for each of us Individually.

[Alice]

It's also just a matter of timing the insulin (for type I's) with the type of carb...not just the amount of carb. We all know the carbs that will give us a spike. If you try to knock that peak down too quickly, you will be low in two hours. Sometimes this is actually a strategy I use...and then watch for the drop and have extra (planned) carbs ready to balance.

But mostly, I don't worry about the initial spikes. I watch for the drop more than anything. I want to be dropping at a steady rate to hopefully slow at the time my insulin is wearing off. Can be 3 hours total for me. After 3 hours, I know whether I took the correct amount of insulin. After 1 hour, it's too soon to tell. Two's what most people use.

If I haven't dropped much at all after two...then I sometimes take a corrective bolus.

I really think corrective bolus (and corrective carbs) are what have worked for me in recent years. I don't look at a meal as a one shot deal anymore...in some instances. Not always, but I don't get bummed if I need to correct.

I can count the carbs as exact as the next person...and do "advance" carb counting with dual boluses, etc., but it's still not an exact science.

[RobiJo]

When your taking fast acting insulin the timing of the bolus or injection is key. My 2 hour post could be 120, but the peak changes (gets higher) if I bolus while or even after I start eating. If I take it 15 min before eating, the peak is much closer to the 140 goal.

[mho357]

I have seen rare spikes near 200 but I'm almost always down below 126 at 2 hours.

xMenace - Maybe I was wrong. However, I don't think that I have any control beyond being careful about what I eat. Perhaps I should have said folks that aren't taking insulin? The reason I say that is because I've gotten the impression that if someone taking insulin goes too high they can knock it back down with a shot - right?

Still learning...

Mark