timing of drop

[Ohana]

I am still SO new at this...

I was researching how fast blood sugar should drop and I can't figure a couple of things out... I go to the Dr. On Tues, but would like to be able to hold an intelligent conversation when I get there...
ANYWAY:

Is the 2 hour post meal reading supposed to be under 140 or 120?

What is the highest your blood sugar should get BETWEEN eating and the 2 hour reading? (IE: is it ok to go up to 250 if you come right back down in those 2 hours?)

Is there a guideline to how fast blood sugar should drop? (sometimes I take 3-5 hours to get under 140, other times I drop from 140 to 80 in an hour, is that ok?)

:) I would appreciate any basic guidelines... The internet is SO not helping... (way to many different standards, and they are only concerned with fasting and 2hrs)

SO, thanks for any INFO!!

[Subby]

Hiya Ohana, I'll answer the best I can.

First thing to say is that in general, these values are up to the individual. Sure, it's easy to say that insulin therapy should be as close to "normal functioning" as possible. Easy to draw up guidelines that are nice and tight. Is it useful to be quite so particular? Maybe, maybe not. Unless you are a robot and have no variety in your life, you'll be facing different meals and circumstances all the time and generally it's not reasonable to expect the same result all the time from a meal/bolus combo.

2 hour post meal: I'd say either are probably a reasonable target to pick according to how well insulin and food predictions go for you. Although with 120 a bit of leeway for further dropping may be in order. How does 130 sound? :) Or, alternatively, just focus on not having a spike of more than (choose) between 35 - 50 mg/dl from your pre-meal level. This target is a lot more flexible and applicable to any situation.

Highest: well, you want to avoid highs. In best case usually avoiding 140 wouldn't be a bad target. No you do not want spikes and returns. Big fluctuations stuff your body and mind in the short term and any time spent high amy well contribute something to overall damage.

How fast blood sugar can drop: again, it's good to avoid sharp drops. The scenario you mention isn't that bad in my book. That drop in 30 min, and you may well feel dizzy and fatigued. As above the more even, the better you'll probably feel in yourself.

Again, you can't avoid that different standards apply to different people. Some people hover around 70 - 100 mg/dl (4 - 5.5 mmol/l) most of the time, thank you very much. Others consider it a victory to get through the day below 150 mg/dl.(9 mmol/l). It's not just the effort put in, but just how it all works for different people.

As for your intelligent exchange with your doctor. Don't worry too much about rules out there that may or may not apply to you, having a conversation about your current experiences and some realistic and achievable goals for improvement would be the best outcome.

[Mich]

Hi Ohana,

My suggestion to avoid the 250 spike after eating is that you either:

take your meal correction insulin a little before eating (test and experiment to find out how soon)
or
eat less high-glycemic carbohydrates. White rice is notorious for raising blood sugar--even faster than a few bites of a snickers bar! Potatoes, bread with low fiber and some other things aren't far behind. I only allow myself a tiny taste, maybe a measuring tablespoon of these things.

Try for not going over 180 after a meal and to be back at 140 or slightly less after two hours. Smaller meals will also help. If you're not skinny, shrinking your stomach will also help with weight loss...(says a person who is trying to lose weight :cool: )

Looking at your list, you are pretty on top of things. Congratulations!

Mich

[RobiJo]

This is the "personalization" part of diabetes. You and your goals may be different from other peoples.

GENERALLY Pre-meal 70-90 (some people may say 80-100)
2-hours after under 140 (some people--like me aim for 120)

Avoid the 250 spike. This can be done by timing your insulin dose 15-30minutes before eating, so that it is working when food started entering your system (a method you won't want to do if you're already on the low side) It also depends on what you are eating. This all takes some practice. If you can keep your spike 200, that would be a good start, then try to lower it to 180 or so.

Since you are new to this, setting attainable goals with your doctor would be ideal. Something like under 100 before and under 140 2 hours after. Once you are reaching your goals then you can tighten them up some more. Making your goals TOO tight or strict will only frustrate you.

best of luck.