A whole bunch of numbers
An interesting thing about Diabetes is how many numbers are involved in your daily life.
There is first the blood sugar. Americans use one standard and some of the Asians use another. Most meters can be programmed to do either one. I am not sure what the Europeans and others use, but it must be one of these. The factor between the two sets is 10.
In the US, we use numbers in the hundreds.
Here is what is considered great -
Fasting sugars under 90
Breakfast sugars checked two hours after - 120 or under.
Lunch sugars checked two hours after - 120 or under.
Dinner sugars checked two hours after - 120 or under.
There are a lot more numbers but this is what I concentrate on. Without the medications, it is really hard for me to get to these numbers. I manage to get the 2 hours later numbers only if I have done some rigorous exercise. Else If see numbers in the 140's or 150's. Which seems to be OK too. The ADA sets a limit of 180 for the 2 hours after meals.
The other set of numbers is the A1C. This is determined by a blood test and is an indication of how your average sugars have been over the last three months. I believe this is a more important number and try to keep that in focus. The ADA and my doctor would like to keep this number under 7.0 for me.
In May when I had my first test, my A1C was 12.6 ( really bad. Anything over 9 is considered to be dangerous).
Three months later, having been on medication and diet and exercise, I was able to drop this to 6.6. My doctor was amazed. This is when I decided to get off the medication.
Three months after this, now my A1C was 6.9. I am still scraping through and would like to improve the number more. I feel confident that more exercise is the key and I can keep myself in control.
The next test is going to be interesting as it is coming after the holiday season. I am really watching what I put in my mouth as there is sugar all around. Luckily so if a bunch of meat :-)
There is first the blood sugar. Americans use one standard and some of the Asians use another. Most meters can be programmed to do either one. I am not sure what the Europeans and others use, but it must be one of these. The factor between the two sets is 10.
In the US, we use numbers in the hundreds.
Here is what is considered great -
Fasting sugars under 90
Breakfast sugars checked two hours after - 120 or under.
Lunch sugars checked two hours after - 120 or under.
Dinner sugars checked two hours after - 120 or under.
There are a lot more numbers but this is what I concentrate on. Without the medications, it is really hard for me to get to these numbers. I manage to get the 2 hours later numbers only if I have done some rigorous exercise. Else If see numbers in the 140's or 150's. Which seems to be OK too. The ADA sets a limit of 180 for the 2 hours after meals.
The other set of numbers is the A1C. This is determined by a blood test and is an indication of how your average sugars have been over the last three months. I believe this is a more important number and try to keep that in focus. The ADA and my doctor would like to keep this number under 7.0 for me.
In May when I had my first test, my A1C was 12.6 ( really bad. Anything over 9 is considered to be dangerous).
Three months later, having been on medication and diet and exercise, I was able to drop this to 6.6. My doctor was amazed. This is when I decided to get off the medication.
Three months after this, now my A1C was 6.9. I am still scraping through and would like to improve the number more. I feel confident that more exercise is the key and I can keep myself in control.
The next test is going to be interesting as it is coming after the holiday season. I am really watching what I put in my mouth as there is sugar all around. Luckily so if a bunch of meat :-)
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