Dr. Jaiwant Rangi explains blood glucose monitoring for diabetes, covering target ranges (80-130 mg/dL fasting, A1C under 7%) and how to treat lows using the Rule of 15. He describes hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia symptoms, practical management tactics, and when to call a doctor.
Chapters
What does blood glucose mean? Why is it important to check your blood glucose? Now, as you know, diabetes occurs when the body is unable to make enough insulin or is not able to use the insulin it makes efficiently enough to keep the blood glucose, also known as sugar levels, within range. This is why it is important to closely monitor your blood glucose levels. Knowing your blood glucose levels will give you a good idea of how your body responds to different foods, medications or changes in your activity or overall wellness. Now, when you know your blood glucose levels, you will understand how to better manage them. Blood glucose information is also valuable to your healthcare providers and to understand when a change in your therapy is needed. Now, what should you do to keep the track of the blood glucose levels? You should use a glucometer to check your finger stick or a sensor to check the impact of food. Blood glucose levels should be kept within 80 to 130 range. There's something called the hemoglobin A1C which gives us an average of three months of glucose values. And that is usually done in a special test that is done in the lab. According to American Diabetes association, we should keep that level less than 7% and that keeps it between 80 and 130 range. Now what is hypoglycemia? Hypoglycemia is when your glucose levels drop less than 70. And what is hyperglycemia when you're consistently more than 180. Now, your individual targets will be determined by your healthcare providers. So it may not be 80 to 130. It could be 90 to 100 fasting and less than 160 after eating. These numbers could be affected by illness, by injury or any special activity change in diet. Therefore, you should keep an eye on your symptoms, which include feeling sweaty, shaky, if you have headaches, confusion, feeling irritable, fast heartbeat, feeling very thirsty, urinating a lot more or feeling tired, blurry vision. Those are typical symptoms to look for. You may also notice your change in the weight. So first thing you should ask yourself is, did I eat more than usual or am I eating different? Has your activity changed? Has that activity been unusual? Have you changed any medications? Have you been put on any new kind of medications by another specialist? Consider what may be cause of your high blood glucose levels and take action to correct it. Now, if you're having low blood glucose, feeding or taking more food will help decreasing that drop. When you have high blood glucose, you may need more medication or you may need to go for a walk or drink more water to get your blood glucose values in control. Now if you're sick, cold, flu illness, then definitely you want to talk to your doctor about it. There's something called Rule of 15. Know your Rule of 15E. Eat or drink something with 15 grams of carbohydrates and wait for 15 minutes and check your blood glucose again. Now if your glucose value is less than 70 then you do 15 grams again. What is 15 grams of carbs? It could be three to four glucose tablets or half a cup of orange juice or soda. Regular, not diet so that could help you to drop further. If you have very high blood glucose values you could go into diabetic ketoacidosis for which you may need required hospitalization. So you've got to keep a check on your glucose values and work with your physician closely to find out what is your level, what is your target range for your body and when should you call the doctor or what should you do if you are below or high at a certain level. I hope that was helpful. Good luck to you. It.
