BG Conversion please.

[sweetsatin]

How do i convert blood sugar/glucose from mmol/L (UK standard) to mg/dl (US standard) and vice versa.
This is most confusing for me, perhaps when i get used to this conversion it will come natural as time goes by.
I don't want to be looking it up on a pc all the time .
Is there a leaflet with all the guidelines on i can obtain please?

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Multiply (or divide) by 18. 18.1 if you want to be super-accurate

So our 6.5 becomes 117mg/dl in the US

Their 200mg/dl is 11 for us.

If you start reading US bloggers/twitterers you sort of get a general idea of good/bad levels, but if I want to let them know my level I have to use a calculator. Not got the hang of the 18x table 🙂

 

[Northerner]

The American system does make for a very natty title for a website/book: Blood Sugar 101 (http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/)- Blood Sugar 5.6 isn't quite as slick! 🙂 I worked out that my blood sugar at diagnosis was 666 on the US scale! 😱

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I'd rather there was only the one system to be honest. I'd happily switch to mg/dl at the same time as changing & HbA1cs to mmol/mol.

Would ssave all that mental acrobatics when comparing notes internationally

 

[macast]

I worked out that my blood sugar at diagnosis was 666 on the US scale! 😱

omg..... good job we are in UK then🙄

 

[Copepod]

Online conversion available eg http://www.onlineconversion.com/blood_sugar.htm

I made my own conversion chart to carry when travelling - never needed it myself, but it did help a Royal Navy doctor and injured Chilean man to communicate in the South Atlantic a few years ago.

 

[sweetsatin]

Multiply (or divide) by 18. 18.1 if you want to be super-accurate

So our 6.5 becomes 117mg/dl in the US

Their 200mg/dl is 11 for us.

If you start reading US bloggers/twitterers you sort of get a general idea of good/bad levels, but if I want to let them know my level I have to use a calculator. Not got the hang of the 18x table 🙂

Back to school for me then...my brain hurts already 😱

 

[Caroline]

There was talk sometime ago on somewhere like diabetes.co.uk or in balance magazine about introducing a universal system where we all used the same measurements, but no more seems to have happened as yet.

 

[squidge63]

I used to go out with someone in the US and had to convert my readings so she knew what was what, her son was diabetic as well. One of my meters used to have both mmol/l and mg/dl on before they decided to stop that.
This is from the Lifescan site:

Country Unit of Measure*

Algeria mg/dL
Argentina mg/dL
Austria mg/dL
Bahrain mg/dL
Bangladesh mg/dL
Belgium mg/dL
Brazil mg/dL
Canada mmol/L
Carribean Countries mg/dL
Chile mg/dL
China mmol/L
Columbia mg/dL
Czech Republic mmol/L
Denmark mmol/L
Ecuador mg/dL
Egypt mg/dL
Finland mmol/L
France mg/dL
Georgia mg/dL
Germany mg/dL, mmol/L
Greece mg/dL
Hong Kong mmol/L
India mg/dL
Indonesia mg/dL
Ireland mmol/L
Israel mg/dL
Italy mg/dL
Japan mg/dL
Jordan mg/dL
Kazakhstan mmol/L
Korea mg/dL
Kuwait mg/dL
Lebanon mg/dL
Luxembourg mg/dL
Malaysia mmol/L
Malta mmol/L
Mexico mg/dL
Netherlands mmol/L
Norway mmol/L
Oman mg/dL, mmol/L
Peru mg/dL
Philippines mg/dL
Poland mg/dL
Portugal mg/dL
Qatar mg/dL
Russia mmol/L
Saudi Arabia mg/dL
Singapore mmol/L
Slovakia mmol/L
Slovenia mmol/L
South Africa mmol/L
Spain mg/dL
Sub-Saharan Africa mg/dL, mmol/L
Sweden mmol/L
Switzerland mmol/L
Syria mg/dL
Taiwan mg/dL
Thailand mg/dL
Tunisia mg/dL
Turkey mg/dL
Ukraine mmol/L
United Arab Emirates (UAE) mg/dL
United Kingdom mmol/L
United States mg/dL
Uruguay mg/dL
Venezuela mg/dL
Vietnam mmol/L
Yemen mg/dL

 

[HelenM]

France mg/dL

The meters are in mg/dl but the doctors actually use g/l so 126mg/dl (7mmol/l) is referred to as 1.26g/l.

It's OK if you don't muddle your units. I have a meter in mmol/l and another in mg/dl. Mostly I use the mmol one as it's a much better model but not available in France. The software I use for recording will convert it for me to take to the hospital. Normally, I have no problems being 'bilingual'.
My opthamologist asked what my glucose level was that morning. Without thinking I said 4.8: fine in the mmols it was measured in; a nice low figure. Unfortunately though ,in g/l it is the equivalent of 26.6mmol, not a good fasting number ... and a bit strange when I'd just told him my Hba1c was 5.6%
No wonder he looked a bit startled. Don't think he understood my explanation either

 

[Vicsetter]

Back to school for me then...my brain hurts already 😱

Or for bears of little brain (like me) try multipy by 20 (times 2 and move the decimal point) and take off 10% (e.g 8*20=160-16=144)

 

[HelenM]

How about printing put a chart like this one?
I used to have one stuck in my log bookhttp://www.diabeteschart.org/mgmmol.html

 

[Andy HB]

The American system does make for a very natty title for a website/book: Blood Sugar 101 (http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/)- Blood Sugar 5.6 isn't quite as slick! 🙂 I worked out that my blood sugar at diagnosis was 666 on the US scale! 😱

Worry not. The number of the beast is actually 616 and not 666.

Maybe, perhaps, probably (well I'm sure that's what QI said once upon a time!).

Andy 🙂

 

[squidge63]

Or for bears of little brain (like me) try multipy by 20 (times 2 and move the decimal point) and take off 10% (e.g 8*20=160-16=144)

That seems a slightly longer way all you have to do is get a calculator and 8*18 =144 the majority of phones have a calculator now so it's not hard.