Confused with sugar level readings.

[Beyond the Blue]

Hi, My name is Neil, I'm 71yrs and have had type 2 diabetes for years and still struggling to understand blood sugar levels. I'm hoping to get some info on here. Thanks.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi Neil and welcome.

Yes, all the different measures and ranges for BG (Blood Glucose) levels can be a bit confusing.
Is it the difference between HbA1c results and finger pricks which you don't understand as that is the most confusing one I think, or something else perhaps?

Would you like to tell us a bit about how you manage your diabetes? Are you using any medication and if so, what? Or are you diet and exercise controlled? Do you know your most recent HbA1c blood test result. It will usually be a number in excess of 47mmols/mol if you have a diabetes diagnosis, unless you have managed to push it into remission or it may be a smaller number like 6.5% when expressed as a % which is the old way of reporting it. I think the reason this was replaced is because it was too similar to finger prick blood test results which are normally around the 4-10mmols/l range. The key thing to knowing what result you are looking at is the units it is measured in, but it does take some time to get used to it all and by no means easy.

 

[Inka]

Welcome @Beyond the Blue 🙂 What would you like to know about blood sugar levels? There’s the HbA1C blood test your GP does to check your control over 3 months, and there are the fingerprick and glucose meter tests that give you an immediate reading. Confusingly, these two tests use different units of measurements.

 

[Beyond the Blue]

Thanks for your replies. I had a blood test last week as part of my annual type 2 diabetes check up. The Diabetic nurse phoned me yesterday and told me that my level had gone up from 63 last year to 67 now. I have a finger test at home that measures in mmol's and a conversion chart to other measurements. My problem is trying to find a comparison between my finger test results (currently 15mmol) and her readings of 67. What scale is the nurse using and are the two readings similar?

 

[Beyond the Blue]

Sorry I forgot to mention that my conversion charts are for......HbA1c (DCCT), mg/dL and mmol/L

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks for your replies. I had a blood test last week as part of my annual type 2 diabetes check up. The Diabetic nurse phoned me yesterday and told me that my level had gone up from 63 last year to 67 now. I have a finger test at home that measures in mmol's and a conversion chart to other measurements. My problem is trying to find a comparison between my finger test results (currently 15mmol) and her readings of 67. What scale is the nurse using and are the two readings similar?

The test you had last week would have been an HbA1C test which gives an average of your blood glucose level over the previous 3 months and is measured in mmol/mol where a diabetes diagnosis is anything over 47mmol/mol.
The test you do with your home monitor is a spot test so tells you your blood glucose level at that moment in time and is in mmol/l so as you say the units are different.
There is a link in that the higher your overall finger prick test readings are will lead to a higher HbA1C.
The finger prick tests will be affected by all sorts of thing but how much carbohydrate you have eaten will be the major thing. Bringing down your finger prick results will gradually bring down your HbA1C.
Are you on any medication to help or are you managing by diet only, there may be things there that would help bring your glucose level down as it is rather higher than desirable.

 

[Beyond the Blue]

I am taking 2x Metformin 500mg tablets and 1x Canagliflzin 100mg for the diabetes, and 1x statin 40mg plus 1x 75mg Aspirin for a heart condition. I don't eat junk food but then again I don't eat as healthily as I could. I am quite active and slightly underweight. Over the years my finger prick results have varied from 6 to 21 but are mostly in the 10-15 range.

 

[Lucyr]

Thanks for your replies. I had a blood test last week as part of my annual type 2 diabetes check up. The Diabetic nurse phoned me yesterday and told me that my level had gone up from 63 last year to 67 now. I have a finger test at home that measures in mmol's and a conversion chart to other measurements. My problem is trying to find a comparison between my finger test results (currently 15mmol) and her readings of 67. What scale is the nurse using and are the two readings similar?

These two tests are measuring different things and so you wouldn’t compare them. You can’t just convert the 15 on your fingerprick meter to something on the same scale as the 67 a1c because they aren’t comparable. 15 just shows what your blood sugar is at that moment. 67 is representing what your blood sugar was constantly over 3 months, on a different scale.

 

[Inka]

Thanks for your replies. I had a blood test last week as part of my annual type 2 diabetes check up. The Diabetic nurse phoned me yesterday and told me that my level had gone up from 63 last year to 67 now. I have a finger test at home that measures in mmol's and a conversion chart to other measurements. My problem is trying to find a comparison between my finger test results (currently 15mmol) and her readings of 67. What scale is the nurse using and are the two readings similar?

The nurse is using mmol/mol, which is the modern unit for HbA1Cs. Your fingerprick is not in the same units so you can’t really compare them. There are charts that give an idea of your average blood sugar from your HbA1C (yours would be 10 or 11) but really it’s easiest to consider the two tests as different things.

Your HbA1C has increased a little and is in the higher zone. Your fingerpricks back this up because they’re above target too. So the two tests align.

These are the (fingerprick test) targets for Type 2s:

If you have type 2 diabetes​

• before meals: 4 to 7mmol/l
• two hours after meals: less than 8.5mmol/l

Your personal targets might be slightly different, but the above is just to give you an idea.

 

[Leadinglights]

I am taking 2x Metformin 500mg tablets and 1x Canagliflzin 100mg for the diabetes, and 1x statin 40mg plus 1x 75mg Aspirin for a heart condition. I don't eat junk food but then again I don't eat as healthily as I could. I am quite active and slightly underweight. Over the years my finger prick results have varied from 6 to 21 but are mostly in the 10-15 range.

I hope the explanations have clarified things for you about the different measurements.
It would be worthwhile you having a chat with your diabetic nurse as your levels are still quite high even with the medications you are taking so there may be something else that may help.
Often people think they are eating a healthy diet and it would be for somebody who is not diabetic as many of the foods are too high in carbohydrates if Type 2 diabetic.
This link may help you with some ideas for meals and foods, https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
You obviously have to take note of any other medical conditions in whatever dietary approach you adopt and from what you have said you do not need to lose weight so important to have enough protein and healthy fats. Also low carb does not mean NO carbs.
I wonder if you have lost weight recently you may not be a straightforward Type 2 but a slow onset Type 1 so worth asking your diabetic nurse about your weight as the risk is that if you reduce your carbs then you may lose more weight.

 

[Drummer]

I am 71 now, and have been eating low carb for 5 years - but I am still really resistant to weight loss just as for my whole adult life, even though my meals should give me a blood glucose after eating of under 8mmol/l.
I suspect that seeing such high levels and being underweight might well indicate there is something more interesting going on than plain ordinary type 2.

 

[Beyond the Blue]

Thanks for your replies, although a couple of comments have alarmed me l must admit. My doctor is quite thorough on the whole and l seem to have regular checkups for this that and the other so I'm not overly worried about other conditions being missed. I find diabetes to be very difficult to understand and it's definitely a 24/7 condition. My heart attack 11 years ago was a lot simpler, not that l want another one mind!

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks for your replies, although a couple of comments have alarmed me l must admit. My doctor is quite thorough on the whole and l seem to have regular checkups for this that and the other so I'm not overly worried about other conditions being missed. I find diabetes to be very difficult to understand and it's definitely a 24/7 condition. My heart attack 11 years ago was a lot simpler, not that l want another one mind!

Once you get your head around the idea that all carbohydrates can increase blood glucose not just sugar and that by reducing your intake of them together, if needed by medication, it is a condition that can be managed. It may require more planning to keep it in check.
It become automatic to look at packets or on the internet or on apps or books for the carb value of various foods so you can make better food choices.
Have a look at the Learning Zone (orange tab at the top) as becoming as knowledgeable as you can helps you make good decisions.
There is also some good explanation in the link I posted above.

 

[EmmaL76]

Maybe you could start compiling a list of foods that you would normally eat and testing them for the effect on your blood sugar. I like to test before then an hour after eating to see how high the spike went and then at 2 hours. Over time you could build up a picture and see what changes you could make. Some foods can sound really healthy but can be a sneaky surprise. Once your confident with your choices then you won’t need to test as much.

 

[Sharron1]

Hi, My name is Neil, I'm 71yrs and have had type 2 diabetes for years and still struggling to understand blood sugar levels. I'm hoping to get some info on here. Thanks.

When first diagnoised I kept a food diary to keep a check on what foods were ok or caused a spike . Four plus years later I still test but not so much, usually if I try something new or just to see if everything is ok.