Hi All. I have recently been been diagnosed with type 2 and coming to terms with it. Obviously I am new to everything and picking things up as I go along. Could someone please tell me what the safe levels are when testing for blood glucose. Thanks
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- Thread starter KentonF
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Lucyr
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This page should explain it to you, if you scroll down you’ll see the ranges
www.diabetes.org.uk
How to check your blood sugar levels
Knowing your blood sugar levels helps you manage your diabetes and reduces your risk of having serious complications – now and in the future. On this page:
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Welcome to the forum
When first diagnosed your blood glucose levels that you get from finger prick tests may well be quite high, the higher your HbA1C is the higher those fingerprick are going to be. If quite high, it is better to bring the levels down slowly as you will be less likely to get eye of nerve issues.
The aim is 4-7mmol/l before meals or fasting (morning reading) and no more than 8-8.5 2 hours after meals. However, if your before meal level is higher than that, then the guidance is an increase of no more than 2-3mmol/l 2 hours post meal will indicate your meal has been tolerated.
Morning reading are often the last ones to come down.
This link might help you with some ideas for modifying your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
How much you need to do will depend on your HbA1C and if you are on any medication and if you have weight to lose.
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Welcome to the forum @KentonF
Good to hear you are looking into checking your BG levels yourself. Have you been offered a BG monitor from your GP surgery?
This doesn't always happen sadly. If you need to self fund your BG meter, the most affordable meters members here have found are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £8 for 50. Some other brands can be £25 for a pot!
As well as the overall targets, you can use your BG meter to check your meals and how you are responding to different sources or portion sizes of carbohydrate. You can take a reading before and again 2hrs after eating, to see what the differences are (initially in a way the numbers themselves matter less than the differences between them). Ideally you would want to see a rise of no more than 2-3mmol/L at the 2hr mark.
Once you can see how you respond to different meals you can begin experimenting with reducing portion sizes of the carbs where you see bigger rises. You might find that you are particularly sensitive to carbohydrate from one source (eg bread), but have more liberty with others (eg oats or basmati rice) - It’s all very individual! You might even find that just having things at a different time of day makes a difference - with breakfast time being the trickiest.
Over weeks and months of experimentation you can gradually tweak and tailor your menu to find a way of eating that suits your tastebuds, your waistline, your budget and your BG levels - and a something that is flexible enough to be sustainable long-term. 🙂
Good luck, and let us know how you get on 🙂
Good to hear you are looking into checking your BG levels yourself. Have you been offered a BG monitor from your GP surgery?
This doesn't always happen sadly. If you need to self fund your BG meter, the most affordable meters members here have found are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £8 for 50. Some other brands can be £25 for a pot!
As well as the overall targets, you can use your BG meter to check your meals and how you are responding to different sources or portion sizes of carbohydrate. You can take a reading before and again 2hrs after eating, to see what the differences are (initially in a way the numbers themselves matter less than the differences between them). Ideally you would want to see a rise of no more than 2-3mmol/L at the 2hr mark.
Once you can see how you respond to different meals you can begin experimenting with reducing portion sizes of the carbs where you see bigger rises. You might find that you are particularly sensitive to carbohydrate from one source (eg bread), but have more liberty with others (eg oats or basmati rice) - It’s all very individual! You might even find that just having things at a different time of day makes a difference - with breakfast time being the trickiest.
Over weeks and months of experimentation you can gradually tweak and tailor your menu to find a way of eating that suits your tastebuds, your waistline, your budget and your BG levels - and a something that is flexible enough to be sustainable long-term. 🙂
Good luck, and let us know how you get on 🙂
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