Newly diagnosed

[MHlivingmylife]

I was diagnosed in Jan this year and am currently mo untiring my glucose levels a few times a day to see if my meds are working. Bit concerned as my levels go up to around 9.5 & down to 5.5. Is this normal or should the range be smaller? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[ColinUK]

Hi,

Are you sampling pre and two hours post each meal or are you doing something different?

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.

It is normal for BG levels to wander about quite a bit and none diabetic people have been known to drop below 4 on occasion and spike above 10 too although rarely but ideally you would be wanting to get mostly 4s 5s and 6s with levels rising to less than 8.5 2hours after meals. As @ColinUK rightly asks, do you have a particular testing strategy or are you just randomly testing. We recommend testing immediately before a meal and then 2 hours later, so that you can see the impact that meal had on your levels and take appropriate action of reducing portion size or substituting for a lower carb alternative next time if the second reading is 3 or more mmols higher than the first.

Medication on it's own will not sort your diabetes. It needs to be combined with lifestyle changes involving reduction of carbohydrate intake and some daily exercise if you are able. Nothing too strenuous.... a brisk walk is ideal, or cycling or swimming or seated exercises if you have limited mobility. Losing weight is usually also beneficial but is often a consequence of reducing carbs and doing more exercise anyway.