What Glucose Level Is Considered Diabetic

At What Number Range Are You Considered Diabetic

Question Originally asked by Community Member teresa At What Number Range Are You Considered Diabetic what numbers must you have to be consider borderline and what number range to be considered to be diabetic such as type 2 diabectic and type 1 Answer Hello teresa, Diagnosis of diabetes is based on blood sugar measurements. The difference between type 1 and type 2 is not based on blood sugar levels, but in the mechanisms that raise blood sugar. Fasting glucose levels above 140 mg/dl on at least two occations are diagnosic for diabetes. Anything above 110mg/dl but less than 140mg/dl after fasting is considered impaired impaired glocose tolerence. There is a formal test, called a glucose tolerance test, that involves ingesting a specified amount of glucose and lthen measuring how the blood sugar levels increase and fall. Likely, anybody with a blood sugar level about 200 mg/dl on at least 2 occasions without fasting is likely diabetic and needs to be treated. To your health, Neil MD You should know Answers to your question are meant to provide general health information but should not replace medical advice you receive from a doctor. No answers should be viewed as a diagnosis or recommended treatment for a condition. Answered By: Neil MDContinue reading > >

Hba1c Test For Diabetes Diagnosis

An HbA1c test does not directly measure the level of blood glucose, however, the result of the test is influenced by how high or low your blood glucose levels have tended to be over a period of 2 to 3 months.

Indications of diabetes or prediabetes are given under the following conditions:

• Normal: Below 42 mmol/mol
• Prediabetes: 42 to 47 mmol/mol
• Diabetes: 48 mmol/mol

There are two types of blood sugar levels that may be measured. The first is the blood glucose level we get from doing finger prick blood glucose tests. These give us a reading of how high our levels are at that very point in time.

The second is the HbA1c reading, which gives a good idea of our average control over a period of 2 to 3 months. The target blood glucose levels vary a little bit depending on your type of diabetes and between adults and children.

Where possible, try to achieve levels of between 4 and 7 mmol/L before meals and under 8.5 mmol/L after meals. The target level for HbA1c is under 48 mmol/mol .

Research has shown that high blood glucose levels over time can lead to organ and circulation damage.

Keeping blood glucose above 4 mmol/l for people on insulin or certain medications for type 2 diabetes is important to prevent hypos occurring, which can be dangerous.

Your doctor may give you different targets. Children, older people and those at particular risk of hypoglycemia may be given wider targets.

FREE blood glucose level chart

High Blood Sugar Level Causes

Several types of diabetes and medical conditions are the primary cause of high blood sugar levels. Most of which are unpreventable issues but are the reason for a spike in high blood sugar. The causes for high blood sugar levels are as follows:

Causes of low blood sugar levels are very different and are as important to be aware of, as they are in fact easier to control.

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Normal Blood Sugar Levels In Children

Younger than 6 years old mg/dL

Adults who are 20 years or older will have blood sugar levels that range between less than 100-180 mg/dL over the course of a day. When you wake up in the morning, your fasting blood sugar should be at its lowest because you havent consumed food for about eight hours. If youre an adult and struggling with glucose control, your healthcare provider can help you develop a treatment plan to manage your blood sugar better.

Blood glucose levels outside the ranges listed above are categorized as either high or low blood sugar. Blood sugar levels are considered high if theyre over 130 mg/dL before a meal or 180 mg/dL within one to two hours after a meal. Many people wont start to experience symptoms from high blood sugar until their levels are at 250 mg/dL or higher. The highest blood sugar level thats considered safe will depend on the person and whether they have diabetes, but will typically be between 160 to 240 mg/dL.

What Is The Normal Blood Sugar Level For Kids

Blood sugar levels can vary based on age. Children younger than 6 have a different normal blood sugar level range than adults.

The American Diabetes Association provides the following ranges as a guide:

• Fasting: 80-180 mg/dL
• Preprandial : 100-180 mg/dL
• Postprandial : Less than 180 mg/dL
• Bedtime: 110-200 mg/dL

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What Is Considered High Blood Sugar

Blood sugar levels are considered high in people with diabetes once theyre more than the recommended 120 mg/dL, however, having a blood sugar of 145 mg/dL usually wont cause any problems .

For most people, high blood sugars become symptomatic once the blood sugar level reaches between 180-200 mg/dL.

Blood sugars above 200 mg/dL need to be treated immediately with insulin , and any blood sugar over 250 mg/dL requires that you do a urine test for ketones, to make sure youre not spiraling into diabetic ketoacidosis .

This is when the bodys blood turns acidic due to prolonged, dangerously high blood sugar levels and ketones in the blood. This can be fatal if not treated immediately.

This can occur when one is sick or battling an infection, due to a pump infusion site failure or even if you forgot to take your insulin for a few days.

Unfortunately, about 25% of newly diagnosed people with type 1 diabetes are diagnosed when they are already in DKA.

If you are experiencing a blood sugar higher than 250 mg/dL along with moderate to high ketones for several hours and cannot get your blood sugar down, contact your doctor immediately and seek emergency medical attention.

People with diabetes are at heightened risk of falling into a diabetic coma from high blood sugar once their blood sugar levels reach 600 mg/dL or higher.

This is a true medical emergency, is extremely dangerous, and can be life-threatening. If you are in this situation, you should call 911.

Low Blood Sugar Prevention

It is preferable to avoid low blood sugar than to have to cure it. Always keep a supply of quick-acting sugar on hand.

Check your blood sugar levels before and after you workout. Make sure you have some munchies on hand.Consult your doctor about lowering your insulin doses on workout days.If you require a bedtime snack to prevent low blood sugar overnight, talk to your doctor. Protein snacks might be the greatest option.

DO NOT consume alcohol without first consuming meals. Women should limit themselves to one drink per day, while males should limit themselves to two drinks per day. Family and friends should be able to assist. They should understand:

Low blood sugar symptoms and how to identify if you have them.What kind of meals and how much should they offer you?When to seek emergency assistance.How to administer glucagon, a blood sugar-raising hormone. When to take this drug will be determined by your doctor.

Always wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace if you have diabetes. This informs emergency personnel that you have diabetes.

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A Standard Blood Glucose Test

This requires you to fast before a blood test, so your PCP or endocrinologist can check the level of glucose in your bloodstream at any given time. Ideally, fasting glucose levels should be 99 mg/dL or lower. If your fasting blood glucose levels are between 100 and 125mg/dL, it could be considered prediabetes, says Martha McKittrick RD. I like to have people get a second test done, to make sure its accurate, she says. A reading higher than 126 mg/dL indicates diabetes.

Causes Of Low Blood Sugar

There are many reasons why you may have low blood sugar, including:

• Taking too much insulin.
• Not eating enough carbs for how much insulin you take.
• Timing of when you take your insulin.
• The amount and timing of physical activity.
• Drinking alcohol.
• How much fat, protein, and fiber are in your meal.
• Hot and humid weather.
• Unexpected changes in your schedule.
• Spending time at a high altitude.
• Going through puberty.
• Menstruation.

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Tips For Avoiding High And Low Blood Sugars

Walking the tightrope of a life with diabetes is not easy.

We need to strive every day to make sure that we dont let our blood sugars go too high or too low, and that can be exhausting.

Here are some strategies to help keep your blood sugar in balance:

• Eat similar foods and meals that have predictable carbohydrate counts
• Cook food at home, so you know all of the ingredients in your meal
• Keep to a routine, and eat at the same times every day
• Get enough sleep!
• Double-check your insulin doses to make sure youre not taking too much, nor too little
• If youve counted carbohydrates for a meal and dosed insulin for those carbohydrates, eat everything

What Is High Blood Glucose

People who do not have diabetes typically have fasting plasma blood glucose levels that run under 100 mg/dl.

Your physician will define for you what your target blood glucose should be identifying a blood glucose target that is as close to normal as possible that you can safely achieve given your overall medical health. In general, high blood glucose, also called ‘hyperglycemia’, is considered “high” when it is 160 mg/dl or above your individual blood glucose target. Be sure to ask your healthcare provider what he or she thinks is a safe target for you for blood glucose before and after meals.

If your blood glucose runs high for long periods of time, this can pose significant problems for your long-term increased risk of complications, such as eye disease, kidney disease, heart attacks and strokes and more. High blood glucose can pose health problems in the short-term as well. Your treatment plan may need adjustment if the blood glucose stays over 180 mg/dl for 3 days in a row. It is important to aim to keep your blood glucose under control and treat hyperglycemia when it occurs.

• Increased thirst
• Slow healing cuts and sores
• Unexplained weight loss

• Too much food
• Too little exercise or physical activity
• Skipped or not enough diabetes pills or insulin
• Insulin that has spoiled after being exposed to extreme heat or freezing cold
• Stress, illness, infection, injury or surgery
• A blood glucose meter that is not reading accurately

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What Number Should My Blood Glucose Be

Blood glucose is measured in mg/dl. The normal range for blood glucose for people without diabetes is 70 to 120 mg/dl.

The Diabetes Center has guidelines for blood glucose readings. This is called a target range. There may be times when your healthcare provider gives you a different target range, like for bedtime, with exercise, or after eating.

Nationwide Childrens Hospital Diabetes Center Target Blood Glucose Ranges

The goal is to keep the blood glucose within the target range most of the time.

What Does Low Blood Sugar Mean

Hypoglycemia is the medical term for low blood sugar. A blood sugar level of less than 70 mg/dL is dangerous. A blood sugar level of less than 54 mg/dL requires immediate attention.

If you have diabetes and are using any of the following diabetes medications, you are at risk for low blood sugar.

Glyburide , glipizide , glimepiride , repaglinide , or nateglinide Insulin Glyburide , glipizide , glimepiride , repaglinide , or nateglinide Chlorpropamide

If youve experienced low blood sugar before, youre more likely to have another low blood sugar episode.

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Treating Low Blood Glucose If You Take Medicines That Slow Down Digestion

Some diabetes medicines slow down the digestion of carbohydrates to keep blood glucose levels from rising too high after you eat. If you develop low blood glucose while taking these medicines, you will need to take glucose tablets or glucose gel right away. Eating or drinking other sources of carbohydrates wont raise your blood glucose level quickly enough.

How Common Is Low Blood Glucose

Low blood glucose is common among people with type 1 diabetes and among people with type 2 diabetes who take insulin or some other diabetes medicines. In a large global study of people with diabetes who take insulin, 4 in 5 people with type 1 diabetes and nearly half of those with type 2 diabetes reported a low blood sugar event at least once over a 4-week period.2

Severely low blood glucose, defined as when your blood glucose level drops so low you cant treat it yourself, is less common. Among U.S. adults with diabetes who take insulin or some diabetes medicines that help the pancreas release insulin into the blood, 2 in 100 may develop severely low blood glucose each year.3

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Nature S Nutrition Blood Sugar Support

CGM should you re pregnant, on dialysis or critically unwell, as these situations could have an effect on the blood sugar readings cortisol and blood sugar 3am from a CGM One approach to examine one s personal sugar stage is by pricking a finger with a lancet and inserting the blood that comes out onto a test strip, then inserting the strip right into a glucose monitor.

An insulin pump, attached to the pocket, is a tool that is worn outside of the body with a tube that connects the reservoir of insulin to a catheter inserted under the skin of the stomach Insulin pumps are programmed to ship specific amounts of insulin routinely and whenever you eat If you handle sort 2 diabetes with noninsulin medicines or with food regimen and average daily blood sugar a1c exercise alone, you might not need to check your blood sugar every day Diabetes Diabetes is a continual situation characterised by excessive ranges of sugar within the blood.

Diabetes Normal Blood Sugar Levels In Children With Diabetes According To Age is a sophisticated situation and there are heaps blood sugar staying at 120 of various varieties of diabetes The good news is that diabetes can be effectively managed, treated and managed The extent to which your Type 1 estimated blood sugar to a1c or Type 2 diabetes could be managed is a discussion to have with your healthcare supplier Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune Hypoglycemia Low Blood Glucose illness, that means your body assaults itself.

Preventionif You Suffer From Diabetes

Follow the diabetes management plan that you and your doctor have devised. If youre starting a new medicine, changing your eating or medication schedules, or increasing your physical activity, talk to your doctor about how these changes may affect your diabetes management and your risk of low blood sugar.

Learn how to recognise the signs and symptoms of low blood sugar. This can assist you in detecting and treating hypoglycemia before it becomes dangerously low. Checking your blood sugar level frequently will alert you when your blood sugar is low.

For certain people, a continuous glucose monitor is a good alternative. A CGM is a device that sends blood glucose measurements to a receiver via a small cable implanted under the skin. Some CGM units will sound an alarm if your blood sugar levels go too low.

Some insulin pumps now work with CGMs and can stop insulin delivery if blood sugar levels drop too quickly, helping to prevent hypoglycemia.

Always keep a fast-acting carbohydrate on hand, such as juice, hard candies, or glucose tablets, to treat a low blood sugar level before it becomes dangerously low.If you are not diabetic,

Eating many little meals throughout the day to prevent blood sugar levels from falling too low is a temporary strategy for persistent episodes of hypoglycemia. This approach, however, is not recommended as a long-term plan. Identify and treat the cause of hypoglycemia with the help of your doctor.

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Blood Sugar Levels After Eating

Blood sugar fluctuates throughout the day, but the biggest changes happen around mealtimes. Before eating, a healthy sugar level is between 3.9-5.5mmol/L. Around 1-2 hours after eating, expect blood sugar to rise to 5-10mmol/L.

If your blood sugar doesn’t stick within these ranges, the body may have stopped regulating blood sugar effectively which can lead to prediabetes and diabetes.

What Is Considered A Dangerously Low Blood Sugar Level

When your blood sugar levels are lower than normal, you have low blood sugar. Low blood sugar can happen to diabetics who are taking insulin or other medications to manage their condition. Low blood sugar might result in life-threatening symptoms. Learn how to spot low blood sugar symptoms and how to avoid them.

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What Are The Symptoms Of High Blood Sugar

The symptoms of high blood sugar can vary depending on severity.

Early signs and symptoms of high blood sugar

When your blood sugar is around 200 mg/dL, but not yet dangerously high, you may experience the following symptoms:

• Increased thirst

• Shortness of breath
• Coma

If you are experiencing any of the later-stage symptoms of high blood sugar, seek immediate medical attention.

Symptoms Of Blood Blood Sugar Levels

Symptoms of blood sugar levels differ depending on if it is high or low. To determine which way the blood sugar have moved, the symptoms for each are typically:

If symptoms are left untreated, more extreme circumstances can happen such as fainting, weakness, disorientation, vomiting and dehydration. When you notice symptoms, usually more than one at one time, it is advised to see a doctor right away.

It is important to get the right treatment so that you can return to a healthy normal blood sugar level and inhibit it from occurring again.

Treatment methods vary from the severity of the blood sugar level, whether it is high or low and if the patient has existing medical conditions, such as diabetes. Here are ways in which blood sugar levels can be treated:

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