cartoon credit: http://www.diabeteshealth.com/cartoons
I don’t often talk about my blood sugar with my family or friends. If I’m high I inconspicuously give myself more insulin and if I’m low I whip a juice box out of my purse and chug it down in 2 seconds flat without feeling the need to call any more attention to it. Most people forget I am diabetic or don’t even know. The truth is, if I were to say, “man, my blood sugar is 300,” the majority of people wouldn’t know if that was a good number or a bad one. I like to avoid that awkward head nod and half-smile as they say, “oh,” and then stare back in silence, clueless as to the appropriate reaction. However, occasionally my blood sugar readings do creep into conversation. So, I decided to address the topic of “normal” blood sugar ranges in this weeks D for Dummies segment.
Ideal Glucose Ranges
Non-diabetics usually stay between 70-100 unless they’ve eaten a rather carb-heavy meal, in which case the blood sugar may spike up a bit higher. Once my sister ate a piece of pie and I pressured her into letting me check her sugar right afterward as a little experiment. She looked shocked to see the meter spit back a number of 138.
For diabetics, the range varies a little more. As a kid I was told to keep my blood sugar between 80-180. Then it slowly shifted down to 80-150. Then again the range changed to 70-140. Now I like to stay between 70-120 (ideally).
As a type 1 diabetic, my numbers are often outside the ideal range (more often high than low) and sometimes I feel embarrassed, like it’s somehow my fault that I don’t have perfect control. Even among other diabetics, I feel a little ashamed if my meter returns a crappy number. A couple months ago I joined a few different diabetes online communities and I expected I would feel relieved to find so many people out there facing the same control issues as me. In actuality, I didn’t find many people I could empathize with at all.
I encountered two different types of people:
- The blood sugar boasters–those that flaunt their magnificent readings and never let their sugar spike high
- Those struggling tremendously with control–those that can’t seem to bring their numbers below 200 on a regular basis
But I didn’t see many people like me–those that have fairly good control with most readings in range but maybe a few outside as well. My doctor always told me I had excellent numbers and I felt fine about my readings until I read all those posts by the people with flawless control. They preach militant-style monitoring. Check your blood sugar 10-12 times a day. Don’t eat any grains or fruit to avoid spikes. If you eat chocolate, eat only one square. If your blood sugar is 180, it’s dangerously high. I mean seriously?
I honestly stopped visiting the sites as much to avoid reading post after post of people that bragged about their numbers. On one hand, it’s great to try and achieve readings as good as a non-diabetic but I feel that I would be sacrificing quality of life to do so. I’ve read posts in which diabetics will say they never eat cake at a birthday party or never eat more than 30 grams of carbohydrates at a meal. Some won’t eat cereal or bread or fruit smoothies. The fact is that I already have a disease that I must fight daily so why let that disease take more from me than it already has?
How to Check Blood Sugar
Prick finger and squeeze blood
Line up drop with test strip
Insert blood into test strip
Celebrate your wonderful number!
**I am not a medical professional and do not intend any information I write to serve as medical advice or absolute truth. My knowledge is based on a decade of life with diabetes but I have not studied any related sciences. In fact, I’m an English major. Also, please don’t take offence to the name “D for Dummies.” I’m sure you are very smart. 
I check my blood 10-12 times a day. I was actually surprised to find out that that’s not “normal.” I disagree very strongly with sacrificing quality of daily life for military style control, though. If I want to eat a piece of birthday cake, or even two, that’s what my pump is for, and I can give myself the appropriate amount of insulin for it. That’s the point of all these great diabetes control tools, isn’t it? To let us lead a healthy and happy and free life? I’m proud of my healthy numbers, but I’m not going to skip smoothies and bread to make them “perfect.”
People need to understand balance better. Health is the goal, but it involves much more then just what the meter tells you. Never being under 200 is dangerous, but never enjoying life without worrying about a slight bump in numbers is depressing. 180 for me is about the top of the food curve for me after a healthy larger meal (medium meal when I am not eating six or more times a day like a hobbit- which is an interesting and unrelated experiment I’ve been trying for about a month. Still not going to restrict myself to 30 carbs a meal or anything even if I’m eating a half dozen times. “Counting carbs” in that meaning seems like a good way to end up feeling empty and frustrated.)
So you seem to have struck something very frustrating with this. It’s no wonder some people just sort of give up trying to get control because they think it’s impossible to ever be good enough without being miserable.
Thanks for your comment. I agree with you that it makes sense why some people give up on control. Thankfully, I haven’t reached any point close to that. I have pretty great control in general but I guess it is surprising to hear that people test 10-12 times a day because I was always taught to test more like 4-6 or 8 times a day at most. I suppose it’s just a different style in the way doctors advise their patients. Before a couple months ago, I had never heard of people testing that many times a day unless they were a hardcore varsity or professional athlete.
That’s very interesting. I had always thought testing less like that was only for type two diabetics. We learn something new every day, I guess. If you are managing control on less tests power to you! It’s never a nice thing to be testing one’s blood all the time.
I also feel like knowing what it is at least every two hours during the day is the best way for me to have the information to know what I need to tweak or do differently, or when the world is just screwing with me (this week has been like that.) You’re on a continuous glucose monitor, though, right? That would make it a lot easier to test less (I have one, but my insurance stopped covering the sites right when I got it, so I can’t afford to actually use it.)
Yes I am on a CGM but even without it, I still only test maybe 6 times a day.
You’re right, I definitely did write this post out of frustration but sometimes I suppose my emotions get the better of me. I admit that I did convey two very different extremes in terms of control that are probably not all that accurate.
It is frustrating, though. There are a lot of varieties of control and lack thereof but most of them don’t make sense from a perspective of just trying to be healthy and happy.
* With bits about eating cake and whatever- always assuming blood sugars are in an appropriate place before I’m thinking about eating that stuff. I forget to say that sometimes and people don’t always get it, clearly with this whole division of people who can’t get their blood below 200 versus people with the military control- things are very different depending on the number and a billion other factors that influence diabetics every day. We can still do and eat almost everything a non-diabetic can, we just have to keep the right timing and balance with it.
I feel like I check in an irregular fashion. Some days I check like 12 times and some just 4. I exercise a lot so that has a lot to do with how often I test. Also, since I have only had it for 7 months, I am probably overly paranoid. I attribute EVERYTHING to diabetes right now. I have a headache…Let me check my sugar. I am sweating…Let me check my sugar. Etc. That being said, I generally have pretty good numbers. Since I REFUSE to sacrifice quality of life to diabetes (besides maybe giving up how I used to drink glasses and glasses of OJ every day), I spike a few times a week. I eat a lot of fruit and granola and such. I think that every diabetic’s experience is so individual though, and if we are controlling our A1Cs who’s to say what makes us feel more comfortable then other people who may treat differently? Like for me, if I eat a really carb heavy meal, even if I bolus correctly I will feel sick. (By carb heavy I mean like 75+) Like on Thanksgiving, I decided I would eat all the great stuff my mom makes and not care what my readings would be. I ended up bolusing for like 100 carbs. I spent the rest of the night feeling like I was seasick or something. I guessed pretty accurately but my body couldn’t process the carbs and sugar at the same time. So for the next few hours I was 300 then 140 then 250 then 150 and back and forth. It felt so awful. I know diabetics who will go out and eat pasta and two desserts, and I sort of am confused by it. But ultimately, who am I to say. For me, I will never do that again. But I can eat a pasta dish or pizza or a smoothie or whatever at 60 carbs and feel fine.
It’s so hard especially during the holidays to not go crazy and eat a million carbs at once. I think it’s totally fair to have a day once in a blue moon to go sugar crazy but I agree, I also tend to feel sick after.
Great post, CV. I’m not diabetic, but found your site through another, looking for food writers, and really dig your style. Clear, smart. Cheers!
Thanks so much!
I wouldn’t say I have as much control as you, but I do struggle with my numbers every once in a while. I have had times where I take insulin for a certain meal where I know EXACTLY the amount of carbs (through the label), but I’ll still end up at 230 or so after the meal, even if I was 120 before. I have to scratch my head sometimes at my diabetes, but for the most part I’m doing alright.
I think allowing yourself to lead the most normal life you can is great. I don’t excuse myself from a piece of cake or pie, or even a snicker bar. If I’m able to control my BG 95% of the other times, why wouldn’t I enjoy myself like everyone else does?
I like your post and the comments. Here’s my situation… I am 41, diagnosed with Type 1 at age 3, so 38 years on insulin. For a long time I’ve been on 5 injections per day (NPH x2 and NovoRapid with meals), but I’ve inquired about going on a pump. To do so, the doc has me checking my sugars 8+ times a day. He also switched me from NPH to Lantus. The problem is the nighttime lows. I’m mostly in a good range all day, but then I fall low around 3 a.m.
At bedtime, it’s not unusual for me to have high readings, eat a substantial snack, and still be low overnight. I continue decreasing my PM Lantus dose, and it doesn’t help. Popping glucose tabs at 3 a.m. has become part of my routine. It’s very frustrating because until I can shake these lows, the doc doesn’t want me on the pump.
Have you tried (sorry, Leanne, that this isn’t a very vegan solution) a half cup of ice cream right before you go to bed? When I was a kid my doctor started having me do that to eliminate night time lows because of the sugar and fat combination in ice cream that’ll keep the numbers a little higher all night. I don’t know if it would work for you because everyone is different, but it still works for me when I’m having a tough time getting everything adjusted just right in the middle of the night.
It might be worth a try. I tend to have a carb/protein combo such as a peanut butter sandwich or cheese and crackers. I figured the carbs would boost my blood sugars and the protein/fat would keep them up. But I’m willing to try something different, for sure. Thanks for your suggestion.
I’m glad I could give you something new to try. A lot of dealing with diabetes seems to be trying every possible suggestion sometimes.
I sometimes have problems with nighttime lows too but I agree that eating something with protein/fat helps carry me through the night better. Ice cream is a good suggestion (they do have vegan ice creams!) but I usually eat a spoonful of peanut butter or something like that. I tend not to eat too many carbs before bed or else I go high so peanut butter is a good fit for me.
I wonder why your doc doesn’t want you on the pump because I can only see how it would help you get rid of your nighttime lows. You can tailor your basal rates to change at different times, in which case you could go on a lower rate during the times you normally go low. Good luck and keep me posted about how everything goes!
I think the doc wants me on an insulin pump, but he wants me to determine my insulin needs first. Right now I can’t go a complete 24 hours without a low. Monday I speak with the nurse at his office. She’s been the one giving suggestions so far. I’ll keep you updated. I’ll mention the ice cream recommendation too, and let you know what she says.
I suppose another option would be to get a service dog like Amelia’s to detect my lows. My 2 cats aren’t helpful in that regard
I can’t find the article right now, but there was a woman who’s cat started alerting her to night time lows. So if a cat can be a natural alerter you can maybe scent train one… I don’t know though.
And unfortunately many programs won’t accept diabetics who aren’t on a pump for a diabetic alert dog, so you have a bit of a cycle of problems going there. Need the dog to get the pump, need the pump to get the dog, need the pump to fix night time lows, need to fix lows to get the pump and need the dog to alert to the night time lows.
Isn’t that all a lovely mess? Hopefully the food suggestions will help, otherwise we’ll have to make some sort of time paradox to sort you out.
It does sound tricky, doesn’t it? Well, I’ve been at this for 38 years now and always face new obstacles to overcome. I find that most struggles are temporary though. I’ve found there are turning points in my diabetes whenever something major changes. For example, when I finally got off beef and pork insulin, I had problems. When I change jobs, I have problems. I don’t expect this to hold me back
That’s a great way to approach it!
Last night was better actually. At its most extreme my blood sugars went from a super high 381 around 9:30 p.m., I ate 22 grams of carbs, and in the morning I was 48. That’s when I started doing the 3 a.m. checks and lowered my suppertime Lantus.
Twice last week I was over 125 at bedtime, ate over 20 grams of carbs, and at 3 a.m. I was under 60.
Last night was better. I was relieved when I was at 216 at bedtime, and at 3 a.m. I’d only dropped slightly, to 203.
Doesn’t it suck how unpredictable this disease can be? I’m glad last night was a little better for you.
It is so unpredictable! Especially when there are factors I cannot control like stress or days where I break from my normal routine. I try to adjust as best I can and stay as consistent in my routine, but life is never that easy, unfortunately.
(By the way, I live in Canada, so we use the metric system for our blood sugars. But I did the conversions for my previous post
Well, the ice cream solution didn’t work perfectly last night, but I won’t give up on it yet. My bedtime blood sugars were at 180, so a little high but nothing crazy. I ate 2 small scoops of ice cream, probably more than a 1/2 cup. It was at least 17 grams of carbs, probably more. I slept through my 3 a.m. check. But when I woke up this morning, I checked right away and was down to 72, the low end of where I want to be.
I’ve contacted my endo about my lows, so she might have some suggestions for me. She’s been pretty good about responding promptly whenever I have a concern.
Sounds like you’re on the right track though! I’m sure you and your endo can work it out. Good luck!