What blood glucose (BG) number range do you consider acceptable? My target BG range runs from 65 mg/dl (3.6 mmol/l) to 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/l).
I know people have specific targets for wake-up, before meal, post-meal and bedtime, but what is your acceptable range? Does your target range agree with your doctor's preference?
Note: For conversion from mg/dl to mmol/l, divide by 18. To go the other direction, multiply by 18.
My target is 4mmol/l to 8.5mmol/l (72mg/dl to 153 mg/dl). before bed i prefer to be above 5 (90). I don't even know what my doc thinks about this, so far he hasn't said anything to me about this...
Hi SC - I think if I lived in the mmol/l world, I'd aim for 4-8 mmol/l for simplicity.
110-130. Anything lower than 80 and I'm headed on a downward spiral. It's worked for me and my endo is happy with it as well.
My range varies with how I'm doing. There was one stretch when my goal was simply not to see a 200 during the day. I've been having trouble recently and right now anything above 60 and below 160 is acceptable and I'm hoping to have one of those days again soon. When I'm more in the groove I prefer to be above 70 and below 140.
Of course I correct most of that range.
Maurie
That's a tight range. Glad you've found something that works for you!
Maurie - It sounds like a wise move to allow the acceptable BG range a little flexibility at times. Your recent description of your hypo reminds me to respect that low end!
I have a similar acceptable range: 60-140. But I also treat numbers differently at different times. I prefer to wake up between 70 and 100. Before meals I like to be around 100. Before bed I want to be 80 to 115.
But two things about target goals: Basically I correct for anything above my pump target of 100 taking into account IOB of course.
Perhaps more important. Goals are just that: Goals. In my early days I would read that someone liked to stay or actually stayed between 85 and 100 and I would think "what am I doing wrong?" First of all I always mis-heard the "like to" as the "stayed". Second of all I ignored qualifiers such as the person being in their honeymoon or Type 2 or maintaining a strict Bernstein low carb and intensive exercise regimen. All things I am not or don't want to do at this point in my life. I came to realize that there was something called the "luck of the draw" where some people seem to nearly effortlessly maintain extremely tight control and others work their butts off with variable results. Most of us are somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. Finally I learned not to compare, but just to do my best.
So....I do my best to stay between 60 and 140. Sometimes I even succeed.
So what is a target? Is it the target for your pump? Or is it what you find acceptable as a blood sugar control goal. I think these are different things. My targets are for measuring blood sugar control. My fasting targets are 70-110 mg/dl. After meal is 90-140 mg/dl and I define hypo as < 70 mg/dl.
I agree. Goals and targets need to be tempered by reasonable expectations. I’ve ranged from very lax expectations to strict and inflexible goals. Neither extreme wears well over time. We sometimes need to be reminded that we try to do manually what the human endocrine does really well given its improvements over millenia.
Your observation that effort expended does not necessarily translate to equivalent results.
Mine is 5 mmol/l or 90 mg/dl to 7.0 mmol/l or 126 mg/dl. Used to be lower - but due to recent Hashimoto diagnosis (knew my thyroid would eventually start acting up - it's a wanna be movie star and now glistening skin time of menopause - I've had to up my values abit so I don't get so depressed with the results. Is that a good thing to say? My last A1c was 7% - and has upped itself over past year from usual 6% range. Urrrhhhh.
There's a difference between what's acceptable and what your range is! My target is 100. Not a range, but a specific number. It's actually pretty amazing how tight control can be when you are correcting a 130 BG! (Your diabetes may vary, of course. My Endo thinks this works for me!)
By target range, I meant a number range that you find acceptable. The target I use for my pump is the discrete number that I aim for when correcting high BGs. I now correct for 85 mg/dl because this works for me. When I aim for 85 I often end up at 100 and rarely end up below 85. My doctor preferred that I correct aiming at 110, a target number that usually produced landing above 110.
Anna - I think it’s smart to allow yourself some flexibility with your personal goals. Taking into account your personal health and situation is wise. I’m a man and have no appreciation for what female people with diabetes struggle with. My hat is off to all of you!
Keep up with your efforts! I think it’s the times when we give up that do the most physical and emotional damage.
Ahhhh - blushing here Terry (next life I vant to be a MAN ;) ) - thanks for those words there.
BTW, a small glass of wine always helps the mood - but I don't go overboard - something about being a diabetic all these years - and being in control (interviewed a T1D last month - one of Canada's 1st islet cell transplant recipients - and we diabetics tend to be control freaks - even a study has been done on this "oddity to rule the world" ... and our diabetes health).
Too much drinky poo - makes ones self feel likea Hypo Fairy - no no no no!
Happy Thanksgiving to any Canadians on this thread - off topic - but I'm making up a Coconut Lamb Curry for this evenings nosh up.
Summatox - In the last few years I started correcting anything above 85 mg/dl. I agree, my control has benefitted from shooting at a lower number. I take into account, however, how much insulin is still acting from previous bolus doses.
It’s good to read that your endo supports your tactics. So many endos are fraidy-cats when it comes to hypos. I know what they’re thinking, they want us to be safe. But they casually trade away our quality of life in the long run in the process. It’s all about balance.