Which numbers are acceptable to you?

I am still undecided about when or how exactly to use bolus insulin to cover my meals since i m honeymooning quite severely right now and on a low carb diet my numbers go rarely above 120-140 post meal. i go through different phases, so to consider insulin is diffcult. Some days I never even go over 100mg/dl- But I do also experience numbers like 120 or so quite frequently. So I am wondering if even those numbers are harmful? Am I unnecessarily stressing my beta cells within that range? I do see a number like 180 occasionally, but its rare. So what is acceptable to you guys? Are you aiming to stay below 100 most of the time? Should I be more "bold with my bolus"? ;)

I do aim to stay below 100 and achieve it most of the time.....in my dreams! My actual goal is to stay below 140. Before meals I like to be lower so I have "room to grow". I will correct over 140 and in the 120's before a meal. I think we have to balance what is "safe" and "healthy" (likely to prevent complications) with what we can do with a reasonable amount of effort. We all make different lifestyle choices and we all have that indefinable something that makes staying between 80-100 possible for some people and staying under 200 an intense battle for others. I didn't experience my honeymoon on insulin but on oral meds since I was misdiagnosed. But I think it's important to recognize that things will change. I can see two ways of dealing with that: Making one set of expectations for "now" and being open to revising it when "Later" gets here. So for example if staying under 120 is feasible for you now, great, and you can come up with a different target later. But for some people if they set that target now they will hold hopes of continuing it later and be miserable when they realize that may either be impossible as it is for many Type 1's, or it may take a degree of obsession and lifestyle changes you won't be willing to adhere to later. Only you know which works for you.

My short answer: I wouldn't worry about those 120's, or really anything under 140.

Also remember that while variability is pretty much a hallmark of Type 1, and for me for example "under 140" is a goal, but hardly one I always meet, we have another tool in our toolbox and that is "corrections". My PCP who knows very little about Type 1 asked me "if I ever go over 200". My answer was, "Yes, I'm a type 1, but I correct promptly when I do". Since I doubt he knew what correcting means he looked at me blankly. But to me it makes all the difference in the world. What can lead to complications isn't occasionally spiking to 200, but accumulated time spent at that level.

I'm with Zoe, I aim for less than 140 and am pretty happy to stay there, especially if I can avoid the dreaded lows. If I try too hard to keep it below a hundred I just have too many hypos. So for now I'll try to avoid the highs and lows and keep it somewhere in the middle. I don't correct for anything lower than 180 because I am pretty sensitive to insulin with a 1:50 correction factor and am on MDI so I would be taking far too many shots. Taking a single unit of insulin when you have to prime with 2 units for me is just not worth it. I suppose if I were on a pump and could just bolus for it maybe I would tighten things up a bit but for now I'm ok with less than 140.

I’m ok w/ < 140 but usually start to take action, sometimes a reevaluation of what I ate, “did I miss some carbs?” And a CB and sometimes I walk the dog. I think it’s good to engage every number as an opportunity to fix it if it’s not where you want it and to do it again (and again and again…) if it’s what you’re looking for.

I'm type 2 but consider myself Type 2 minus as in minus working beta cell so I will weigh in on this.

I shoot for 100 or less but don't always make it. I don't stress at 120 but will be like Acidrock and start questioning my carb counts and last bolus at 140.

But it all comes down to you. Below 140 is not bad and there are a lot of folks on the site that are happy with that but if I could do better I would try. There are many examples here of T1's that do. I have heard that over 140 is where complications begin and that the more you can stay below that number the better off you will be.

Gary

I am one of those people that struggles to stay in the 70-200 range, so I personally consider any day that I can stay within that range to be great, and if I can manage to get a few days in a row staying in that range then that's truly awesome. I think I've only had one day in my diabetic life where I've managed to stay between 70-120 for an entire 24 hours.

I limit carbohydrates to 20-30g per meal and 5-10g per snack (when I do snack) and always try to incorporate fibre/protein into things, and try to exercise for at least 30 minutes most days, and test 8-10x per day, and keep a nearly identical daily schedule ... and still have random highs and lows.

My actual target is 100 before meals and under 140 two hours after meals and 120 at bedtime, but in reality I only achieve that maybe 50-75% of the time. I think your goals are great if you can achieve them, just be forewarned that things (may) change after your honeymoon ends.

i am also honeymooing and try to aim for below 100 before meals and under 140 2 hours post prandial. some months of my honeymoon this has required a unit of insulin, sometimes none, same type and number of carbs.
what zoe says about developing a set of honeymoon expectations and being able to recognize they will hve to change post honeymoon is very important! whenever i go from the zero-bolus couple of weeks/months to the bolus needed for each meal month, i am gutted! all part of the game!
i would not worry about 120s. if i see 120 two hours postprandial, i think, yay, more chocolate for me before i go for my walk later!

Your numbers are great and no one knows how long that will last...It's called a honeymoon phase because your relationship with diabetes is as good as it is going to get, enjoy the good numbers and enjoy your life.

My goal is to have BG in normal range but unfortunately I have to eat a certain amount of food...so it is not practical for me to pick a number but I do have a range.

I have my targets set at >70mg/dL and <140 mg/dL and my goal is to stay in this range 90% of every day. I do have days with numbers well above and below my target numbers but my A1c has not been above 5.8 in over 5 years. and my distribution is always between 80% and 90%. I'm comfortable with my BG numbers but I focus on staying in range and if my BG is out of range I do what ever is needed to quickly correct the high or low. I will go for a walk, bolus insulin, skip or postpone my next meal, and I have identified a long list of foods that will push my BG up over 140 mg/dL and I avoid them most of the time...but there are some foods I have refused to give up and never will...life is too short.

I target to keep my blood sugar under 140 mg/dl 2 hours after my meal. I am generally successful.

But I "accept" when I don't reach targets. When I eat something, miscount and don't reach target. Or when I wake in the morning, high yet again. I accept, because I am diabetic and if I have done everything I can to control my blood sugar, then there is nothing to "accept" that is just the way it is. I accept those numbers and I just move on.

I still struggle with keeping my numbers in "context." They are just information. I think I will be a happier person when I no longer see a high and beat myself up over it.

I aim to stay between 4-8mmols, which I believe is 72-144 I think. I test quite a bit these days, don't like to eat unless I'm about 5mmols or so. It all depends, if I'm about 8 and I've acres of gardening to do, I need to watch, probably need a snack. highs, sometimes I dunno where they come from, but more often than not I do. I must admit that for years I was running in the high teens, well above the 200 mark. I have arthritis and had a little laser treatment years ago. Other than than I am fine. Not saying that anyone should be blase but do try not to worry. Our bodies are amazing and they try to heal themselves if we give them half a chance. The only time I have really perfect control is when I limit my carbs to the point where I hallucinate about bread.

My target is 110 mg/dl for the day and 120 for the night. After meals I will accept temporary spikes up to 170 depending on the digestive profile of the food. I would be much happier to keep the spikes below 160 though. This way I would stay below the kidney threshold for filtering glucose out of the blood stream. To relief the kidneys from this stress is one of my priorities. Anything below 70 mg/dl will be treated with glucose tabs: 70 => 1 tab, 60 => 2 tabs or more, 50 => 3 tabs, 40 => 4 tabs. If BG is below 110 and above 70 I can have free carbs. My Glucosurfer can calculate how many free carbs can be eaten without insulin to increase the BG to the target. These free carbs can then be subtracted from the carb load used for the insulin calculation.

I really like to be 80's to 90's pre meal, and no more than 140 2 hours after eating. Do I always succeed? No of course not, but I also don't obsess about every little bit of food I eat too, If I want a piece of birthday cake for ME, and that's the key thing here, each and everyone of us is different in what we can eat, how much of it we can eat etc...but for me I'm going to have a small piece and bolus for it, as lol birthday cake isn't an EVERY DAY thing, but like a once a month thing. I agree with Zoe, I think the key is accept what is acceptable today and realize that Later will come, and goals will have to be re-evaluated. Everyday is an ongoing struggle, and just when you THINK you have it right, something happens to change everything all up with this. The one thing I've learned in close to 30 days there is NO constant with diabetes, you have to go with the flow of it, and make changes as necessary.

And that’s why I pump! Lol… No but seriously it just does all the math for me… It’s pretty aggressive in keeping me under 120 typically at 100. I was targeting higher on MDI 120-175 and tbh I notice a difference in how I feel with the lowered sugars! I feel amazing! Energetic, less hungry, less moody, less sore! So yes be aggressive! That’s my two cents!

I look to stay in a range of 70 to 140. don't always get there, but it's a goal to always get back there. Sometimes it works better than others, i have to say. Still, i do what I can to keep there. It's a struggle. for sure!