Index
Each person with diabetes receives their own goals from their GP or specialist.
People with diabetes fight a daily battle with high blood glucose levels.
Along with a healthy diet and exercise, keeping blood glucose levels in a recommended range is the critical strategy necessary if you hope to reduce the risk of long-term complications, such as vision loss, kidney or heart disease, or amputation. Of limbs.
Daily, effective monitoring requires a handheld meter that uses a capillary blood sample, usually from a finger prick.
This is in addition to a three-, six-, or twelve-month measurement of glycosylated hemoglobin.
In a person without diabetes, blood glucose levels vary between 4.0 to 7.8 millimoles of glucose per liter of blood (mmol / L) throughout the day, regardless of how or what they eat or if they exercise or if they are low. Stress.
But living with diabetes means that the body cannot regulate blood glucose automatically.
Keeping blood glucose in this range is often tricky and dangerous when hypoglycemia can be only one mmol / L away.
Regular monitoring
This regular monitoring of blood glucose levels is done using a handheld meter:
Diabetes type 1
Blood Glucose Level Goals:
- Before meals: 4 to 6 mmol / L.
- Two hours after starting meals: 4 to 8 mmol / L.
Type 2 diabetes
Blood Glucose Level Goals:
- Before meals: 6 to 8 mmol / L.
- Two hours after starting meals: 6 to 10 mmol / L.
Blood glucose levels below four mmol / L can cause the uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous symptoms of hypoglycemia.
Blood glucose levels of more than 15 mmol / L can make the patient feel sick and tired, increase thirst, and need to go to the bathroom to urinate frequently.
This is called hyperglycemia, and action is needed to bring the levels back into their target range.
An occasional blood glucose level of more than ten mmol / L is not considered too severe for most people with diabetes. Still, if blood glucose remains too high for too long, glycosylated hemoglobin increases.
In a person with type 1 diabetes, high blood glucose levels can lead to ketones in the blood (ketosis) that can be dangerous if not treated promptly.
Blood glucose overview
Glycosylated hemoglobin is a measure, on average, of glucose in the blood during the previous two or three months taken in a laboratory from venous blood.
Glycated hemoglobin is an essential adjunct to the continuous home monitoring regimen because it reveals an overall picture of blood glucose levels.
The recommended general glycosylated hemoglobin is 53 mmol/mol or 7% or less.
Individualized goals for adults with diabetes include:
- For people without known cardiovascular disease, who have not had diabetes for a long time and do not have severe hypoglycemia or other contraindications, the target for glycated hemoglobin is equal to or less than 48 millimoles per mole (6.5%).
- For people who do not feel the symptoms and do not know that their blood glucose levels are falling or if they have other significant health conditions, the goal can be increased to 64 mmol/mol (8%).
- For women planning pregnancy, the goal is preferably equal to or less than 42 mmol/mol (6%) before and during pregnancy, but they should avoid severe hypoglycemia.
- For people nearing the end of their life, the most important thing is that they are as comfortable and free from the symptoms of high or low blood glucose levels.
All physicians caring for people with diabetes should observe each person individually and make recommendations based on those taking insulin or sulfonylureas who may need higher goals to prevent hypoglycemia.
This is particularly relevant for the elderly, those at risk for severe hypoglycemia, and those affected by hypoglycemia.
Normal blood sugar level
Understanding what an average blood sugar level is is vital to preventing or treating diabetes.
Blood sugar level refers to the amount of glucose in the blood, known as the blood glucose level, the concentration of glucose in the blood is expressed in mmol / L.
In healthy people without diabetes, your blood glucose level should measure between 4.0 to 5.5 mmol / L before a meal, and it should be less than 8.0 mmol / L two hours after a meal.
The level of glucose in the blood is also measured with glycated hemoglobin.
Glycated hemoglobin provides information on the average glucose level in the blood during the last 2 or 3 months.
A healthy person without diabetes should have glycosylated hemoglobin of less than 42 mmol/mol.
Diabetes is diagnosed when fasting blood glucose is more significant than 7.0 mmol / L, random blood glucose is more excellent than 11.1 mmol / L, or Glycated Hemoglobin is greater than 48 mmol/mole.
A fasting blood glucose level between 5.5 and 6.9 mmol / l or glycosylated hemoglobin between 42 and 47 mmol/mol may indicate an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, particularly in obesity and a family history of diabetes or specific ethnic groups.
Symptoms of low blood sugar
Hypoglycemia is defined by blood glucose levels below four mmol / L.
In the early stages, the body will react and release hormones such as adrenaline to indicate that blood glucose is low, so steps can be taken to reverse hypoglycemia with the onset of symptoms.
These symptoms include heart palpitations, excessive hunger, a feeling of heat or flushing, shaking, and excessive sweating.
Brain function will be impaired when blood glucose levels drop, resulting in confusion, irritability, aggressive behavior, seizures, and coma.
Because the brain is highly dependent on glucose to function, frequent hypoglycemia can lead to cognitive decline.
Suppose a person has asymptomatic hypoglycemia and the warning symptoms are weak, especially during the early stages of hypoglycemia. This condition becomes potentially dangerous as the patient is unaware that the blood glucose is low.
Therefore, you cannot correct low blood glucose at an early stage until it is too late when brain function is impaired.
If left untreated, prolonged severe hypoglycemia can cause permanent brain damage.
People can experience hypoglycemia at night when they are asleep.
Low blood glucose can wake you up or cause headaches, tiredness, and excessive sweating at night.
Symptoms of high blood sugar
Symptoms of high blood sugar occur when diabetes is not controlled, regardless of the type of diabetes.
Typically, the patient experiences thirst, dry mouth, frequent urination, blurred vision, and tiredness.
In more extreme cases, there may be weight loss. Occasional mild spells of high blood sugar are not threatening.
They may require treatment or return to normal levels on their own.
But frequent or severe episodes can be dangerous and can lead to coma.
Consequences of not controlling blood sugar levels
Uncontrolled, abnormal blood glucose levels can lead to health complications.
High glucose levels over a prolonged period can generally deteriorate the blood vessels in the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and legs and lead to vision loss, kidney disease, neuropathies, peripheral vascular diseases, and gangrene.
It can also cause a heart attack or stroke.
In addition to poor diabetes control, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels contribute to these complications.
These risk factors are common in type 2 diabetes.
Proper treatment of blood pressure and cholesterol levels is as necessary as glucose control in reducing complications.
Type 2 diabetes is usually not diagnosed in the early stages due to a lack of symptoms.
