What are the blood glucose ranges | What should be the norm | Modern technologies for sugar control | Which method to control blood glucose | Other ways to control diabetes
Blood sugar control is an integral part of diabetes treatment. But before embarking on it, one must understand what norms exist and what capabilities modern analyzers have.
What are the blood glucose ranges
It is important to understand that blood glucose is not a constant. This level is constantly changing. After intense physical exertion or after sleep, it falls, after eating it grows. The norm can be 3, and 5 mmol / l. In 10-20 minutes after a hearty lunch or dinner, even in a healthy person, a jump in glucose of up to 10 mmol / l is allowed, but over time, the concentration decreases.
To monitor your health, it is important to do tests at a specific time. Usually, it is monitored in the morning on an empty stomach and 2 hours after a meal.
What should be the norm
A healthy person
In the morning, after fasting for 8-12 hours, the sugar level is in the range of 3.5-5.5 mmol / L. Immediately after eating, the indicator rises sharply, but after two hours it is not more than 7.8 mmol / L.
Prediabetes
It is important to understand that diabetes is a serious chronic disease that leads to various complications and affects overall well-being. Therefore, many experts highlight the state of prediabetes.
In general, there are no noticeable changes in well-being, but the sugar level is beyond the normal range. Unlike diabetes, most patients with prediabetes have the opportunity to avoid dangerous complications without taking medication. It is enough to change the diet and daily routine.
Prediabetes is characterized by blood sugar values:
- on an empty stomach in the morning glucose slightly goes beyond the norm and is in the range of 5.5 – 7.8 mmol / l;
- 2 hours after a meal – from 7.8 to 11 mmol / L.
Diabetes
Diabetes is characterized by significant jumps in glucose, and in patients with long experience both a sharp increase and a critical decrease (below 3.5 mmol / l) are possible. Typically, diabetes is diagnosed if the sugar level is systematically:
• above 7.8 mmol / l in the morning on an empty stomach;
• does not fall below 11 mmol / l two hours after a meal.
Modern technologies for sugar control
There are several methods for tracking glucose concentration:
Intermittent testing
Single (2-3 times a day) measurements of sugar level are made, after which a daily schedule of glucose changes for several weeks or months is compiled. It allows you to see the effectiveness of treatment and adjust it.
Modern blood glucose meters can memorize test results and calculate the average indicator from them. You can also download data to a laptop or smartphone via Bluetooth or USB, where it is possible to accumulate data, build graphs, calculate the dose of sugar-lowering drugs or insulin.
Continuous monitoring
This is a modern method that became available only a few years ago. A tiny sensor is attached to the body, a thin electrode is inserted into the skin and measures sugar in the interstitial (intercellular) fluid.
This is an advanced technology that reduces blood sampling. But the main thing is that the glucose level is measured every 5-10 minutes. Data is saved to a special receiver or transmitted directly to a smartphone. In a special application, you can see a table with values or an interactive graph showing the dynamics of glucose fluctuations. The glucose monitoring system sensor can work continuously for up to two weeks, after which it changes to a new one.
The climax was the “artificial pancreas” – a tandem from the monitoring system and the insulin pump was installed on the patient. They exchange information with each other and control the level of sugar by the type of their own pancreas. With an increase in glucose, the dose of insulin increases, and with a decrease, it stops the administration of the drug.
Which method to control blood glucose
It is reasonable to use a system for continuous monitoring of blood glucose levels in case of type 1 diabetes and severe type 2 diabetes. If you use intermittent testing, you have to do tests up to 5-6 times a day and measure sugar before each meal. A system that automatically monitors the state of health is more convenient to use with commensurate expenses.
Continuous monitoring for type 2 diabetes is optional. If the disease goes relatively easily, without dangerous complications, studies can be done several times a week. It is most effective to choose 2-3 control days and measure sugar 5-6 times. By plotting the daily curves, you can evaluate how the body responds to treatment and adjust the dose of sugar-lowering drugs, diet.
People who are at risk for developing diabetes need regular monitoring of sugar.
People who are at risk for developing diabetes need regular monitoring of sugar. These include: the elderly, overweight people, patients from whom relatives have already acquired the disease. In this case, it is enough to do tests once a month in the morning on an empty stomach. If high sugar is detected, studies should be carried out daily for 5-7 days.
A separate group of patients is pregnant ones. Gestational diabetes can occur during pregnancy and pass after childbirth. High sugar negatively affects the development of the fetus, often causing irreversible complications: from problems in the development of internal organs to mental retardation. Strict and accurate control is important; therefore, glucometers are selected with a minimum error.
Other ways to control diabetes
Regular monitoring of blood sugar is a prerequisite for treating diabetes, but it is just not enough. It is necessary to monitor other indicators: the content of glucose, albumin in the urine, ketone (acetone bodies), cholesterol in the blood. They allow you to evaluate the effectiveness of sugar compensation and pre-identify various complications.
If the blood sugar level is not compensated by insulin or other drugs, over time this condition provokes complications. Urine glucose is an excellent medium for various infections that provoke inflammation of the genitourinary system.
Regular monitoring of blood sugar is a prerequisite for treating diabetes.
Carbohydrate molecules at high concentrations combine with hemoglobin, causing oxygen starvation. As a result, the level of red blood cells rises, blood vessels are damaged due to excess sugar, and cholesterol grows to combat this condition. Bottom line – the blood thickens, blood circulation is disrupt ed. Cataracts, diabetic foot syndrome appears. Strokes, damage to the kidneys, heart are possible.
Complex diagnostics at home allow urinal analyzers and multifunctional mini-laboratories (Easy Touch, Accutrend, Koaguchek and others). Fitness trackers to help people with diabetes. Fluctuations in glucose are associated with both food intake and physical activity. The tracker can be used as an indirect analyzer. It also allows you to dose physical activity to compensate for glycemia instead of taking medication.