At What Blood Sugar Level Should I Take Insulin

How Diabetes Affects Insulin Production

Insulin Questions: How do I treat my low blood sugar?

Each diabetes type affects insulin production in a different way. Type 1 diabetes causes damage to the beta cells in your pancreas that make insulin. As a result, your body can’t produce enough of this hormone. Type 2 diabetes gradually makes it harder for your beta cells to work, and also makes all the cells of your body less able to pull in and use insulin.

In both types of diabetes, sugar from the foods you eat builds up in your blood. Constantly having high blood sugar damages your blood vessels. Over time, diabetes can cause problems with your nerves, eyes, kidneys, heart, and other organs.

Everyone with type 1 diabetes and some people with type 2 diabetes take a lab-made form of insulin to control their blood sugar.

What Are The Signs & Symptoms Of High Blood Sugar Levels

Signs of high blood sugar levels include:

Peeing a lot: The kidneys respond by flushing out the extra glucose in urine. People with high blood sugar need to pee more often and in larger amounts.
Drinking a lot: Someone losing so much fluid from peeing that often can get very thirsty.
Losing weight even though your appetite has stayed the same: If there isn’t enough insulin to help the body use glucose, the body breaks down muscle and stored fat instead in an attempt to provide fuel to hungry cells.
Feeling tired: Because the body can’t use glucose for energy properly, a person may feel unusually tired.

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Before During & After Exercise

Checking your blood sugar around exercise is especially important for people who take insulin or other diabetes medications that can cause low blood sugar. Remember to always carry fast-acting carbohydrates with you while exercising.

Especially if youre new to exercise and fitting it into your diabetes management routine, its extremely important to check your blood sugar before, during, and after exercise to identify and prevent low blood sugars.

A low blood sugar level before, during, or after exercising:

Youre getting too much of a certain diabetes medication .
Your insulin sensitivity or insulin production has improved, which means your medication dosages need to be adjusted by your healthcare team.

A high blood sugar level during, or after exercising can happen, too, although its less common in Type 2 diabetes. Certain types of exercise like weightlifting, spinning, sprinting can trigger your liver to release stored sugar for extra fuel.

Talk to your healthcare team about making any adjustments to your diabetes regimen to help you achieve your blood sugar goals.

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Do I Still Need Lantus Injection When My Blood Sugar Level Is Low

Bennychiu said:Diabetes type II, I injected myself every night before I go to bed and I always check my blood sugar first.180 should be the number 2 hours after meal for diabetes and it happened quite often that my blood sugaris at 120s – 140s, should I still need to inject Lantus? in some occasion, I woke up with blood sugar at 70s and oncein a while in the 60s.

When Do I Take Rapid

You should inject rapid-acting insulin no more than 15 minutes before you eat. Your doctor will tell you how much insulin to inject. Remember, you should not wait more than 15 minutes to eat after you take this insulin shot.

Rapid-acting insulin can be more convenient to take than regular insulin. With regular insulin, you inject the insulin and then wait 30 to 60 minutes before eating. Many people find it hard to time their meals around regular insulin injections. Sometimes they end up eating too soon or too late. Then they dont achieve the best blood sugar control. Since rapid-acting insulin is taken so close to mealtime, it may help you control your blood sugar more effectively.

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Example #: Formulas Commonly Used To Create Insulin Dose Recommendations

This example illustrates a method for calculating of your background/basal and bolus doses and estimated daily insulin dose when you need full insulin replacement. Bear in mind, this may be too much insulin if you are newly diagnosed or still making a lot of insulin on your own. And it may be too little if you are very resistant to the action of insulin. Talk to your provider about the best insulin dose for you as this is a general formula and may not meet your individual needs.

The initial calculation of the basal/background and bolus doses requires estimating your total daily insulin dose:

The Basics Of High Blood Sugar

Diabetes is a problem with your body that causes blood sugar levels to rise higher than normal. This is also called hyperglycemia.

When you eat, your body breaks food down into sugar and sends it into the blood. Insulin then helps move the sugar from the blood into your cells. When sugar enters your cells, it is either used as fuel for energy right away or stored for later use. In a person with diabetes, there is a problem with insulin. But, not everyone with diabetes has the same problem.

There are different types of diabetestype 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes. If you have diabetestype 1, type 2 or gestationalyour body either doesn’t make enough insulin, can’t use the insulin well, or both.

Learn more about blood sugar Learn more about insulin

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Low Blood Glucose: Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia can occur when blood glucose drops below normal levels or drops too quickly. Your blood glucose level is too low if it is under 70 mg/dL.

Hypoglycemia can be caused by:

A combination of these factors
Being more active than usual
Drinking alcohol
Eating at the wrong time for the medications you take
Skipping or not finishing meals or snacks
Taking too much diabetes medication

You can have hypoglycemia without any symptoms. That makes it important to check your blood glucose levels regularly. When hypoglycemia does cause symptoms, they can include:

Being sweaty

Sleeping Habits And Diabetes

Blood Sugar Levels Chart | Includes fasting and after eating

According to research, insomnia affects how well you respond to insulin. People who sleep more than 9 hours each night also tend to have higher rates of diabetes. Sleep apnea can also increase someone’s probability of diabetes. Researchers have discovered that sleep-induced diabetes could raise the risk of other types of diabetes. More than 400 respondents reported how much sleep they get the night before.

Therefore it’s quite important to have a good night’s rest so you have enough strength throughout the day. Below you can find a few tips to create the perfect routine.

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What Is The A1c Test

The A1C test is a simple blood test that measures your average blood sugar levels over the past 2 or 3 months. The test is done at a lab or your doctors office in addition tonot instead ofregular blood sugar testing you do yourself.

A1C testing is part of the ABCs of diabetesimportant steps you can take to prevent or delay health complications down the road:

A: Get a regular A1C test.
B: Try to keep your blood pressure below 140/90 mm Hg .
C: Manage your cholesterol levels.
s: Stop smoking or dont start.

The A1C goal for most adults with diabetes is between 7% and 8%, but your goal may be different depending on your age, other health conditions, medicines youre taking, and other factors. Work with your doctor to establish a personal A1C goal for you.

What Is Normal Blood Glucose

There is no one blood glucose level that defines a person as normal. The table of blood glucose levels below gives the appropriate values at different times and in different states, according to the American Diabetes Association. For example, insulin-dependent diabetics often use an upper limit of 7 mmol/L or 140 mg/dL, while non-insulin-dependent diabetics may aim for less than 6 mmol/L or 108 mg/DL.

The blood glucose levels range between less than 100-180 mg/dL for adults from 20 years or older. Depending on your age this may vary.

Fasting: Less than 5.6 mmol/L or 100 mg/DL
Before meal: 3.9-7.2 mmol/L or 70-130 mg/DL
1-2 hours after eating: Less than 10 mmol/L or 180 mg/DL
Bedtime: 5.6-7.8 mmol/L or 100-140 mg/DL

Be aware that the above numbers might be different for everyone depending on your doctor’s recommendations.

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What Is Blood Glucose Monitoring

People use blood glucose monitoring to regularly test glucose levels in the blood.

It is an essential part of effective diabetes control. Many people with diabetes must check several times each day to plan for activities and meals, as well as scheduling doses of medication or insulin.

A person can test their blood glucose levels with a glucometer. They usually come with lancets, or tiny needles, a logbook to record results, and test strips.

When Should Insulin Be Started

Q. Will my patient with type 2 diabetes require insulin?

A. It varies from patient to patient. However, type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease marked by gradual loss of beta cell function and most patients will eventually require insulin therapy.1 This should be viewed as part of the pathophysiology of the disease and not as a failure on the part of the patient or healthcare provider.

Insulin should be discussed early with patients who are beginning to show progression of their diabetes to ease the transition when the time to start insulin therapy arrives. This time should be considered part of a larger conversation between provider and patient, and not seen as a turning point down a path to the many severe complications of diabetes.

Q. Is there a specific hemoglobin A1c at which insulin must be started?

A. No. Insulin, like all treatments for diabetes, should be started and adjusted to achieve a reasonable goal HbA1c for the patient. The American Diabetes Association previously recommended that a patients HbA1c not be allowed to exceed 8%, creating an action point for escalation of therapy.

Insulin therapy will often need to be started if the initial fasting plasma glucose is greater than 250 or the HbA1c is greater than 10%.4_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

References:

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Why Is The Test Performed

Fasting insulin is an important but often overlooked test that can help identify insulin resistance.

Insulin levels are usually out of order long before there are abnormalities in blood sugar levels. Thats why a blood sugar test might come back completely normal even if you are suffering from insulin resistance .

Other than to check for insulin resistance, your doctor may order this test to:

To help determine the cause of low blood sugar
Check how your beta cells in the pancreas are working
To help diagnose an insulin-producing tumor in the pancreas
To help determine when a person with type 2 diabetes needs to start taking insulin

Do Count Your Carbs Before Using Mealtime Insulin

The amount of mealtime insulin you need to inject is based on the number of servings of carbohydrates you plan on eating during a meal. Over time, youll get better at figuring out your carb intake. In the meantime, a dietitian can help you come up with a meal plan that works for you.

There are also several smartphone applications and internet-based calculators available to help you figure out your carb intake and your corresponding insulin dosage.

Hypoglycemia can happen when you take the wrong insulin dose, dont eat enough carbs right after taking your insulin, exercise more than usual, or when youre stressed.

You should take the time to learn the signs and symptoms of hypoglycemia, including:

tiredness
seizures
loss of consciousness

You should also learn how to manage hypoglycemia if it happens to you. For example, you can eat or drink glucose tablets, juice, soda, or hard candies. You should also be extra cautious after vigorous exercise, as it can lower blood sugar for hours after the workout.

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Why Do I Need To Know My Blood Sugar Numbers

Your blood sugar numbers show how well your diabetes is managed. And managing your diabetes means that you have less chance of having serious health problems, such as kidney disease and vision loss.

As you check your blood sugar, you can see what makes your numbers go up and down. For example, you may see that when you are stressed or eat certain foods, your numbers go up. And, you may see that when you take your medicine and are active, your numbers go down. This information lets you know what is working for you and what needs to change.

How To Control High Blood Sugar

When Should I Check My Blood Sugar Levels? Diabetes Education.

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Check Your Blood Sugar Levels Before Sleeping

Checking your blood sugar levels before sleeping is a good idea to make sure you’re not going low. If you are using a glucose meter try to avoid going to bed with hypoglycemia. If you have a continuous glucose monitor make sure you review the

It might take some practice but eventually, this routine could become natural and we’ll be able to have an accurate representation of what our body needs without having to even think about it.

If any numbers seem high at all – don’t hesitate check with your doctor as soon as possible so they can help you figure out how best to get them under control. We want those numbers right where they should be!

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What Are The Risks Of Using Insulin

Using insulin has few risks and side effects. You may gain weight, especially if you are already overweight. The biggest risk of insulin use is very low blood sugar , which can turn into an emergency if not managed right away.

About low blood sugar

Some common reasons for very low blood sugar include:

Taking too much insulin.
Skipping meals or not eating enough food.
Exercising without eating enough, or being much more active than usual.
Drinking too much alcohol .

It’s a good idea to know the signs of low blood sugar, which include feeling tired, weak, or shaky. If your blood sugar drops very low and you don’t get help, you could get confused or drowsy or even lose consciousness and possibly die.

Most of the time, you can treat mildâand sometimes moderateâlow blood sugar by eating something that contains sugar.

If your blood sugar can’t be controlled even if you lose weight and take other medicine for diabetes, your doctor is likely to recommend taking insulin.