Frequently Asked Questions QUESTION: what is the normal blood sugar level for children 2 to 5? ANSWER: 80-100 QUESTION: normal blood sugar level for children? ANSWER: The textbook answer is 80-120, however in actual practice, normal can be found 60-120, as many times females run 60-70 and this may be normal for them. In the diabetic child, the goal is often set to about 120 pre-meal or even slightly higher until the child equilibriates to sugars in that range, then is adjusted furthur. Two hours after a meal, if one obtains what is called a post-prandial sugar, it will always be in excess of pre-meal sugars even in a controlled diabetic. Many times it runs about 180. Insulin pumping technology has helped to revolutionize Type I diabetes care (juvenile diabetes) as the best way of avoiding serious future complications is to keep the blood sugars as close to the normal range for as much time as possible, throughout life. QUESTION: What is a normal blood sugar level for a slight 8yochild? My boy 27kg and thin, had a blood sugar test today, and it came back at 7.5mmol. Is this a normal level for a child? I know it is on the high end for an adult, but can’t find anything on what is normal for a child. Is it high enough to have him tested for diabetes? ANSWER: It depends when the test was done. Normal level after an 8 hour fast is less than 5.5 mmoles, however in a normal individual it will rise to as high as 7.9mmoles 2 hours after eating. QUESTION: what is normal blood sugar level for non diabetic children? ANSWER: Previous studies have suggested that higher plasma glucose levels, even if still in the normal range, might be a predictor of diabetes. Berenson’s group wanted to see whether elevated fasting plasma glucose in childhood would predict prediabetes or type 2 diabetes in adulthood. To find out, they turned to the Bogalusa Heart Study, which began tracking children from that Louisiana town in 1978. All had a fasting plasma glucose lower than 100 mg/dL. Thecurrent analysis included those same individuals assessed as adults after a mean follow-up of 21 years — 1,723 were normoglycemic (99 mg/dL or lower), 79 were prediabetic (100 to 125 mg/dL), and 47 had type 2 diabetes. Using a childhood fasting plasma glucose of 86 mg/dL or higher as a predictor for prediabetes yielded a 76.9% sensitivity and 85.2% specificity. For diabetes, sensitivity was 75% and specificity was 76%. In a multivariate analysis controlling for anthropometric, hemodynamic, and metabolic variables from childhood to adulthood, as well as baseline fasting plasma glucose level, those individuals who had a childhood level 86 mg/dL or higher had increased risks of both prediabetes (OR 3.40, 95% CI 1.87 to 6.18) and type 2 diabetes (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.01 to 4.23) as adults You will see that there are a difference of opinion on childrens glucose levels. The above is what I would trust. I think other posters have a normal PP as high as 180. Well damage to organs start at around140. You can take your pick Tin QUESTION: What is the normal blood sugar level for a seven year old before and after eating? I tested my child’s blood sugar level a couple hours after eating the other day and it was 296. About an hour later it was 201. I’ve tested her first thing in the morning yesterday (blood sugar was 118) and today (blood sugar was 128) without eating. Should I call the doctor or just continue to watch her? I should mention she’s got bladder/urinary problems also (spastic bladder). ANSWER: Age does not matter. Fasting blood sugar of greater than 125 is diagnostic of diabetes. Random blood sugar of greater than 200 (twice) is also diagnostic of diabetes. You need to get this child into the doctor today. QUESTION: what is normal blood sugar for a child? is 243 high? i just took my 5 year old daughter to b-day party and of course she had cake, ice-cream and a little bit of candy from the pinata. i know the rest might sound strange, but when we got home she hadscratched at a sore on her leg and it began bleeding. her father is diabetic so she is always asking to enter the blood test as she calls it (which we have never let her do) but since she had a little blood on her leg anyway we thought what the hell… we were actually shocked by the reading… it was 243! if it wasn’t the weekend i would just call her doctor… so i thought i would ask and see if anyone is familiar with blood sugar levels in children and did it make a difference that the blood used came from her leg??? after reading beey’s answer i thought “you know what she may have had some of the sugar powder from the pixi stick on her fingers or under her nails when she scratched at her sore” so i tested her again this time on her finger and making sure everything was clean! she had a reading of 124 thank you sooo much! i will test her again in the morning just to make sure, but i think you were right on… i checked her again this morning and she is right on target i don’t think she willbe asking to enter the blood test anymore…lol… since her dad is diabetic we rarely have anything with real sugar in our house so they don’t really get to indulge in sweets with the exception of special events like b-day parties… diabetes runs on her dad’s side of the family so i do worry about our kids and their health, but as of now i think the first reading probably wasn’t a good clean reading. i will be sure and mention it to her dr. at her next apt thought just to be on the safe side… thanks to everyone who answered… ANSWER: well the blood could of been contaminated by the sugars that were on here fingers by scratching her leg or rubbing..I have this problem too with my son. to watch him closely since his dad has it,I f I were you I would Test her again properly and the next time she eats a lot of sugars test her sugar.Its sad that doctors look at me like I am crazy when I am worried about my son getting diabetes. they wont give him the proper test they tell me that if he becomeslethargic and quits eating then to bring him in…lol what when its too late…I can relate to your concern and yes Its just like the adult range. I wish you the best. QUESTION: I would like to find out what the normal blood sugar level is for a child around the age of 8? ANSWER: Normal range no matter what the age is 70-110. QUESTION: What is the normal blood sugar level for a non-diabetic child? Adult? ANSWER: About 80 to 115/120. Test at least 2 hours after a meal. QUESTION: What is a normal blood sugar level for a 6 year old child? ANSWER: The plasma glucose concentration ( blood sugar ) is normally maintained within a relatively narrow range, between 60 and 150 mg/dL, despite wide variations in glucose that occur after meals and exercise.70-120 mg/dL is perfectly good level . QUESTION: What are normal Blood Sugar levels in 2 or 3 year old healthy kid.? Family history 1) Mom was diagnosed with type 2 at 38 years and started on insulin at 49 years. 2) Dad was daignosed with type 2 at49/50 and went on insulin at 65. 3) One brother (out of two) was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at 9 years. 4) I had gestational diabetes in first pregnancy and was started on insulin from 12th week (started with 5 NPH). I had very good control during pregnancy though. Tested 7 times a day. Made drastic changes to my diet. Very few times my levels were above normal. Target was 130 after 1 hour. and less than 90 fasting. I was within range 90% of the time. My child’s readings. My kid is 2 1/2 year old now. Her 2 hour test was 115. Tested at home after dinner. Her Dinner was, 1) White Rice cooked (2/3 cup) 2) peas and paneer curry (Peas 2 about tsps, cheese half ounce, tamato onion gravy 2tsp.) 3) Plain yogurt 1/3 rd cup. 4) Bite size snickers bar. She took her main meal in about 25 mins and ate her snickers 10 mins later. ANSWER: Normal for anyone – kids or not is approximately 90-145. Anything over 200 and you can look at diabetes as something to be investigated. Having hadgestational diabetes you do have a higher chance of developing T2 diabetes – exercising and watching what you eat can definitely make a HUGE difference. A non-diabetic will have almost no fluctuation with their eating – whereas a pre-diabetic can. In children that young – they will get Type 1 diabetes – or juvenille as some people call it. 115 is just fine. Just look out for other symptoms. Excessing thirst, frequent urinating, lethargy without normal reasoning, sweet smelling breath. Check out websites such as www.diabetes-book.com and read up on it more. I am a type 2 diabetic diagnosed at age 39. QUESTION: normal blood sugar level for 3 year old child? ANSWER: If he is non-diabetic, it could anywhere from 70-120 mg/dL, the same as anybody else w/o diabetes QUESTION: Normal Level for blood sugar during pregnancy My friend is pregnant with her first child. And I can’t remember what the normal sugar level is when your pregnant. I had gestational diabetes with my first 2, but not mylast 2 so I really can’t remember. Can someone help me out here? Thanks for the help… ANSWER: I believe a fasting sugar should be under 100 and no higher than 180 two hours after eating. QUESTION: what is 8 year child sugar level? normal blood sugar level of 8years old Child after food and before food ANSWER: Many disagree with these numbers , but don’t we want to catch diabetes in it’s earliest stage ? Normal Fasting Blood Sugar A normal fasting blood sugar (which is also the blood sugar a normal person will see right before a meal) is: 83 mg/dl (4.6 mmol/L) or less. Many normal people have fasting blood sugars in the mid and high 70 mg/dl (3.9 mmol/L) range. Though most doctors will tell you any fasting blood sugar under 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/L) is “normal”, there are several studies that suggest that testing with a fasting blood sugar in the mid 90 mg/dl (5 mmol/L) range often predicts diabetes that is diagnosed a decade later. Post-Meal Blood Sugar (Postprandial) Independent of whatthey eat, the blood sugar of a truly normal person is: Under 120 mg/dl (6.6 mmol/L) one or two hours after a meal. Most normal people are under 100 mg/dl (5.5 mmol/L) two hours after eating. Good Luck , Take Care Tin QUESTION: 32 weeks pregnancy , detected with high sugar levels.What are the safe sugar/glucose levels during pregnancy? HI, Im 32 weeks pregnant. During my 24th week the glucose tolerance test was negative. But the recent test showed my fasting blood sugar level to be 101 and PP BS to be 114. The Doctor has asked me to constantly monitor the blood sugar levels at home, 8 times a day..phew..and as well control on diet and exercises. What are the normal blood sugar levels during pregnancy. I have a history of PC OS and as well my mother is a diabetic. does this mean even Iam a diabetic now and what are the proposed risks to my unborn child? ANSWER: i was had this issue with both my pregnancies my first it was untreated and she came out almost 10 ibs with my son (he is 4months old now) i had to monitor my blood same as you before breakfast 1 hour after before snacks and after lunch, dinner etc etc… Normally its ideal if your fasting (when you wake up) glucose level is under 95 after lunch and snacks under 140 is the highest period. It is important to watch what you eat and walk alot. drink plenty of water because if not you will have a sick huge baby. Mine like i said was almost 10ibs and when i delivered her they had to break her clavicle in order to get her out and she now has seizure problems. With my son my sugars could not be controlled with diet alone i was testing at sugar levels of 240 an hour after i ate half a sandwich with only mustard and a peice of turkey. sooo i had to take medication and it still wasnt enough. finally i had to deliver for two reasons 1. they were afraid he was already large 2. i developed pre eclamsia. so i gave birth to a LARGE 6 ibs 2 oz baby at ONLY 34 weeks. he should have been between 4 and 5ibs at 34weeks solisten carefully and do not cheat the results could be worst then pricking your fingers 8 times a day (try doing that and then injecting yourself in the leg arm or lower tummy) it hurts QUESTION: Is 130 Blood Sugar normal for a child? I have questioned for a year now if my daughter could possibly have diabetes. She is constantly thirsty and drinks more liquid than an adult would in a day. She is has frequent urination to a point that she has accidents frequently throughout the day and has to wear a pull-up at night. The pull-up is saturated in the morning. She weighs 34 pounds. Her hunger level is about normal. She becomes very irritable when she’s hungry. We have no family history of diabetes, other than my husband’s aunt who developed type 1 as an adult and my father-in-law has type 2. Today, I checked her blood sugar around 2-3 hours after eating macaroni and cheese and a freezer pop. It was 130. During those 2 hours, she played hard outside. I personally think this my be a littleelevated, but all the books say it’s normal. Opinions please? She is 4 years. ANSWER: My first reaction is that it’s not an obviously diabetic number. 130 mg/dL after a meal can be normal. I would say, though, that 130 is on the high-end of normal, especially 2-3 hours after eating. Non-diabetics rarely cross 140 mg/dL at any point after a meal and usually return to pre-meal levels (below 100) within 2-4 hours. The problem with the numbers I just gave you is that they’re the upper limit of normal. Non-diabetics often stay below 120 mg/dL after a meal, give or take, and return to normal by two hours or so. Some non-diabetics don’t even go up over 100 after eating. Exactly what constitutes “normal” blood sugar is difficult to quantify since you have non-diabetics who will be diabetic later and non-diabetics who will never be diabetic in blood sugar studies. There’s also just variation between people. Because of the symptoms she’s showing and because of the slightly elevated blood sugar,they get paid the big bucks for. Good luck with your little one. QUESTION: Diagnosed with Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome, What are my chances of having children? I was diagnosed with PCOS about 1 1/2 years ago. I also have hypothyroidism and currently take levothyroxine 50 mcg every day, and my OBGYN has put me on Metformin(glucophage) which is a medication used to lower blood sugar levels, I am NOT diabetic but she put me on the metformin to help dissolve some of the cysts. Cysts can be caused by higher than normal blood sugar levels. My husband and I have been trying for 3 years to get pregnant and nothing we do to try and increase our chances has worked thus far, is there something I’m missing here? I don’t have the money for any of the fertility options out there…what can I do? Are there maybe programs out there that would help pay for fertility treatment? I have health insurance but they don’t cover any of that stuff either. Has anyone else out there been diagnosed? Are there tricksor tips I could be missing? By the way, I am 23 years old so for anyone who may have thought age could be a factor…that’s just not the case. Please don’t reply with the “you’re not ready” or “really think about it” because I AM ready and I have thought about it. I’m not your average “tee hee” “lets go party” 23 year old. I am highly intelligent and pretty wise beyond my years, so please…advice only. I would also like to thank (in advance) for any advice and helpful tips that may be given. Thank you all. ANSWER: Here is what I have been told, and I have seen it happen. The Metformin helps dissolves the cysts, allowing natural ovulation to occur. Taking it faithfully will also help with the treatment of sugar resistant PCOS. Loosing 25% of your body mass is also helpful as well. (I’m a chunky chick). Eat right, don’t stress, and find a balance. If all else fails, seek out the advice of an OB GYN. Chlomid is the most common form of a fertility medicine, and ten years ago it was 60.00 amonth. Within two months, I had conceived my beautiful daughter. Good luck! QUESTION: When should you worry about ketones in your urine? We have been told my son has impaired glucose tolerance by our family physician. He is six. He is going to see a dietician next week and a peditrician in two weeks. In the meantime, we are monitoring his blood sugar levels and using ketostix. Just this week he started showing mild to moderate ketones in the a.m. This is a new development. The first morning when he showed moderate ketones his blood was 3.2. His lowest number yet and we were nervous. Is this normal for a child with impaired glucose? ANSWER: Ketones (sometimes called acetone) are chemicals which appear in the blood and urine when body fat is being broken down for energy. Fat is burned by the body when there is not enough insulin to allow sugar to be burned for energy. Ketones also are formed when not enough food has been eaten to provide the energy the body needs. Ketone testing is veryimportant because ketones can build up in the body and result in an emergency condition called ketoacidosis. Ketoacidosis is a serious, life-threatening complication of high blood sugar and must be treated immediately. Ketoacidosis is the number one reason for hospitalizing children in the U.S. with known diabetes. Families are usually taught how to do the urine ketone test on the first day their child has been diagnosed with diabetes. They may later switch to doing blood ketone checks. Frequent ketone tests are important in the first few days after diagnosis to check if enough insulin is being given to turn off ketone production. A method of testing for ketones must be kept in the home (and taken on trips) at all times. Ketones must always be checked if your child: has high blood sugar above 240 mg/dl (13.3 mmol/L) after fasting has high blood sugar above 300 mg/dl (16.6 mmol/L) during the day feels sick or nauseated (especially if he vomits, even once). If the child is sick, ketonescan be present even when the sugar is not high. Children who have been recently diagnosed with diabetes usually need to check ketones twice a day (or more often if the test is positive). After the first or second week, if all ketone checks are negative, you can stop routine testing of ketones. Children who take only 1 insulin injection per day should do a routine morning ketone test to check if their insulin is lasting a full 24 hours. Ketones will usually be present in the morning if an insulin injection is needed in the evening. If the morning blood sugars vary between very high and very low values, check the ketone level in the morning. Morning ketones can be a sign of a low blood sugar during the night followed by rebounding or bouncing back to a normal or high level by morning. Call your care provider IMMEDIATLY (day or night) if: the urine ketone test result shows medium or large urine ketones the blood ketone test is greater than 0.6 mmol/L. Tell the person answering the phonethat the call is urgent. Your provider will probably have your child take extra insulin to help make the ketones disappear. If the ketones are not detected early, particularly during illness, they will build up in the body and your child will get ketoacidosis. It is the early detection of ketones and treatment with extra Humalog or NovoLog insulin that prevents hospitalizations for ketoacidosis. Call your care provider during office hours if: You are concerned about the test result. You have other questions or concerns. Good luck to you! QUESTION: Blood sugar and insulin test? Since I was pregnant with my last child (he’s 7 mo now), I’ve noticed that my body relates very differently to sugar and sugary foods than before (I’m not yet 30). In fact, I can feel downright sick, shaky, or “crash” after just a cookie or two, for example. I’m scheduled for a fasting blood test to measure insulin levels, for a different reason, but I’m wondering if this test alone would indicate why I might behaving such a reaction to sugar – or should I call my doctor, explain these other symptoms, and ask for more thorough testing (i.e 3 hour test, or check additional levels). Additional Info: While pregnant, my 1 hour glucose screening came back a huge number, but the three hour test came back normal. ANSWER: insulin levels measured when someone hasn’t eaten can give information about the body’s sensitivity to insulin. High insulin, even with normal blood sugar, may indicate that the pancreas is working harder than normal to lower the blood-sugar level. This situation is usually caused by the body being resistant to insulin’s effect — a condition called “insulin resistance syndrome.” It is very common with obesity, and hormonal problems such as polycystic ovary syndrome. Be sure that your doctor is aware of what is happening when you go for your visit…he may want to order additional tests….save yourself the trouble of another trip and needle stick…..Good Luck QUESTION: What can I do tohelp my blood sugars? Gestational Diabetes? I am gestational diabetic and 28 weeks pregnant. I am the pickiest eater ever and I’ve been that way since I was a young child. I am a huge pasta eater. I have to go to a diabetes center every month and test my sugars 4 times a day and take insulin before each meal. It is such a hard thing to remember since I have only been on insulin for a month now. I am so used to being able to eat whatever I want. Thing is is when I was diagnosed with GD (about 10 weeks) my sugar levels were fine. Now I am seeing a little higher numbers. It seems more now than ever I am craving sugary sweets. My job makes it hard to eat the meals I need to eat. It frustrates me cause we are short staffed right now so I really do not have time all the time to eat a meal which I know is bad. I need some advice on what to do. I want a healthy baby. What are the risks if I can’t keep my sugars under control the highest my blood sugar has ever been was 180. never higher thanthat and that only happened once. Usually when it’s higher it’s 140-160 now. It’s so stressful. I’m not huge on alot of veggies but I love fruits and fruits cause my sugars to go up also. I can’t eat alot of fruit. 1/2 a piece of fruit is 15 carbs and I am only allowed 30 carbs for bfast and 60 for lunch and dinner. Any advice would be wonderful. The docs think I may have been diabetic before becoming preggers but wouldn’t my levels be much higher if I was previously diabetic? My 3 hour glucose test was technically normal one OB told me but they wanted to monitor it just to be safe. ANSWER: First off, to answer your question: running sugars in the 140-160 range consistently WILL have an affect on your baby. The higher sugar puts extra weight on the baby – not only is that more difficult for delivery, or could cause you to have to be induced early, but it adds unnecessary fat cells to your child for life. Also, there is a complication that can happen where the placenta deteriorates inwomen with uncontrolled diabetes. It’s not common but the less control you have, the higher the risk. I’m not trying to scare you, but you do need to know the risks of running those numbers. You have insulin – haven’t you been advised to adjust your dosage up? If not, talk to your doctor because that is certainly an option. It’s completely normal and expected for your sugars to require more medication to control the farther you are along in pregnancy. It’s a function of pregnancy hormones. As for diet – my advice for a pasta lover is to seek out Barilla Plus Pasta. It’s high-protein pasta and it also tastes better than most of the whole wheat varieties. I have great blood sugar results with Barilla Plus. Any time you eat fruit you have to have protein with it. If you’re hungry, go up on your protein (or veggies, but you say you don’t eat them). Sugary sweet cravings is tough, but try to remember you’re in the home stretch. There are a few tricks, like taking unsweetened cocoa powderand mixing it with light cool whip. It’s really good but you still have to limit your serving size. Another one is to take chocolate protein powder (you can find these in GNC or similar stores) and shake it up with fresh popcorn. You still need to count the carbs in the popcorn but 1 cup of popcorn at a time is so low-carb that it’s under 20 calories if airpopped. QUESTION: How to control blood pressure during pregnancy? Im 28 and 12 weeks pregnant with my first child. 4 days ago i went to the clinic to check my blood pressure and it read 96/55 and the sugar level was at 3,9% Im worried that this will have an impact on my child. How do i control it and what should i avoid? just to think that 3 weeks ago it was high but stabilised in 3 days…Or is this normal??? ANSWER: QUESTION: What is happening in my case? Advice needed. Please help.? Hi all, I am 29 years old, I conceived after 8 years of my marriage through IUI. I went for 3 cycles and the last one has been clicked. I have nocomplications when I was conceived. In the fourth month I have been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. From that time, I have taken the insulin daily to keep my blood sugar under control. But my doctor told not to control the food except sweets and sugar because the baby wouldn’t grow. So I completely cut off the sugar items in all my food but as a south Indian, I ate rice twice a day. Taken all the precautions in all angels. And I went to my mom’s place in my 3rd month of pregnancy. Everything was fine till the 8th month. Suddenly in 33rd week I noticed that there were no movements of my baby. I went for scan and doctor confirmed that there is no heart beat and movements. Doctor told that It is an Intra Uterine Death of 32 weeks because of Gestational Diabetes. Is that true? Why it was happened? Now a days many people are having Gestational Diabetes. They are not having their children? Many people are happily conceiving and having their babies who are already diagnosed withdiabetes? But in my case what happened? And my doctor told that, it’s all your fate. I delivered a healthy male child through normal delivery. After delivery my sugar levels are controlled. But now I am facing another problem. The day before yesterday my fasting blood sugar is 65mg as per glucometer. After lunch (with 1.5 hour gap) I tested again with my glucometer and it showed the reading was 178mg/dl. I was a little bit worried and checked again within a half minute and it showed 160mg/dl. Why so? What is the correct reading? Why it was decreased 18 points? The second level is under control. Then I did the test after my dinner and it showed 113mg/dl. Again I checked within the minute it showed 146, and again 135. Which was correct? I was confused a lot. Again yesterday I tested after lunch it showed 199 and 165mg/dl. Again I tested after my dinner it was 216, 205, and 201. And today morning my fasting BS is 102mg/dl. Am I diabetic? I am in a confused state. What reading I shouldpyloromyotomy). From that day on we have never had a problem with her eating or drinking. It may be worth mentioning this to your GP and see what he/she says. QUESTION: Diabetes Question & Your Teeth? I have been to the dentist on many of occasions. I have had teeth removed, x-rayed, and filled. The dentist told me that my teeth were all hallow inside. The jaw teeth both bottom and tops. The teeth are nice and shinny on the outside of the teeth because I brush them often and floss them. Before, I told him that I had diabetes. He looked at me and said, “You must be a diabetic.” I ask him about it and he told me that in some diabetics the pulp in their teeth dies and disappears because their blood sugar levels is out of control or their blood is not normal. He said it was a way for him to know if a patient has diabetes even it the patient does not know they have it. How much truth is in his statements. Could someone do research into that area of study? I later ask my youngest son’shave a relatively uncomplicated delivery? I know I’m opening myself up here to read horror stories too and I regret that, but regardless of your personal feeling on the subject of homebirth, I’m just looking for the facts on the matter not your opinions or personal judgement. My husband and I aren’t trying to be “risky” and trust the midwife to risk us out if things become too complicated for her to handle. Our home is also 3 minutes (in traffic and hitting every stop light) from the hospital. We are one block closer to the hospital than the ambulance station, and two blocks from the local fire station. ANSWER: I work at a hospital. There are stories all the time, in fact, 2 in the past week, where the woman and/or baby WOULD HAVE DIED absolutely, no question about it, if they had not been here when they got in trouble. Even 3 minutes away and they WOULD HAVE DIED. So in my opinion, it’s stupid to not take advantage of every possible care opportunity. QUESTION: Need help for my mom.Understanding diabetes!!? Okay so my mom has been going through a lot of issues she was diagnosed with lupus about 2 years ago and ever since she has been having many problems which results in her taking more medication to contain one disease but then the medicine that is supposed to help one disease causes another so now she has been diagnosed with sugar diabetes and she is confused and refusing to take insulin because she doesn’t want needles around her children so she is trying to study her diet so she won’t have to take the insulin so i have a few questions and it will be so much help what is too high or too low for your blood sugar level? what is a normal blood sugar level for a diabetic? can you be hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic? are you supposed to test your blood after and before every meal? what foods are good for her to eat? are there any desserts that won’t effect her? these are all the questions i have but any and all the information will help i am really interested infinding out as much as possible to help her keep on track thanks so much ANSWER: Normal (in the USA) is 70 to 110 mg/dl. Over 200 is too high, under 50 is too low. In between those figures is questionable. Normal for diabetic is normal for anyone. Type ones tend to run a little higher than type twos as a precautionary thing. You can swing from hypo to hyper and back depending on treatment, what you eat, and other variables. Yes, you should test regularly. Sliced apple with cheese slices or nuts make a nice dessert. If you want to learn more, read my blog which is primarily aimed toward type twos: QUESTION: I suffer with Hypoglycemic symptoms but my blood glucose level is normal.? Background – I’m 34, working full time with 3 children, married with lots of debt. Two main symptoms are night terrors and restless leg syndrome, lets not forget cravings for all the wrong foods….alcohol, bad carbs and sugar, joint pain, mood swings, panic attacks and difficulty in losing weight and wanting toexcercise, brain fog, inability to concentrate. My doctor has stated that Hypoglycemia is something they would NOT diagnose so are putting me in contact with a Psychologist instead!! Understandably stress may play a role in these symptoms but I’m unsure how this may help me. The Zoe Harcombe Diet has highlighted that I may be suffering from this but would prefer to have a diagnoses before cutting out all the things I enjoy and visit a psychologist every week. What can I do or where can I go to achieve a diagnosis that is taken seriously? I notice a couple of responses were related to my intake of alcohol. A bottle of wine at the week-end is not a problem. And with regard to the doctors opinion she was not aware of how to diagnose hypoglycemia and stated that it something they wouldn’t diagnose even if it was!!!! Strange, I’ve suffered with food intolerances for the last 8 years and doctors are unable to help, psychologist help and burning a whole in my pocket paying for tests andnutritionalist help and still no further forward. The only thing the general practionioner is good for is to tell you your mad or you suffer from IBS…..complete tosh! ANSWER: I am sure your GP is correct. I would certainly watch your alcohol intake but overall these symptoms will NOT be diet related. QUESTION: Help! We didn’t feed our newborn for 8 hours!? Help! Our monitor battery died at night and we didn’t feed our newborn (14 days old) for 8 hours! When my wife woke up, she immediately looked at the clock and then the monitor and jumped – “oh my, it’s been 8 hours since the baby has been fed!” We both immediately ran into the nursery to check on her. She was crying – but not hysterically. Hey diaper was very full and she doesn’t like being in dirty diapers too long. We immediately changed her, held her close for a few minutes and then fed her. She latched on perfectly and fed properly. Didn’t seem like anything was wrong – her body wasn’t shaking or anything. She looks perfectlynormal. That said, I have heard that if a newborn doesn’t receive food at the right time, it can change their blood/sugar levels? Is that true? Anything I should do at this point, or anything I can check? We have no idea how long she has been crying… I should tell you that our child is wonderfully healthy. Born full-term at 8 pounds, 5 ounces and when she was weighed at 10 days old, she was 8 pounds, 10 ounces. So, she is breastfeeding well and gaining good weight. Needless to say, we are going to plug in our baby monitor at night so that this doesn’t happen again! Thanks in advance for your suggestions! ANSWER: I think when the baby is this young, you need to have them close enough so that you are not relying on a monitor. Many people prefer to have them in the same room – we had our son in an adjoining room and left the door open AND we had a monitor. If your wife is breastfeeding, it seems strange to me that she didn’t wake up of her own accord. If she is taking some kind of painkillers for post-partum pain, this would be, in my opinion, a good time to stop. (I stopped taking my Percocets almost immediately after I got home when I didn’t wake up immediately when the baby cried.) Honestly, I would probably call the doctor just to check in. 8 hours is a really long time for a breastfed newborn to go without a feeding. QUESTION: Some days I wish for death and others I cannot even believe the life I have led. Where and what should I do ? A lot of people that meet me have such low expectations of me. Maybe it’s because of my appearance or maybe it’s because of my demeanor. I am heavyset. My doctors over the years have commented that I need to lose weight. Yet my physical weight doesn’t show in my body. My legs and arms are fairly toned. I am not afraid of work and I move around when I work but I don’t exercise out of that. I am 21 years old. I am diabetic and had been on medications since I was 15 to help control it. It didn’t matter how my diet was; my glucose wasnon-diabetic over to being diabetic–your genes and life style (maybe other things they haven’t figure out yet) may push you over that dividing line. To me, everyone is pre-diabetic until they cross the line into being diabetic. Does diabetes run in your family? Do you have siblings who are diabetic? Were your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles diabetic? If so, you have a high chance of becoming diabetic. Also the older you get your chances get better of having diabetes since cells sometime die off that you needed to continue to work to keep thing in control. If you are very careful with your diet (keep your carbohydrates and sugars intake very low–but you need some carbs to live so you can’t give them all up) and get sufficient exercise, you can often keep your blood glucose either normal or very close to normal so you are less likely to have the damaging effects of diabetes. And unless your glucose level is very high a lot, it shouldn’t affect your ability to produce children (well,as long as everything else that entails is working right). At this point, your kids may inherit any diabetic gene you carry but that doesn’t mean they will get diabetes and science is always coming up with more and better ways of curing or at least controlling diseases and things. You shouldn’t let your doctor’s diagnosis stop you from leading a full, happy, loving life. Just cut down on the sweet stuff (including fruit-don’t overdo eating fruit but you can eat some), don’t overdo the carbs, stay active to keep your circulation moving. These days there are pills you can take to help you control diabetes (when paired with exercise and diet), and even if you get to the point where you need insulin, it shouldn’t stop you from marrying, having kids, living to a good old age. My dad was 92 when he died and he had diabetes. The nurse who gave me my diabetes handling classes has been a diabetic all her life and she has a family, a job, goes hiking and camping regularly, seems to lead a fulllife without having to compromise on anything except she is careful what she eats–if she eats a plate of pasta (high carbs), she’ll compensate by taking an extra long walk or go running or clean the house afterward which brings down her numbers. You should talk to your fiancee about this if she will be cooking for you when you marry–she may need to learn other ways of cooking (or at least change some of the ingredients she normally would use in her cooking so you aren’t eating things that will encourage diabetes). A diabetic diet isn’t too different from a regular diet, just has less carbs and sweet stuff–some of us who normally eat healthy all the time only have to fine tune most of our meals slightly.
