This blog tracks updates to the Blood Sugar 101 Web site.


Monday, October 27, 2014

Changes to the "What is a Normal Blood Sugar" page

Page Changed: What is a Normal Blood Sugar

Added this text:

What is an Abnormally Low Blood Sugar?
Blood sugars under 70 mg/dl (3.9 mmol/L) are considered to be hypoglycemic and should be avoided.
If you are not on insulin or a drug that causes your pancreas to secrete insulin, a blood sugar 5 to 10 mg/dl slightly below this range, while it might be uncomfortable, is not dangerous unless there is evidence that it is continuing to drop. This is because home blood sugar meters often read lower than lab values, so a reading in that very slightly lower range might actually be normal.
However, if you are using insulin or a drug that causes your body to secrete insulin (described HERE you must err on the side of caution and keep your blood sugar well over 70 mg/dl (3.9 mmol/L).
This is because home meters may also read higher than your actual blood sugar so your 70 mg/dl reading may actually be 62 mg/dl. Even more importantly, the insulin or oral drug that has lowered your blood sugar to this level may still be working to lower your blood sugar even more. So if you don't treat a reading near 70 mg/dl, it may go on to drop to a dangerouly low level.

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Added this section:

Normal Blood Sugars in Pregnancy

Because the blood volume increases greatly during pregnancy, diluting blood sugar, normal blood sugar concentrations for pregnant women are lower than those for everyone else.

Based on current research, normal pregnant women's blood sugar falls into this range:
Fasting: 70.9 ± 7.8 mg/dl (3.94 mmol/L ± .43)
One Hour Post Meal: 108.9 ± 12.9 mg/dl (6.05 ± .72 mmol/L)
Two Hours Post Meal: 99.3 ±10.2 mg/dl (5.52 ± .57 mmol/L )


Pregant women with diabetes should strive for these blood sugars:
Fasting: 79 mg/dl (4.4 mmol/L)
One Hour After Meals: 122 mg/dl (6.8 mmol/L)
Two Hours After Meals: 110 m/gdl (6.1 mmol/L)

You can learn about the studies that established these values HERE