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Living with Diabetes
Blood sugar and low blood sugar levels.
Types of insulin
What do the blood sugar numbers mean?
In addition to responding to a surge of glucose after a meal, the body continuously releases a low level of insulin. Over the course of a day, about 50% of our insulin is released continuously at low levels. This is called basal insulin. The other 50% of insulin is released in response to meals. This is called bolus insulin.
Normal insulin secretion keeps blood glucose between 65 – 100 mg/dl upon awakening in the morning and prior to eating. This level can change in response to activities during the day, especially meals, and can rise to 140 – 150 mg/dl after a meal.
The diagnosis of diabetes is made when a fasting blood glucose is >/= 126mg/dl or a random glucose is >/=200mg/dl. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) administers a controlled amount of glucose and monitors the body’s response by measuring blood glucose levels over time. If the 2 hour reading during an OGTT is > 200mg/dl, the diagnosis is diabetes. A random or fasting blood sugar should be repeated another day to confirm the diagnosis. Elevations of either blood level are also referred to as hyperglycemia.
