Go Figure

[kevin_standlee]

As part of my diabetes control plan, I test my blood sugar twice a day. Ideally, every reading would be 100 mg/dl (the USA uses a different set of units than the rest of the world; figures, doesn't it?) A reading of between 70 and 140 is the normal range, but it's more complicated than that. The overnight "fasting" reading should be between 70 and 110. An hour after eating, they prefer the reading to be under 140. My overnight figures are typically a little high, but my doctor hasn't been especially concerned about this. It appears that my body, like that of many people, is slow to get started producing insulin in the mornings. So typically I see a bigger "bounce" after breakfast than most meals. (The 100-point bounce I got after the 20 km hike was unusual.) This morning, the overnight reading was in the 120s, about ten points higher than my typical reading. I figured my usual bowl of cereal would shoot the number up to about 170. Imagine my surprise when the one-hour-later reading was only 99.

I'm not complaining about good readings; I just don't understand why they're happening.