What is a high sugar level for type 2 diabetes

High Blood Sugar and Diabetes

Blood sugar control is at the center of any diabetes treatment plan. High blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, is a major concern, and can affect people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes . There are two main kinds:

Table of Contents Show

High Blood Sugar and Diabetes
How Is It Treated?
How to Prevent It
Recommended target blood glucose level ranges
Normal and diabetic blood sugar ranges
Blood sugar levels in diagnosing diabetes
Random plasma glucose test
Fasting plasma glucose test
Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT)
HbA1c test for diabetes diagnosis
Why are good blood sugar levels important?
What is a high blood sugar level for type 2 diabetes?
What is a good blood sugar level for a type 2 diabetes in the morning?

Fasting hyperglycemia. This is blood sugar for patients who have diabetesthat's higher than 130 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter) after not eating or drinking for at least 8 hours.
Postprandial or after-meal hyperglycemia. This is blood sugar that's higher than 180 mg/dL 2 hours after you eat. People without diabetes rarely have blood sugar levels over 140 mg/dL after a meal, unless it’s really large.

Frequent or ongoing high blood sugar can cause damage to your nerves, blood vessels, and organs. It can also lead to other serious conditions. People with type 1 diabetes are prone to a build-up of acids in the blood called ketoacidosis.

If you have type 2 diabetes or if you’re at risk for it, extremely high blood sugar can lead to a potentially deadly condition in which your body can’t process sugar. It's called hyperglycemic hyperosmolar nonketotic syndrome (HHNS). You’ll pee more often at first, and then less often later on, but your urine may become dark and you could get severely dehydrated.

It's important to treat symptoms of high blood sugar right away to help prevent complications.

Causes

Your blood sugar may rise if you:

Skip or forget your insulin or oral glucose-lowering medicine
Eat too many grams of carbohydrates for the amount of insulin you took, or eat too many carbs in general
Have an infection
Are ill
Are under stress
Become inactive or exercise less than usual
Take part in strenuous physical activity, especially when your blood sugar levels are high and insulin levels are low

Symptoms

Early signs include:

Thirst
Headaches
Trouble concentrating
Blurred vision
Frequent peeing
Fatigue (weak, tired feeling)
Weight loss
Blood sugar more than 180 mg/dL

Ongoing high blood sugar may cause:

Vaginal and skin infections
Slow-healing cuts and sores
Worse vision
Nerve damage causing painful cold or insensitive feet, loss of hair on the lower extremities, or erectile dysfunction
Stomach and intestinal problems such as chronic constipation or diarrhea
Damage to your eyes, blood vessels, or kidneys

How Is It Treated?

If you have diabetes and notice any of the early signs of high blood sugar, test your blood sugar and call the doctor. They may ask you for the results of several readings. They could recommend the following changes:

Drink more water. Water helps remove excess sugar from your blood through urine, and it helps you avoid dehydration.

Exercise more. Working out can help lower your blood sugar. But under certain conditions, it can make blood sugar go even higher. Ask your doctor what kind of exercise is right for you.

Caution: If you have type 1 diabetes and your blood sugar is high, you need to check your urine for ketones. When you have ketones, do NOT exercise. If you have type 2 diabetes and your blood sugar is high, you must also be sure that you have no ketones in your urine and that you are well-hydrated. Then your doctor might give you the OK to exercise with caution as long as you feel up to it.

Change your eating habits. You may need to meet with a dietitian to change the amount and types of foods you eat.

Switch medications. Your doctor may change the amount, timing, or type of diabetes medications you take. Don’t make changes without talking to them first.

If you have type 1 diabetes and your blood sugar is more than 250 mg/dL, your doctor may want you to test your urine or blood for ketones.

Call your doctor if your blood sugar is running higher than your treatment goals.

How to Prevent It

If you work to keep your blood sugar under control -- follow your meal plan, exercise program, and medicine schedule -- you shouldn’t have to worry about hyperglycemia. You can also:

Know your diet -- count the total amounts of carbs in each meal and snack.
Test your blood sugar regularly.
Tell your doctor if you have repeated abnormal blood sugar readings.
Wear medical identification to let people know you have diabetes in case of an emergency.

Understanding blood glucose level ranges can be a key part of diabetes self-management.

This page states ‘normal’ blood sugar ranges and blood sugar ranges for adults and children with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and blood sugar ranges to determine people with diabetes.

If a person with diabetes has a meter, test strips and is testing, it’s important to know what the blood glucose level means.

Recommended blood glucose levels have a degree of interpretation for every individual and you should discuss this with your healthcare team.

In addition, women may be set target blood sugar levels during pregnancy

The following ranges are guidelines provided by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) but each individual’s target range should be agreed by their doctor or diabetic consultant.

Recommended target blood glucose level ranges

The NICE recommended target blood glucose levels are stated below for adults with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and children with type 1 diabetes.

In addition, the International Diabetes Federation’s target ranges for people without diabetes is stated. [19] [89] [90]

The table provides general guidance. An individual target set by your healthcare team is the one you should aim for.

NICE recommended target blood glucose level ranges

Target Levels by Type	Upon waking	Before meals (pre prandial)	At least 90 minutes after meals (post prandial)
Non-diabetic*		4.0 to 5.9 mmol/L	under 7.8 mmol/L
Type 2 diabetes		4 to 7 mmol/L	under 8.5 mmol/L
Type 1 diabetes	5 to 7 mmol/L	4 to 7 mmol/L	5 to 9 mmol/L
Children w/ type 1 diabetes	4 to 7 mmol/L	4 to 7 mmol/L	5 to 9 mmol/L

*The non-diabetic figures are provided for information but are not part of NICE guidelines.

Normal and diabetic blood sugar ranges

For the majority of healthy individuals, normal blood sugar levels are as follows:

Between 4.0 to 5.4 mmol/L (72 to 99 mg/dL) when fasting [361]
Up to 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dL) 2 hours after eating

For people with diabetes, blood sugar level targets are as follows:

Before meals : 4 to 7 mmol/L for people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes
After meals : under 9 mmol/L for people with type 1 diabetes and under 8.5mmol/L for people with type 2 diabetes

Blood sugar levels in diagnosing diabetes

The following table lays out criteria for diagnoses of diabetes and prediabetes.

Blood sugar levels in diagnosing diabetes

Plasma glucose test	Normal	Prediabetes	Diabetes
Random	Below 11.1 mmol/l Below 200 mg/dl	N/A	11.1 mmol/l or more 200 mg/dl or more
Fasting	Below 5.5 mmol/l Below 100 mg/dl	5.5 to 6.9 mmol/l 100 to 125 mg/dl	7.0 mmol/l or more 126 mg/dl or more
2 hour post-prandial	Below 7.8 mmol/l Below 140 mg/dl	7.8 to 11.0 mmol/l 140 to 199 mg/dl	11.1 mmol/l or more 200 mg/dl or more

Random plasma glucose test

A blood sample for a random plasma glucose test can be taken at any time. This doesn’t require as much planning and is therefore used in the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes when time is of the essence.

Fasting plasma glucose test

A fasting plasma glucose test is taken after at least eight hours of fasting and is therefore usually taken in the morning.

The NICE guidelines regard a fasting plasma glucose result of 5.5 to 6.9 mmol/l as putting someone at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, particularly when accompanied by other risk factors for type 2 diabetes.

Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT)

An oral glucose tolerance test involves first taking a fasting sample of blood and then taking a very sweet drink containing 75g of glucose.

After having this drink you need to stay at rest until a further blood sample is taken after 2 hours.

HbA1c test for diabetes diagnosis

An HbA1c test does not directly measure the level of blood glucose, however, the result of the test is influenced by how high or low your blood glucose levels have tended to be over a period of 2 to 3 months.

Indications of diabetes or prediabetes are given under the following conditions:

Normal: Below 42 mmol/mol (6.0%)
Prediabetes: 42 to 47 mmol/mol (6.0 to 6.4%)
Diabetes: 48 mmol/mol (6.5% or over)

Why are good blood sugar levels important?

It is important that you control your blood glucose levels as well as you can as too high sugar levels for long periods of time increases the risk of diabetes complications developing.

Diabetes complications are health problems which include:

Kidney disease
Nerve damage
Retinal disease
Heart disease
Stroke

This list of problems may look scary but the main point to note is that the risk of these problems can be minimised through good blood glucose level control. Small improvements can make a big difference if you stay dedicated and maintain those improvements over most days.

What is a high blood sugar level for type 2 diabetes?

A fasting blood sugar level of 99 mg/dL or lower is normal, 100 to 125 mg/dL indicates you have prediabetes, and 126 mg/dL or higher indicates you have diabetes.

What is a good blood sugar level for a type 2 diabetes in the morning?

What should your blood sugar be when you wake up? Whenever possible, aim to keep your glucose levels in range between 70 and 130 mg/dL in the morning before you eat breakfast, and between 70 and 180 mg/dL at other times.