How low should I go is tight blood sugar control worth the extra effort?
Pushing your blood sugar below 150 to 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) may eliminate most or all noticeable diabetes symptoms. But experts strongly recommend that you continue lowering your sugar, to nearly normal levels. Tight blood-sugar control requires treatment with more than one medicine in most people who have had diabetes for five to 10 years. You have to pay close attention to your sugar levels, with frequent at-home monitoring. So, is this effort worth the trouble? Yes, it is worthwhile, in almost every case. As you get your sugars closer to normal, you will reduce your risk of health problems caused by diabetes. This was shown in the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study. It was the largest study of type 2 diabetes patients in history. Results of this study allow us to predict how much benefit you will see from tight control. Let’s say you are able to lower your hemoglobin A1C (one measure of sugar control) from 9% to 8%, or from 8% to 7%. (Normal is usually about 6.
