Well, it's been three days now since I stopped injecting insulin. How has it gone? First, the base line. My physician (an internist) tells me that two hours after a meal, it should be 165 or below. Another expert says it should be 120 or below within two hours after a meal, and that "normal" people are usually 100 or below within two hours after a meal. Each of the past three days, I have been between 110 and 118 one or two hours after a meal. So while I am not quite normal (you all knew that anyway), I am well below the threshold set by my physician and her diabetes educator, and below what the other expert cited above suggests. The blood sugar reading one to two hours after a meal is the best predictor of health (less than 120) or complications (greater than 140) and experts suggest this is the most important indicator to follow.
Fasting blood sugars, or your reading first thing in the morning, for normal people are between 70 and 85. My physician says a "normal" reading is between 70 and 110. Anything above 110 is a cause for concern. My fasting blood sugars have been on the high side, averaging 134 for the past three days. I am seeing if some of the foods I am consuming are affecting that blood sugar reading and if that doesn't come down, I will probably go back on a low dose of insulin for a while. However, the critical indicator, less than 120 one to two hours after a meal, is fine, so I will wait and see for the next few days before resuming injections.
One month ago, despite injecting 26 units a day of Lantos a day, my blood sugars were all much higher. Today, they are in much greater control than they have been in for years, and I believe the low carb diet is working. It may just take a bit of time to get my readings into the normal range.
Here is a handy one-page flyer from the Blood Sugar 101 website, that explains what to do to lower your blood sugar levels.
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