Manage Type 2 Diabetes: Avoid Blood Sugar Swings

Understanding Blood Sugar Levels with Type 2 Diabetes

As someone living with type 2 diabetes, keeping your blood sugar levels in a healthy range is crucial for managing your condition. Avoiding major spikes and drops in blood sugar can prevent symptoms in the short-term and reduce your risk of complications down the road.

But what exactly are healthy blood sugar levels? And what steps can you take to maintain these levels throughout the day?

Here is an overview of target blood sugar ranges, how to monitor your levels, and practical tips to prevent blood sugar highs and lows with type 2 diabetes.

Ideal Blood Sugar Goals

The American Diabetes Association recommends the following blood sugar goals for most non-pregnant adults with diabetes:

• Fasting blood sugar (before breakfast): 70-130 mg/dL
• 1-2 hours after meals: Less than 180 mg/dL
• Bedtime: 110-150 mg/dL

However, your doctor may advise slightly different targets based on your age, duration of diabetes, medications, and other health conditions. Work closely with your healthcare provider to determine optimal blood sugar ranges for you.

Checking Your Blood Sugar

Checking your blood sugar at different times throughout the day is key for spotting patterns and making appropriate lifestyle adjustments to maintain healthy levels.

Test your blood sugar:

• First thing when you wake up, before eating or taking medications
• 1-2 hours after the start of each meal
• Before bedtime
• Occasionally after exercise or during periods of low blood sugar symptoms

Keep a log of your results and share them with your doctor. This helps determine if treatment adjustments are needed.

Having real-time data on your blood sugar takes the guesswork out of diabetes management. Your healthcare team can provide a glucose meter and test strips to check levels with a small sample of blood.

Preventing After-Meal Blood Sugar Spikes

Consuming meals with too many carbohydrates or improper portion sizes often leads to a spike in blood sugar 1-2 hours later. Symptoms of high blood sugar include thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, blurry vision, and headache.

Here are some tips to prevent significant rises in blood sugar after you eat:

• Include lean protein and healthy fats - they help slow digestion and the rise in blood sugar
• Choose whole grain, high fiber carbohydrates - they are absorbed more gradually
• Read nutrition labels and be aware of serving sizes
• Limit sugary foods and beverages
• Stay hydrated by drinking water
• Take a short walk after eating
• Take diabetes medications as prescribed with meals

Avoiding Low Blood Sugar

It's also important to prevent blood sugar from dropping too low, known as hypoglycemia. This occurs when blood sugar falls below 70 mg/dL. Symptoms include shakiness, sweating, irritability, hunger, dizziness, and fatigue.

You're more likely to experience hypoglycemia if you:

• Take insulin or certain other diabetes medications
• Delay or miss a meal
• Exercise more than usual without adjusting food or medication

To help prevent low blood sugar:

• Eat regular meals and snacks no more than 4-5 hours apart
• Always have a fast-acting carb on hand like glucose tablets or candy
• Check blood sugar before strenuous activity and have a snack beforehand if needed
• Wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace
• Tell friends and family how to recognize and treat low blood sugar

Treating hypoglycemia requires quickly raising blood sugar back to a normal level by consuming 15-20 grams of fast-acting carbs such as juice, glucose gel, or hard candies.

Lifestyle Changes for Blood Sugar Control

Along with monitoring your blood sugar and being prepared to treat highs and lows, making certain lifestyle adjustments can promote more consistent levels.

Focus on Nutritious Eating

Following a type 2 diabetes-friendly meal plan is essential for blood sugar management. This includes:

• Emphasizing non-starchy vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, lean proteins, and healthy fats
• Controlling portions to maintain a healthy weight
• Limiting processed foods, sweets, sugary beverages, and refined grains like white bread

A registered dietitian can help design an eating plan with the right nutrients and carbohydrate amounts to meet your blood sugar goals. Planning meals and snacks in advance and being prepared when hunger strikes are key.

Increase Physical Activity

Along with a nutritious diet, exercising regularly promotes lower blood sugar by making your cells more sensitive to insulin so it can work effectively. Physical activity also burns glucose for energy.

Aim for at least 30 minutes per day of moderate activity like brisk walking. Moving more throughout your day with activities like taking the stairs, gardening, and cleaning around the house is also beneficial.

Pay attention to your blood sugar levels before, during, and after exercise to understand your body's response. This allows you to take precautions against hypoglycemia.

Lose Excess Weight

Carrying excess weight, especially around the abdomen, contributes to insulin resistance and high blood sugar. Losing even 5-10% of your body weight can improve blood sugar control if you have prediabetes or diabetes.

Work with your doctor to design a safe weight loss plan. Make changes to your eating habits and physical activity levels. Many people benefit from guidance from a dietitian or certified diabetes educator as well.

Quit Smoking

Smoking worsens insulin resistance and makes blood sugar management more difficult. Kicking the habit can immediately improve diabetes control and reduce your risk of complications.

Talk to your doctor about medications and counseling programs that can increase your chances of successfully quitting smoking.

Limit Alcohol

Consuming alcohol, especially on an empty stomach, can cause blood sugar to drop dangerously low. Alcohol also impacts liver function, potentially causing blood sugar to rise due to decreased insulin sensitivity.

If you choose to drink, do so occasionally and moderately by limiting it to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. Also, check your blood sugar before drinking and eating anything with it to prevent lows.

Manage Stress

High stress causes the body to release hormones that lead to glucose intolerance and spikes in blood sugar. Develop healthy coping mechanisms like meditation, deep breathing, exercising, journaling, or talking to a friend or therapist.

Making diabetes self-care routines easier can also minimize day-to-day stress. For example, preparing weekly menus and cooking bulk meals ahead of time.

Using Technology for Blood Sugar Tracking and Reminders

Taking advantage of technology provides convenient ways to analyze blood sugar patterns and get helpful reminders for optimal diabetes management.

Diabetes Apps

Diabetes apps provide useful features like:

• Storing blood sugar readings in one place and identifying trends over time
• Setting reminders for when to check blood sugar or take medications
• Alerting for highs and lows based on your target ranges
• Sending data automatically from glucose meters to your smartphone
• Healthy recipes and meal planning assistance
• Physical activity tracking

Ask your healthcare team to recommend apps tailored to your specific needs and diabetes treatment plan.

Continuous Glucose Monitors

Rather than only getting snapshots of your blood sugar sporadically, continuous glucose monitoring provides real-time data. A sensor inserted under the skin measures interstitial fluid glucose levels every few minutes which transmits wirelessly to a monitor or smartphone app.

Seeing trends and getting alerts for highs and lows allows prompt intervention with food or medication to prevent your blood sugar from getting too out-of-range.

Talk to your doctor about whether CGM would be appropriate for your diabetes management.

Insulin Pumps and Hybrid Closed Loop Systems

Some people use insulin pumps to get continuous as-needed insulin rather than injections. You program a basal rate, or background insulin, as well as bolus doses at mealtimes.

Hybrid closed loop systems connect an insulin pump with a CGM. Based on your glucose levels, an algorithm determines how much insulin you need and provides small automatic doses every 5 minutes to keep your blood sugar in range.

Newer "smart" insulin pens also connect with apps to track dosing. Speak with your doctor about technology tools to automate and enhance your diabetes care.

Working with Your Healthcare Team

Successfully avoiding blood sugar highs and lows requires diligently checking your levels, making healthy lifestyle modifications, and using medication and technology tools as prescribed.

But you don't have to do it alone. Collaborating with your healthcare team provides the education, support, and treatment adjustments necessary to stay on track.

Meet with your doctor regularly to review your blood sugar log, discuss challenges, and set goals. Ask for referrals to specialists like endocrinologists, dietitians, and diabetes educators for additional guidance.

With the right strategies tailored to your needs, you can keep your blood sugar under control and reduce the risk of diabetes complications. Small consistent steps towards healthy eating, physical activity, weight loss, and using medication wisely can make a big difference.

Stay motivated by noticing even small improvements in your blood sugar trends. Managing type 2 diabetes well is a journey taking one day at a time.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.