My friend gave me a glucometer to track my blood sugar level. I tracked it for one day, and my levels went from 60 to 185. I have tested it other times and been as low as 37 and as high as 235. I had a test done at the doctor's office that tested your sugar level average over the past few weeks. The test came back normal. That's when I tracked it for a day. I tested every hour. My average reading was probably around 100, but like I said, it drops very low and jumps high. I can't deal with the lows. The highs I can live with, but the lows are very scary for me. What should I ask my doctor about?

Thanks for your question. The test that your doctor performed is called a Hemoglobin A1c level. It reflects the average blood sugar level for the preceding three-month period, and, as you report, it was normal. However, since this test looks backward in time and is an "average" of the ambient blood glucose levels, it may not reveal the type of fluctuations that you detected in the one-day glucometer testing you performed.

I would recommend that you perform glucometer testing over a one-week period now. You should check blood glucose before each meal (three times per day) and at bedtime. You should also check blood glucose two hours after each meal, but only on one or two days when you are eating a representative food intake. Then, bring this data to your physician for his or her review so a determination can be made if you are or are not developing diabetes or only have mild glucose intolerance (this is called pre-diabetes).

I hope that this advice helps you. Be well!

Bruce Biller, MD

-- Dr. Bruce Biller is an internist with subspecialty training in endocrinology and a special interest in diabetes. He is director of the Harvard Business School Health Services and physician to the Harvard University Health Services.

First published February 26, 2007
Copyright © 2007 Consumer Health Interactive