I have recently been diagnosed type II and prescribed 2x850 Metformin. I test myself for suger levels and I am now averaging 8.4 . I am having a job finding out what I should be aiming for, everything on the net is in hundreds whilst my machine doesn't. Some say I should be aiming for 3 to 7 others say 12 is OK. Could anyone enlighten me- thanks

I am from Canada and we read our gluclose meters in milimoles. Our normal range is from 4 to 6. Is there anyone out there who could tell me how to convert read from the american meters. Also-I check my gluclose 1 1/2 to 2 hours after eating and if reading is between 7 and 11 that is normal.

thanks that is helpful, I have been wondering whether I need to do more to get my levels down further, I also don't like taking metformin and wonder if there is a way of reducing it, more excersise maybe.

Hi,
Multiply your reading by 18 to get the "american" reading.
8.4 is the same as 151.2

Hi Malowe. I'm trying to avoid meds also. The first few weeks I was taking my BG's and taking Diamicron my BG was never below 8. I went low carb for a couple of days and my BG's were pretty much normal, 5 - 7.

I quit the meds, and apart from my first BG before breakfast being a little high, ~7.5, can keep them in the normal range, as far as I can tell testing 5 or 6 times a day, with a low carb diet, cycling one day and lifting weights the next.

I find that I can tolerate more carbohydrate after exercise and also later in the day.

Experiment with diet and exercise.

My diet is a little bit too low carb for my liking. Sometimes I do pig out on bread and muesli and my BG's go up to 10 or 12, but I can get it down quick with a half hours exercise.

Maybe one day I will find that the meds allow me more control and a higher carb intake but I want to see how I go without.

I don't feel great a lot of the time but don't know whether that's directly related to diabetes or not. But I have found that I can still put on muscle on a fairly low carb diet. And my cholesterol and triglycerides while never high are lower after 3 months of a relatively high protein, high natural fat diet.

Regards, RoddyM