between 20-60.Blood sugar ideally should be tested 4 to 6 times daily, before meals and approximately two hours after. This will allow you to see the whole pattern of how your body responds to diet, exercise, and insulin. A broader, more long ranged, blood sugar test is the Hemoglobin A1c. Hemoglobin is the protein in the red blood cells that carries oxygen to various parts of the body. If the blood sugar is high, sugar attaches to the hemoglobin and remains there for the life of the red blood cell (2 to 3 months). They call hemoglobin with sugar-attached hemoglobin A1c, thus reflecting how often blood sugars have been high for the past 2 to 3 months. Normal values of hemoglobin A1c for a non-diabetic person are 4 to 6 %, while an acceptable level for a diabetic would be anything below 10.4 %. Before insulin was developed in 1921, there was little hope for people with Type I Diabetes. Most insulin used today is genetically engineered replacing the old purified pork insulin. There are two major types of insulin, short acting regular and long acting NPH. Regular insulin begins to act within a half hour after being injected. It has a peak effect 1 to 4 hours after the injection and lasts up to 6 hours. NPH, neutral protamine hagedorn, insulin is made with a protein that allows it to be used slowly. NPH has its peak activity 6 to 12 hours after injection, and is usually gone in 18 to 24 hours. Most people take two injections of insulin per day, a half hour before breakfast and dinner. The time between the injection and the eating of the meal can be varied according to the pre-meal blood sugar test results. Insulin can be adjusted to how hungry you are or the kindOf food being eaten (Foods high in sugar and carbohydrates require more insulin to break down). Another insulin therapy is to only take shots of regular insulin to cover what you eat. This will result in tighter blood sugar control if done correctly, but can be incon...
