Were the blood glucose parameters changed in the last few years?

Here’s a Medical News Today article people with diabetes have a different target range of 80–130 mg/dL.

They do change the normal values, but usually ‘they’ is the lab who does your bloodwork. We run samples with known values made by companies. They’re called ‘controls’ (low value, normal value, high value). They are run at the beginning of each shift (so 3 x/day). After running a certain batch number for a month or more, those results, which have been recorded, are examined statistically. At some point, it may be decided to change the normal range, but it rarely ever changes more than a point or two. So some day you may notice that your range is 65–100. The ranges also usually differ from lab to lab as a function of the equipment used to run the test. This is true for almost all lab tests.

I seriously doubt that that Big Pharma is in cahoots with every laboratory in America.

@smudges She didn’t mean in cahoots with the labs. She meant pushing for lower parameters to push drugs.

But, I told her that endocrinologists pushed for years to change the normal range for TSH, because they observed over and over again people were symptomatic at the upper end of normal. It wasn’t to push drugs. It is a big problem, because GP’s usually just look at the normal range.

Also, the D range changed because of studies done with the parathyroid function, maybe other studies also. It turned out a lot of doctors have observed other benefits from the higher D. Now lots of studies are done regarding D and what is a healthy number.

She doesn’t want to accept she has diabetes. That is very common to not want to accept what is often a chronic health problem. She was so excited her number was normal, and when I said normal for a person with diabetes, she didn’t want to hear me. That’s ok. She will pay more and more attention to her glucose numbers now and she will see the lab range eventually. She wants to believe the range is low, because she is still in some denial. I think if she loses weight she might get rid of the diabetes, she has a chance anyway. I also think the glucophage is helping her lose weight.

Her A1C is of bigger concern. I have D2 as well and that’s what my doc told me anyway. Unless her fasting glucose is really high. I too am supposed to be under 130. I don’t know about the healthy range as that’s not me anymore :p

@anniereborn Her fasting glucose was 318 and FINALLY she was willing to take the drug. It’s been high for over a year and then the 318 I think she got a lecture from the doctor and I also told her to stop it and to take the pill! I don’t remember her A1C exactly, I think it was 9.1. It had been in the sevens and then this last time was super much higher.

She has been taking the the medicine several weeks now and really cut back on carbs and now her glucose seems to be hovering around 120 to 130.

Just boggles my mind how people only hear what they want to hear, but I know I am guilty of it too. She was feeling like she was normal again, like someone who is not diabetic, but she isn’t. Not yet anyway. I hop she can get off the medicine altogether if she wants too.

She looks very PCOS to me, but she says she didn’t have the symptoms, but yes she does have a lot of them. I feel like a lot of PCOS women go years with bad sugar numbers and no one is checking them. Their glucose might be fine, but their A1C probably isn’t good, but most doctors don’t check A1C in young women. She’s 62, I am just talking about in general.

Update. She’s been taking Glucophage and eating better for a month and her glucose has been 110–130 and her A1C is below 8. So, everything is great. I’m sure when they test her at the 90 Day mark in two months her A1C will be below 7 at the rate she’s going.