It's post time Postprandial glucose (PPG) testing and you

Postprandial glucose (PPG) refers to the level of glucose in your body after eating a meal. PPG testing has been getting a lot of attention because it provides timely information about how a meal has affected your blood glucose. You are then better able to judge the effectiveness of your current dosage of insulin or medication in relation to that meal.

Set your target with your doctor
Talk to your doctor about your own target goals, including PPG test results and what they say about your diet and diabetes management Your doctor or diabetes-care team will consider your overall medical health and will give you a blood glucose target that:

• is as close to normal as possible
• you can safely achieve

The chart below shows you some recommended goals. Speak to your doctor or diabetes-care team about establishing your own target goals. Your treatment plan may need adjustment if your blood glucose falls outside your target range. ADA Glycemic Targets*

*ADA recommends that situations in which postprandial glucose (PPG) monitoring should be considered are (1) suspected postprandial hyperglycemia (pre-meal glucose targets met but HbA_1c is inappropriately high), (2) monitoring of treatment to lower PPG (to support titration, confirm response, or evaluate changes in nutrition, exercise patterns, or treatment that targets PPG), and (3) hypoglycemia. PPG monitoring is part of the routine management of diabetes in pregnancy. Normal 2-hour post-load glucose <140 mg/dL

Know your HbA_1c as well
Blood glucose monitoring tells you your blood glucose level at any one time. It changes not only from day to day, but throughout the day, depending on what you've eaten, stress, exercise, and many other factors.

To see the average amount of glucose that has been in your blood over the last two to three months, you need to have a special laboratory test done every three months or so.

This test, called a glycosylated hemoglobin test, is often referred to as hemoglobin A_1c or HbA_1c . This number gives you a better overall picture of your glucose control than do the results of your daily monitoring. Along with your daily monitoring, it is an important part of helping you to control your blood glucose and manage your diabetes.

A healthy person without diabetes will have an HbA_1c value that ranges from 4-6%. If your diabetes is under good control, your HbA_1c value should be below 7%.

The following table shows you how HbA_1c levels relate to average blood glucose values you get every day with your meter:

Reproduced with permission from Diabetes Forecast (March, 2001). Copyright ©2001 American Diabetes Association.