Know Your ABC's

Doctors measure how well you're doing by what kind of numbers you have. These aren't just any numbers. These are important numbers for helping you stay within the target levels set by the American Diabetes Association.

First there's the A1C. This is a fairly new number in the measurement of blood glucose. The A1C is a blood test that you get every three months. It gives your doctor a good picture of how regulated your daily blood sugars have been during the three month period. The range your doctor likes to see is under 6.5 or as close to that as possible. Your daily blood sugar ranges should be 90-130 mg/dl for fasting and before meals, and less than 180 mg/dl two hours after the start of a meal.

Good blood pressure is also an important goal for people with diabetes. Your doc likes to see it under 130/80 mmHg. And last, but certainly not least, your cholesterol is something that doctors want to see fall into a normal range. LDL's (or "bad" cholesterol) should be under 100 mg/dl. HDL's (or "good" cholesterol) should be above 40 or 50 mg/dl and triglycerides should be under 150 mg/dl. When all these numbers are within the target range, you can feel pretty good about good diabetes control.