This is gonna be a total rant. But sometimes it's fun to just have this conversation with people who may not come across this much. Effectively I'm talking about this question when you have any particular doctor visit usually not with your endocrinologist or the person who is helping you manage your diabetes. I'm talking more about like at your dentist or your podiatrist or your eye doctor. Also just let me preface by saying people have the best intentions when they ask this kind of thing, but I loathe it (not really but you could see how it would be kind of grating).
Let's just start with the first part. This is honestly how I get posed this question a lot. And people really do say "sugars". Like I half expect Wilford Brimley to pop out on a horse and try to sell me some stuff on Liberty Medical.
Really, the most difficult thing about a question like this is that it is just practically impossible to answer. It basically can only generate a response of "fine" or "good". No one is going to say "Oh, just awful, I eat what I want, when I want, and honestly the stress of management is overwhelming." I mean, imagine you said that to the dentist 😆. Either this or I just want to say, "Oh, ya know, anywhere from 40 to 400". Honestly, the answer is that it's incredibly complicated, dictated by more factors than I can count, that vary daily.
Just to name a few (thanks to Copilot, and my personal experience)...
...deep breath!
Carbohydrate content, protein intake, fat content, fiber content, glycemic index, meal timing, portion sizes, food combinations, meal preparation methods, food temperature, exercise type, exercise intensity, exercise duration, exercise timing, fitness level, recovery time, insulin timing, insulin type, insulin dosage, insulin absorption rate, other medications, illness, inflammation, dehydration, medical procedures, sleep quality, sleep duration, stress levels, weather changes, altitude changes, time zones, seasonal changes, dawn phenomenon, circadian rhythms, growth hormone, cortisol patterns, adrenaline, age-related changes, glucose meter accuracy, test strip quality, calibration issues, user technique, environmental factors affecting equipment, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, diabetes burnout, social situations...and on and on.
