Diabetes and sugar levels: This is all new to me.

With numbers like you have, there is no need to wait to change your diet, for safety reasons. Start avoiding sweets, read labels and choose the lowest number of carbs in bread, cut down on white potatoes, eat lean meat without sauces or extensive processing and do it without feeling like you are depriving yourself. You will notice a difference in how you feel, even before your doctor gives his advice. Eat something with fat when you do eat something sweet and the blood sugar spike will not be so high. Read labels on bread. Try to find something that is about 15 grams because that is one serving of carbs. It is easier than you think and you need not fear your health risk so much. We are trying to let you know this is serious business right now. Dorisena

Thank you so much. I'm not able to control my fathers diet. I wish I could. Thanks again, Coni

Thanks for good advice harold and Dorisema. I used the hamburger fries as an extreme example .simply to ask if the spike from it is still within the target figure of 10 mmol/l ( A1C8 or 183 mg ) is that so bad occasionaly? I do tend to eat well mostly, as a longtime fan of the low glycemic diet but for late night ice cream cravings (now gone). Oddly my polycystic kidney disease raises my potassium levels which also cuts out potatos bananas tomatos whole grain bread, brown rice, nuts beans.

Thanks for the explanation of the chart because I am really uneducated about this approach. I know that an AIC of 7 or below is an acceptable standard in the medical community, but after 14 years of diabetes, i choose to work on a normal level of 6 for better health and I know the effects of food choice very well.
In August i was in the hospital overnight after my son, an experienced paramedic, called the squad because of a suspected TIA. My tests showed I had no stroke or damage, but my mother had many little TIA's before she had a huge stroke and spent over six years in a nursing home, a mental vegetable.
Wise food choices that are low sugar producing in the blood can reduce risk of damage from strokes. Diabetes can damage the eyes, the hearing, and eventually the mind, as was the case with my late husband. We lived with his dementia for at least 15 years without being able to get his cooperation in eating a better diet for him, and for improving the economics of our family business. We waited it out until he died in the hospital, paralyzed from a tumor wrapped around his spine, and in total denial that it was hopeless. At that point he existed in a dream world and made up unbelievable stories when he was not unconscious from the drug pump for the pain. So you can understand my concern for the high blood sugar numbers. I am sharing that I love to cook and I love to eat, and I want others to know the benefits of eating for better health. In the end, it is a choice each of us make, I understand. Dorisena

What about vision issues

Thanks for sharing about the kidney disease because i read about it briefly when a friend was diagnosed. My doctor says I am fine, but at my age chronic problems can occur before I realize it. Gee, I would hate to give up my bananas and tomatoes but have been successful at keeping my salt in my diet at normal or lower levels. This is why we can't tell a person what to eat as different people have different conditions to deal with. We just know what works for us in general, and share our successes. I wish I could get some healthy weight loss but my chronic back pain limits my walking. Today is a good day. Dorisena

Constant high blood sugar levels damage your eyes and can lead to blindness, as it did with my sister, along with smoking, as well. She took massive supplements and had shots in her eyes, but could not drive or watch much TV. She was obese, would not change her diet, and declined in several ways.
She was diagnosed with Schizophrenia, went to the hospital every few weeks, spent her last days in a chair, dozing and drooling from the mouth. I don't know how her husband managed to care for her as she was incontinent. I couldn't reason with her for a number of years and gave up trying. My husband went to the eye specialist regularly and always bragged about how good his eyes were, but we quit riding in a vehicle with him because of bad driving.
He sat in his room at night without the lights off and watched old black and white shows on TV He lived in denial and told lies for a hobby. It was pitiful.
Doctors don't want to tell you and alarm you at first because they don't think it helps your approach and they think you won't continue treatment. Dorisena

I understand, Coni. I couldn't reason with my sister and my sister-in-law and her daughter criticized me often for not "helping" my sister.
They did not understand what co-dependency is all about. They knew nothing of my sister's mental state. I mourned my sister's death for a very long time because I knew her better than anyone else, including her husband, and I mourned the many good years we had together. It is not too late for us to be successful with our health and supporting each other in our efforts. Dorisena

My vision today has been a little out of focus I'm already nearsighted with astigmatism in both eyes

My cousin's doctor told her to not let her blood sugar get over 160 each day, but that seems strict to me if you are an active person. She is not as strict on eating as I am and eats Cheerios for breakfast and nothing else. So I am thinking the daily blood sugar high limit should vary with the person. I am an emotional eater at times, and am learning to not do that anymore. I would never endorse high numbers over 200 on a regular basis. A neighbor was in a diabetic coma for days after eating half of a chocolate cake. He lived. Diabetes is not funny. Dorisena