Blood sugar of 104. Is this bad?

Nursing Students General Students

Published

:uhoh3: I'm worried now!.. I know the normal blood sugar is 70-110.
Specializes in Psych.

Normals depend on the facility. Ours is 70-99. If it falls in the normal range for the lab you deal with, then yes its normal.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

Why would you be worried if it is within the normal range? Yes, it's a "high normal," but it is still normal. Why the worry? What else is going on that is causing you to worry? Do you always worry about normal lab results?

Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

I occasionally have patients who panic if their lab/VS results are not at dead center of the normal range. I tell them that as long as you are within normal limits, 95% of the time it's fine. I say 95% so I have an out...just in case.

If this is for a class, remember that values are not static: they're going to fluctuate based on many factors. That's why there is a normal range--to allow for normal variations.

If you are concerned about your blood sugar, then you're better off talking to your healthcare provider, as they're can give you medical advice...whereas we can't.

Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.

It is hard to answer without knowing the context of your question. Is this a fasting blood sugar on someone with diabetes? On a pregnant woman? Is this after treatment of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia?

As Meriwhen pointed out, normal values fluctuate and it's often better to look at lab values as a trend rather than as singular values. Just as we can't assume that the person with a singular blood pressure reading of 150/90 is hypertensive, we cannot make assumptions on one blood glucose result that is slightly above normal for most people.

Additionally, we cannot rule out user error as a cause for an abnormal blood sugar value. If you're using a reagent strip (like an Accuchek) you will have different readings if you don't get enough blood on the strip, if you don't get the blood on quickly enough, if the strip is contaminated by body oils or water or even if the finger of the person being tested is not clean and there are traces of sugar on his/her finger.

If you can give us a bit more information, I think we might be able to help you answer this question. However, if this is a question for your own health concerns, we will need to close the thread because we are prohibited from giving medical advice here on this forum.

I took my blood sugar lvl this morning using the blood glucose test strip. I'm in NPO midnight.

Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

You need to pose your concerns about your blood sugar to your healthcare provider. We cannot advise you as you require.

We hope that all turns out o.k. Take care...

Thread closed.

+ Add a Comment