Normal diabetic blood sugar depends on the patient. When people ask about what is my blood sugar goal we say typically if A1c is above 5.7% but less than 6.5% is the goal for a young patient. A1c is more than 6.5% can still be ok for some patients. The goal of diabetes control depends on the patient. Some patient’s goal is less than 6.5%, and for some others, it is less than 8%. Your diabetes specialist/endocrinologist will determine your target. The goal is determined based on multiple clinical factors. Make sure that you discuss your A1c target with your diabetes specialist and endocrinologist, and understand your goals clearly.

For example, it may be unreasonable for an 85-year-old patient who has had diabetes for 20 years to ask for an A1c target of less than 6%. It is also absurd to target for 7.5% A1c in a 30-year-old overall healthy individual. So we determine A1c goal by multiple clinical factors such as life expectancy, duration of diabetes, risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), presence of advanced diabetes complications such as the history of heart attacks and strokes, chronic kidney disease, neuropathy (diabetic nerve damage) and retinopathy (diabetic eye disease).