Importance of RANDOM BLOOD GLUCOSE TEST in management of diabetes.

Two days ago (12th Nov. 2015) i was trying to be sure of an appropriate lunch for my mum. I asked her to come and get her glucose level checked before we decide if she can have semovita for lunch, she said but i had breakfast already, i went wop!
I realized that all these years we have been managing diabetes, we have never had a RANDOM GLUCOSE TEST done for her. I had to start preaching, explaining the meaning of random glucose test. She didn't quite accept the test, we did it anyway, the result was 10.6mmol/L and my mum screamed that is very high. i had to do the second round of preaching to let her know the value for her as a diabetic is not bad.
Just like my mum i realized a lot of diabetics and of course other healthy individuals may not know about other test methods to keep their blood glucose in check and of course achieve adequate control.

This brings us to the question: WHAT IS RANDOM BLOOD GLUCOSE TEST?
Random blood glucose is the test you can do at anytime of the day. It doesn't require any special preparation unlike the fasting blood glucose test. Your blood sample can be tested at anytime of the day whether you have eaten or not.
There are expected value ranges for this test.

• Non-diabetics, the expected value 2 hours after meal is 7.8mmol/L and random is expected to be less than 11.0mmol/L.
• Diabetics, target value for type 1 is 9.0mmol/L and 8.5mmol/L for type 2 individuals. In general random blood glucose in diabetics is usually above 11.1mmol/L (200mg/dl). 
• Target value in well controlled patients is aimed at 125mg/dl.

*To convert mg/dl to mmol/L divide by 18 ie 125mg/dl /18 = 6.9mmol/L.

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF RANDOM GLUCOSE TESTING?
Random blood glucose test varies greatly throughout the day in everybody, diabetic or not. The value at every point in time depends greatly on the time one had his last meal. The father away from the time of last meal before the test,the lower the result of the test.
For a diabetic, the test helps you stay check and make decisions on how best to manage your sugar level.