by Mr. Ashur
(Kuwait)
Question from Mr. Ashur:
I checked my blood sugar with a finger-stick meter 2 hours and 30 minutes after breakfast, and it was 173 mg/dL. I weigh 103 kg, my height is about 5 feet 8 inches, I am 61 years old, and I often feel very tired. My blood pressure is usually 140/90 even after taking my medication. Does this mean I have diabetes or am close to the danger zone?
A blood sugar of 173 mg/dL, or about 9.6 mmol/L, 2½ hours after breakfast is higher than usually expected in a person without diabetes, but one home reading cannot diagnose diabetes or prediabetes.
Because you are 61, have excess weight, persistent tiredness, and blood pressure around 140/90 despite treatment, please arrange a medical appointment soon for a fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, blood pressure review, cholesterol and kidney tests, and a medication review.
Answer by Dr. Albana Greca, MD, MMedSc
Dear Mr. Ashur,
Thank you for sharing your reading and health details. I would not diagnose diabetes from this result alone, but I would not dismiss it as completely normal either.
Blood sugar normally rises after eating, especially after a meal containing bread, rice, cereal, juice, sweets, or other carbohydrates. The meaning of 173 mg/dL depends on what you ate, when the meal started, whether your hands were clean, and whether this is a repeated pattern.
For many adults who already have diabetes, a common treatment target is below 180 mg/dL about 1–2 hours after the start of a meal. However, that is a diabetes treatment target—not a “normal” diagnostic range for a person without diabetes.
In adults without diabetes, glucose is often below 140 mg/dL around 2 hours after eating. A reading of 173 mg/dL therefore deserves follow-up, especially because it was still elevated 2½ hours after breakfast.
No. A home glucose meter reading after an ordinary meal is not the same as a laboratory diagnostic test. The range of 140–199 mg/dL is used for prediabetes only when glucose is measured 2 hours after a standardized oral glucose tolerance test—not after a normal breakfast.
Diabetes is usually evaluated with one or more of the following:
When there are no clear symptoms or crisis, an abnormal result usually needs confirmation. Our guide to blood tests used to diagnose diabetes explains these tests in more detail.
Food, fruit, juice, or sugar residue on the fingers can falsely raise a meter result. Wash and dry your hands before checking again. Use an unexpired strip stored correctly and record the time from the start of the meal.
A blood sugar log can help you record fasting and after-meal readings, meals, symptoms, activity, and medicines. Do not repeatedly test in place of arranging laboratory evaluation.
If your height is 5 feet 8 inches, a weight of 103 kg gives a body mass index of about 34.5 kg/m², which is in the obesity range. BMI is only a screening measure, but excess weight can increase insulin resistance and the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, fatty liver disease, sleep apnea, heart disease, and kidney disease.
Do not begin an extreme diet or stop eating carbohydrates. Ask your doctor about a realistic weight-management plan based on balanced portions, more vegetables and fiber, fewer sugary drinks, and activity that is safe for your heart, joints, and blood pressure.
A blood pressure around 140/90 while taking medication suggests that control may not be adequate, although treatment goals must be individualized. Do not increase, stop, or switch your blood pressure medicine by yourself.
Bring a complete medication list and several home blood pressure readings to your doctor. Measure after sitting quietly for 5 minutes, with your back supported, feet on the floor, arm supported at heart level, and a correctly sized upper-arm cuff.
Your doctor may review medicine timing, missed doses, salt intake, kidney function, sleep apnea, and other causes of difficult-to-control blood pressure.
Tiredness can occur with high blood sugar, but it is not specific to diabetes. Other possible causes include anemia, thyroid disease, sleep apnea, heart or kidney problems, infection, poor sleep, medication effects, or depression.
Because you are 61 and have persistent fatigue with hypertension, ask for a complete medical assessment rather than assuming that glucose is the only cause.
Seek urgent medical care for chest pain, severe shortness of breath, fainting, confusion, new weakness or numbness on one side, a severe unusual headache, or blood pressure around 180/120 or higher. Also seek prompt care for repeated glucose of 200 mg/dL or higher with severe thirst, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, vomiting, dehydration, or worsening weakness.
Mr. Ashur, 173 mg/dL after breakfast is not an emergency by itself and does not prove diabetes, but your age, weight, fatigue, and blood pressure make proper testing important. Please do not rely only on occasional home readings.
Educational safety note: This answer is for general diabetes education only. It does not replace personal medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Do not start, stop, or change blood pressure medicine, diabetes medicine, supplements, diet, or exercise plans without speaking with your healthcare provider.
Last reviewed: July 2026.
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