Self Monitoring
Testing your blood sugar is an integral part of diabetes management. Testing helps you monitor your diabetes and make adjustments in your diet and exercise regimen as needed. The goal is to keep your blood sugar level as close to normal as possible. In doing so, you can delay or even prevent many long-term health problems caused by high blood sugar. Besides testing your blood sugar, you also need to chart and track your blood sugar results to find patterns and make changes in your regimen as needed.
Ask Yourself "WHY?"
If you discover a pattern in your blood sugar level that is above or below your target range, problem-solve by asking questions:
- Did I change my meal plan or eat any unusual food?
- Did I change my exercise routine?
- Did I forget to take my medication, take too little or too much, or take it at the wrong time?
- Was I stressed about something?
- Do I have an infection or illness developing?
- Did I drink alcohol?
- Did I take a new medication that may affect blood sugar?
Answering these questions will help you avoid extremes in future blood sugar levels. Keeping your blood sugar levels within your target range will help prevent or slow the development of complications that affect the kidneys, eyes, nerves, heart, and gums.
Ask Your Diabetic Specialist Nurse How You Can Improve Blood Sugar Control
How well are you managing your diabetes? Of course, you also need to work with your diabetic specialist nurse to monitor your blood sugar control and make improvements. Questions you may want to ask include:
- How often and under what conditions should I test my blood sugar?
- What should I do with the results?
- What patterns in my blood sugar results should I try to achieve?
- What is my hemoglobin A1c (a test that measures average blood sugar level over the past two to three months)?
- How can I get my hemoglobin A1c in the normal range?
- Do I have microalbuminuria (detection of tiny amounts of albumin in urine indicating early diabetic kidney disease)?
- When should I get together with a dietitian to review what I eat?
- What exercises are best for me?
- What adjustments to my food or medication should I make if I plan to exercise?