Have You Got Your Blood Sugar Checking Ritual in Place?

On a daily basis, you need to know how your medications, diet, and lifestyle changes are affecting your wellbeing when you have type 2 diabetes. According to Kathy Honick, RN, CDE, a diabetes educator at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, you don’t only test your wellness level with regular blood sugar testing, but you also ‘identify a pattern of highs and lows, which may be out of range,’ when your levels aren’t under control.

So when should you test your blood sugar? Your doctor will tell you what’s the best time for you in particular and when you should get in touch for more treatment or advice.

Commonly people with diabetes test before meals, especially breakfast, and sometimes you may need to check for low blood sugar levels before you go to sleep.  If your doctor says it’s ok to test less often every day, remember that when your body is stressed or ill, Honick advises that you increase your number of tests to 4 times a day, and report the results to your doctor.

When it comes to the test itself, wash your hands with soap and warm water, and dry them thoroughly. Then, prick your fingertip using a small device called a lancet as you need a drop or two of blood for the test. This isn’t pain-free at first, but it gets easier as you do it more often. Put the blood on a test strip and insert the strip into a small machine or reader, called a glucometer. This will tell you how much sugar is detectable in your blood. You can get a recommendation for a glucometer from your diabetes educator or a nurse at your diabetes clinic, as they have some that they are familiar with. Sometimes companies give away free glucometers so you’ll try their product, or your doctor may give you a free one anyway.

Once you’ve tested your blood sugar, you should use a logbook to record your readings according to the times of day you check them. You can do this online or use a small notebook, just make sure that you bring a copy of your logbook to your medical appointments so that your doctor or nurse can look at it to check for patterns or problems.