When To Check My Blood Sugar

How To Reduce The Pain Of Blood Sugar Checks

Nobody gets excited about pricking their fingertip. In fact, studies have shown that it’s one of the main reasons people refrain from regularly checking their blood glucose.6,7 So how can you make this less of a hurdle in your self-care?

Select a less-painful lancing device

Naturally, one factor that can contribute to the pain is your lancing device. That’s why we’ve worked hard to ensure that Accu-Chek lancing devices keep discomfort to a minimum. For example, our lancing devices feature:

• Technology that minimizes side-to-side motion, so there’s less skin tearing
• 11 customizable depth settings to help match your skin type
• Precisely manufactured, beveled, thin-gauge lancets to ensure smoother entry

You can reduce pain by using a fresh lancet for every test. Today’s lancets are so tiny that just a single use can bend or dull the tips. This can make them hurt more as you reuse them.

5 tips for reducing fingertip pain

You can make testing more comfortable and help ensure that you get a good sample on the first try by following these 5 easy steps.

How Often Should I Check My Blood Sugar

The number of times that you check your blood sugar will depend on the type of diabetes that you have and the type of medicine you take to treat your diabetes. For example, people who take insulin may need to check more often than people who do not take insulin. Talk with your health care team about how often to check your blood sugar.

The common times for checking your blood sugar are when you first wake up , before a meal, 2 hours after a meal, and at bedtime. Talk with your health care team about what times are best for you to check your blood sugar.

How Do Carbs Affect Blood Sugar

Carbs in food make your blood sugar levels go higher after you eat them than when you eat proteins or fats. You can still eat carbs if you have diabetes. The amount you can have and stay in your target blood sugar range depends on your age, weight, activity level, and other factors. Counting carbs in foods and drinks is an important tool for managing blood sugar levels. Make sure to talk to your health care team about the best carb goals for you.

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Staying Away From Issues With Meter Utilization

Glucose meters should be utilized and kept up appropriately. Pursue these tips to guarantee legitimate use:

• Pursue the client manual for your gadget methodology may change, starting with one gadget then onto the next.
• Utilize a blood test measure as coordinated in the manual.
• Utilize just test strips intended for your meter.
• Store test strips as coordinated.
• Try not to utilize terminated test strips.
• Clean the gadget and run quality-control checks as coordinated.
• Convey the meter to your physical checkups to deliver any inquiries and to exhibit how you utilize your meter.

Best Glucose Meters For Blood Sugar Testing

As I said before, there are quite a number of brands coming up with blood glucose meters with wonderful claims every day! However, most of them remain just claims and fail to offer you credible results.

To help you out in this scenario, I have sorted out the 19 best glucose meters for blood sugar testing you can rely on. Among the 19, I would recommend Care Touch Diabetes testing kit as the best. It is the top-selling glucose meter as of now and can be considered the most reliable one. Take a look at what makes these the best glucose meters in the market.

1Editors Choice

• High affordable and available test strips
• Portability helps in carrying it wherever one needs
• Access to 90 days of usage with the help of mobile app
• No coding required at all

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Hours After Eating A Meal

Checking your blood sugar approximately 1 to 2 hours after eating is hugely important, because it tells you if your body has the tools it needs in order to handle your meals. Being consistently higher or lower than your goal range after eating can tell you some very important and clear things about your current diabetes management regimen.

A high blood sugar level 1 to 2 hours after eating could suggest:

• Your body may need more rapid-acting insulin for your last meal.
• If you were high before the meal, and high 2 hours after, your body may need more basal/background insulin.

A low blood sugar level in the hours after eating could suggest:

• Your body may need less rapid-acting insulin for your last meal.
• If you also engaged in physical activity after eating, you may need a reduced meal dose.

Talk to your healthcare team about making any adjustments to your diabetes regimen to help you achieve your blood sugar goals.

How Can I Check My Blood Sugar

Use a blood sugar meter or a continuous glucose monitor to check your blood sugar. A blood sugar meter measures the amount of sugar in a small sample of blood, usually from your fingertip. A CGM uses a sensor inserted under the skin to measure your blood sugar every few minutes. If you use a CGM, youll still need to test daily with a blood sugar meter to make sure your CGM readings are accurate.

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The Importance Of Checking Blood Sugar Levels

Besides helping to keep blood sugar levels under control, checking them according to the diabetes management plan will help you and your child:

• feel more aware and in control of what is happening with your child’s diabetes
• prevent short-term diabetes symptoms and future health problems
• troubleshoot problems and make changes to the diabetes management plan promptly and effectively
• better understand of the impact of food, exercise, and medicines on blood sugar levels

How To Check Blood Sugar

To use a glucometer or blood glucose monitor, you prick your finger with a device called a lancet and then collect a small blood sample on a testing strip. An enzyme on the testing strip called glucose oxidase begins to react with the sugar in your blood. When you insert the strip into the glucometer, an electrode inside the device measures the speed of the reaction and then calculates how much glucose was present in the sample. The results are displayed on a digital screen. In some cases, you can save the readings for future review or use Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to send the data to your mobile device or computer.

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Why Is It So Important To Check My Blood Levels

Regular checking and recording of your blood glucose level can reinforce your healthy lifestyle choices as well as inform you of your response to other choices and influences.

Importantly, blood glucose level pattern changes can alert you and your health care team to a possible need for a change in how your diabetes is being managed.

How To Check Blood Sugar Levels

Blood glucose testing is easier, less painful, and more accurate than ever. Blood sugar levels can be tested with a blood glucose meter, a computerized device that measures and displays the amount of glucose in a blood sample.

To get a blood sample, a small needle called a lancet is used to prick the skin to draw a drop of blood. The drop of blood is placed on a testing strip that goes into the glucose meter, and the blood glucose reading appears on a screen within a few seconds.

Many types of glucose meters are available with different features. But most people choose the type of equipment covered by their insurance plans.

When choosing a glucose meter, consider:

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Blood Glucose Testing For Type 1 Diabetes

The 2015 NICE guidelines recommend that people with type 1 diabetes test their blood glucose at least 4 times per day, including before each meal and before bed.

Your doctor should also support you to test more regularly to ensure you test at the following times:

• Before driving and at least once every 2 hours on longer journeys
• Before, during and after exercise
• Testing more regularly during periods of illness
• During pregnancy or breastfeeding or when planning pregnancy
• If you are having regular hypos
• If you have an impaired ability to spot hypo symptoms
• If you are not achieving the target HbA1c of 48 mmol/mol
• If taking part in high-risk activities

When Should I Check My Blood Sugar More Frequently

• If your diabetes medicine changes
• If you begin taking other kinds of medicines
• If you change your diet
• If your exercise routine or activity level changes
• If your stress level increases
• If youre sick. When you are sick, even without eating, your sugar levels may run high, so testing is important.

Follow your doctors testing recommendations during this time. Continue testing more often until you have maintained your blood sugar goal values for at least 1 week. Or continue testing until your doctor advises you that more frequent testing is no longer necessary.

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What Causes Low Blood Sugar

Low blood sugar has many causes, including missing a meal, taking too much insulin, taking other diabetes medicines, exercising more than normal, and drinking alcohol. Blood sugar below 70 mg/dL is considered low.

Signs of low blood sugar are different for everyone. Common symptoms include:

• Shaking.
• Dizziness.
• Hunger.

Know what your individual symptoms are so you can catch low blood sugar early and treat it. If you think you may have low blood sugar, check it even if you dont have symptoms. Low blood sugar can be dangerous and should be treated as soon as possible.

Easy Ways To Lower Blood Sugar Levels Naturally

High blood sugar occurs when your body doesnt make enough or effectively use insulin, a hormone that regulates blood glucose and helps it enter your cells for energy.

High blood sugar is associated with diabetes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 13% of U.S. adults live with diabetes, and 34.5% have prediabetes (

This means close to 50% of all U.S. adults have diabetes or prediabetes.

Here are 15 easy ways to lower blood sugar levels naturally:

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When Should You Test Your Blood Sugar

Blood sugar testing is important for controlling type 2 diabetes. Find out what goes into determining the best testing schedule for you.

Blood sugar testing is a fundamental part of treating type 2 diabetes. By obtaining regular blood sugar readings, people with diabetes can, among other things, help their doctor make more informed decisions regarding the type and dosage of medication they need. Blood sugar testing also can help you see what foods, events, and activities trigger highs and lows in your blood sugar levels.

So how often should you test your blood sugar? The answer depends mostly on the status of your health and the demands of your daily life.

People with type 2 diabetes should take a blood sugar reading at least once a day. Some may need to test as frequently as seven times a day. Whether you need to or are able to perform more frequent testing depends on a number of factors:

You should talk with your doctor about these factors to devise the right blood glucose monitoring schedule for you.

Creating a Blood Sugar Testing Schedule

In general, type 2 diabetes patients should schedule blood sugar testing to coincide with specific daily events. That makes it easier to remember when to test. Regular testing times include:

• Before all three meals

Make A Note Of Your Readings

It may sound obvious, but you must record your readings. Note them down in a diary, a notebook or in your phone calendar. Some meters have software that lets you do this. You could try a diabetes app too.

You and your healthcare team can then look back over your results to see if you need to adjust your treatment.

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Advanced Glycation End Products

One of the biggest problems with high blood sugar is that the sugar molecules bind to proteins and enzymes in the blood stream and create advanced glycation end products otherwise known as AGEs. AGEs are highly unstable and break down structural proteins throughout the body and accelerate the aging and degenerative processes of all organs and tissues in the body .

When the body has healthy insulin sensitivity, insulin clears the blood stream of sugar and keeps AGEs under control. However, when we develop insulin resistance, we are no longer able to effectively manage AGE formation and we end up with increased inflammation and tissue damage.

By the time, we develop diabetes, our bodies have been ravaged by AGEs and all of our organ systems are 10-20+ years older than they should do to the accelerated degeneration brought on by this glycation process. In uncontrolled diabetes, these AGEs destroy the nerves leading to optic neuritis, peripheral neuropathy and dementia . The kidneys are also hit hard by these AGEs, which results in kidney failure for many diabetics and congestive heart failure as the blood vessels are highly damaged .

What Are The Target Ranges

Blood glucose targets are individualized based on:

• duration of diabetes
• conditions a person may have
• cardiovascular disease or diabetes complications
• hypoglycemia unawareness
• individual patient considerations

The American Diabetes Association suggests the following targets for most nonpregnant adults with diabetes. A1C targets differ based on age and health. Also, more or less stringent glycemic goals may be appropriate for each individual.

• A1C: Less than 7%A1C may also be reported as eAG: Less than 154 mg/dL
• Before a meal : 80130 mg/dL
• 1-2 hours after beginning of the meal *: Less than 180 mg/dL

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How Often Should I Test My Blood Sugar Level

Your family doctor will recommend how often you should test. Testing times are based on the kind of medicine you take and on how well your blood sugar levels are controlled. Youll probably need to check your blood sugar more often at first. Youll also check it more often when you feel sick or stressed, when you change your medicine, or if youre pregnant.

Blood Volume Required For Sample

The next thing is how much blood volume is required for a single test? In most of the glucose meters, the minimum requirement is about 0.3 microliters. But in some cases, it might require about 0.4 to 0.5 microliters of blood. And the thing with the blood glucose meters that requires more blood may force you to run a test all over again. Because it did not extract the needed blood volume in the first attempt.

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Manage Your Carb Intake

Your body breaks carbs down into sugars , and then insulin helps your body use and store sugar for energy.

When you eat too many carbs or have insulin-function problems, this process fails, and blood glucose levels can rise.

However, there are several things you can do about this.

The American Diabetes Association recommends managing carb intake by counting carbs and being aware of how many you need .

Some studies find that these methods can also help you plan your meals appropriately, further improving blood sugar management (

The recommended daily intake of fiber is about 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men. Thats about 14 grams for every 1,000 calories .

Summary

Eating plenty of fiber can help with blood sugar management. Soluble dietary fiber is the most effective.

Ways To Balance Blood Sugar

There are a number of ways that you can regain control of your blood sugar and turn your body into a fat burning machine. To get started, one of the best things you can do is perform a keto metabolic makeover .

For a more comprehensive approach and accelerated results, you may consider working with a health coach that is well-versed in the ketogenic lifestyle. We have a great self-guided ketogenic program that contains all of the information you would need to turn your body into a fat-burning machine.

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Oral Glucose Tolerance Test :

This test measures an individuals response to a glucose load. They are instructed fast similar to the FPG and then they are given a measured dose of glucose to consume within 5 minutes and the blood is measured both immediately after the drink is finished and 2 hours afterwards. The 2 hour measurement is major recording.

Normal OGTT levels should be under 140 mg/dl although most functional medicine doctors want to see them under 120 mg/dl. The pre-diabetic range is from 140-200 mg/dl and over 200 mg/dl is considered diabetic.

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How To Monitor Your Blood Glucose Levels

Watch this film from Diabetes UK or read the instructions below.

Tip

There is less sensation in the sides of your fingers than the tips or the underneath. Try to prick the side of your finger, near the tip.

To monitor your glucose, you will be given a blood glucose monitor. This is designed for you to measure your own blood glucose levels at home, or wherever you happen to be, by checking a drop of your blood. You produce the blood by using a finger pricker.

To monitor your glucose, you will be given a blood glucose monitor. This is designed for you to measure your own blood glucose levels at home, or wherever you happen to be, by checking a drop of your blood. You produce the blood by using a finger pricker.

There are many different brands of meter on the market, but they all work in similar ways:

Step 1 Wash your hands.

Step 2 Set up a finger pricker with a clean needle.

Step 3 Insert one end of a test strip into the meter.

Step 4 Use the finger pricker to prick the side of your finger.

Step 5 When a spot of blood appears where you pricked you finger, place it onto the end of the testing strip that is sticking out of the meter to transfer the blood.

Step 6 After a few seconds, the meter will display your blood glucose level.

Step 7 Clean the blood off your finger.

Step 8 Record the results in your blood glucose diary or diabetes journal, or you may have a phone app that you use.

Step 9 Throw away the test strip.

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