If recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, patients need to know all about blood glucose testing.
Self-testing is important because it is “the only way to determine if your diabetes is under control,” said Pilar Murphy, assistant professor at the McWhorter School of Pharmacy at Samford University.
If you are on insulin, your doctor will ask to check your blood sugar level one or more times a day. If the condition is managed through diet and exercise, blood glucose levels will also need to be checked regularly, but probably not every day.
Glucose meters need only a drop of blood to measure blood glucose levels.
If you haven’t eaten at night, then your early morning blood glucose level is your fasting blood glucose, which must be between 70 and 130 mg/dl. The blood glucose about an hour or two after the meal is the postprandial blood glucose, which must be below 180 mg/dl.
Glucose values show how food, exercise, stress and illness affect blood sugar changes. “It helps to help patients see changes, such as a rise in blood glucose values if they eat a lot of bread,” Murphy said.
What if my blood sugar is too low? If your blood sugar is below 70 mg/dl, eat 15 to 20 grams of simple carbohydrates, then check your blood sugar level again within 15 minutes. For example, you can get 15 to 20 grams of simple carbohydrates from a tablespoon of honey. Repeat these steps until your blood sugar returns to normal.
If your blood sugar is sometimes high, you need to drink more water to avoid dehydration. If your blood sugar is above 240 mg/dl, buy test strips to check for ketones in your urine or blood. Ketones circulate in the body’s blood and urine when the body begins to break down fat instead of sugar. If there are moderate to high levels of ketones in the blood, seek medical attention immediately; this can lead to a toxic reaction.