Prior to being diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, I am sure sticking yourself several times a day to find out your blood sugar level was not something you dreamed about. But now you have diabetes, the glucometer allows you to monitor your levels and helps you to learn how to control your blood sugars by closely watching how your body reacts to all the different foods, exercise and even stress. In other words, it helps to educate you on how to look after your body. It puts you in charge of your diabetes!
How often should you test?
These are the formal guidelines:
- if you are on a specific eating plan, exercise, and metformin or thiazolidinedione treatment, it may not be necessary to monitor your levels at home. If you have a monitor though, you could test two or three times a week at different times to see how your blood sugars rise
- if you are on suphonylureas... these are more likely to cause hypoglycemia and you may need to test more than two or three times a week. If you are having hypoglycemic symptoms, talk with your health care practitioner as he will advise you
- if you are using insulin you will need to check your levels two to three times each day at least when you first start treatment
It is also useful to check your blood sugar levels before, during and after exercise. This helps you see how your blood sugars react to exercise... sex is classed as exercise, so check before and if your level is below 100 mg/dl (5.5 mmol/l) you will need to have a snack. You don't want to be hypoglycemic at this time!
When you combine a powerful diet, exercise and medications that cause your body to release insulin, this is definitely the time for you to monitor your blood sugar levels. This may come as a surprise to you but the combination of these may end up pushing your levels too low. In fact, your blood sugars could fall so low you start to:
- shake
- sweat
- have hunger pangs
- feel anxious
- feel weak
- have a rapid heartbeat
- feel dizzy or lightheaded
- show confusion and
- have difficulty speaking
This is called hypoglycemia... so if you lose weight from major changes to your eating plan, or increase your exercise routine without changing your medication program, you could find yourself with low blood sugar levels.
When making any changes to your regular program it would be wise to talk to your health care practitioner to see if your medications or medication dose, need to be altered. Although hypoglycemia could be a good sign your body is regaining insulin sensitivity, it could be a sign your medications are too strong.
Type 1 and type 2 diabetes is a condition where the main problem is high blood sugar levels. Used intelligently, monitoring your levels helps you find out the effect of different activities on your blood sugars.
If you would like to download a free copy of my E-Book, click here now: Answers to Your Questions... it's based on questions many diabetics have asked me recently.
Beverleigh Piepers is a registered nurse who would like to help you understand how to live easily and happily with your type 2 diabetes.
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