Tracking your blood sugar levels is an important part of diabetes management. The food you eat is converted into glucose for your body to use as energy. Your pancreas produces the hormone insulin, which allows glucose to enter your cells. If your body doesn't produce enough insulin, glucose stays in your blood, causing serious health problems, such as kidney failure. Check your blood sugar on a regular basis and always consult your doctor before making changes to your diabetes treatment plan.
Step 1
Work with your doctor to determine what your optimal glucose levels should be. You need to know what your blood sugar level should be before you can make any adjustments to your insulin dosage. The typical ranges are between 70 to 130 mg/dL before a meal and less than 180 mg/dL after a meal. Glucose levels should return to their premeal levels within three hours after eating.
Step 2
Measure your blood sugar before eating, using your glucose monitor. Follow the directions for your specific device, but usually you need to wash your hands, insert the test strip into the monitor, clean your fingertip with the alcohol pad, use the lancet to prick your fingertip, collect a drop of blood on the test strip and wait for the monitor to give you the glucose level reading.
Step 3
Take your short-acting or regular insulin dose before eating, after taking your glucose level. Check your glucose level again two hours after eating. If your blood sugar is more than 150 mg/dL, take an additional dose of 10 percent of your total regular insulin daily dose. If you normally take 20 units of regular insulin three times a day, 10 percent would be six additional units. Do not include any long-acting insulin units in your calculations.
Step 4
Keep a careful record of your glucose readings. You may want to note the foods you ate, your physical activities, if you are ill or under an unusual amount of stress -- all of which may affect your glucose levels. If your blood sugar levels are consistently too low or too high, you may need to change your diabetes treatment plan.
Tips and Warnings
- Diabetes care is unique to each individual. Work with your health care team to make healthy lifestyle changes that will help you control your diabetes. Have your A1C levels checked by your doctor to measure long-term glucose level control.
- If you think that you are not getting an accurate glucose reading, check the expiration dates on your test strips -- they are coated with a chemical that does lose potency after time.
Things You'll Need
- Glucose monitor
- Test strips
- Lancet
- Alcohol pad
