Testing your blood glucose before and after meals is part of managing your diabetes. If you do not know your blood glucose targets, it can make controlling your diabetes a daily struggle. Blood glucose swings can have serious long-term effects on your health. Track your readings to identify trends in highs and lows that can help regulate your blood sugar over extended periods.
Pre-Meal Testing (Fasting Reading)
Test your blood glucose 15 to 30 minutes before you eat or drink anything, when you are ready to prepare your insulin dose if you use insulin. Your blood glucose reading should be 70 to 130 mg/dL, according to the American Diabetes Association. People who do not have diabetes would likely have a pre-meal blood glucose level of 70 to100 mg/dL. As a diabetic, if your blood glucose is higher than 130, you will likely need to treat your high reading before your meal. Follow your doctor's guidelines for readings over 130 before a meal.
Post-Meal Testing
Test your blood glucose two hours after eating to get an accurate post-meal glucose reading. The American Diabetes Association reports that if you are not diabetic, you would have a blood glucose level of 140 mg/dL or lower two hours after a meal. Diabetic patients should have a post-meal blood glucose figure below 180 mg/dL. Your doctor may have other target readings for you based on your medical history.
Gestational Diabetes
Your pre-meal blood glucose reading should be 75 to 95 mg/dL if you have gestational diabetes. Follow your doctor's recommendations to treat a high blood sugar reading if your results are higher. Check your blood glucose reading two hours after you start eating your meal, and aim for a blood glucose reading below 120 mg/dL.
Considerations
High blood glucose readings have long-term effects on your health, such as kidney damage, nerve damage -- commonly referred to as diabetic neuropathy -- and vision loss, among many other side effects. When high blood sugar is left untreated, diabetic ketoacidosis, or coma, may occur. Nausea, vomiting, shakiness, dizziness, dehydration and exhaustion are among indicators. Gestational diabetics must maintain tight control over blood glucose readings to protect the baby's health as well as their own. A large baby may have blood sugar concerns at delivery, with rapid, sudden drops in blood sugar.
