Reaching Your Goals:

Why Test My Blood Glucose?
Testing your blood glucose can help you figure out what you need to do to reach your glucose goals. Keeping your blood glucose within the target range reduces your risk of developing serious diabetes complications. You will also feel better!

Step One: Check Your Blood Glucose Regularly

Your blood glucose numbers provide important information about:

If your glucose is too high or too low.
How well your food and drinks, diabetes medications and physical activity are working together.

The target blood glucose goals vary depending on the group. Speak with your diabetes care provider about what target glucose range is best for you.

Step Two: Record Your Blood Glucose

Writing your blood glucose readings show how your lifestyle and medications affect your blood glucose levels.

What Can I Write:

1. Blood glucose readings at different times (Fasting, two hours after the start of a meal, when you are not feeling well, in the middle of the night**)

2. Food and drinks (what kind, how much, time)

3. Physical activity (what kind, how long, time)

4. Diabetes medication (dose or how much, time)

Remember:

Look for patterns in the record. In the example at the bottom of the page, the high carbohydrate intake at breakfast is contributing to the high blood glucose at 10:30.

Also, despite the walk the fasting blood sugar is still slightly high at 12:30. There are several ways to decrease carbohydrates in this meal; either eat 1 slice of toast or decrease juice to 1/2 a cup. Each example subtracts 15 grams of carbohydrates.

Step Three: What caused the high or low blood glucose readings?

Checking your blood sugar and writing it down is only half of the solution. It is very important to find out the cause of low or high blood glucose readings, and to correct it.

Remember:

Checking your blood sugar on a regular basis and writing down your blood sugar readings will help you understand what causes your blood glucose readings to be high or low. Once you know this, it is IMPORTANT to correct what causes your glucose levels to be out of range. Call your diabetes care team for help, if needed. Doing these things will help you keep your levels in target range, and help you feel better.

Health Tip #:003

Color Your Diet

Fruits and vegetables provide vitamins, minerals, fiber and are a good source of ANTIOXIDANTS. Antioxidents protect your blood vessels from cholesterol and protect your body from damage that could lead to cancer. The recommended serving of fruits and vegetables is at least five a day; however, this is one situation in which more is better!

Better Living Now is a proud supporter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation:

© 2007 by Vanderbilt University

Reference: American Diabetes Association:

There are 23.6 million children and adults in the US with diabetes -- 5.7 million people are undiagnosed and 57 million have a condition called pre-diabetes.
Take this test to see if you are at risk for having or developing type 2 diabetes.

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Reaching Your Goals:

Step One: Check Your Blood Glucose Regularly

Step Two: Record Your Blood Glucose

Step Three: What caused the high or low blood glucose readings?

Health Tip #:003

Color Your Diet

Better Living Now is a proud supporter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation:

© 2007 by Vanderbilt University

Reference: American Diabetes Association:

Reference: American Diabetes Association:

There are 23.6 million children and adults in the US with diabetes -- 5.7 million people are undiagnosed and 57 million have a condition called pre-diabetes. Take this test to see if you are at risk for having or developing type 2 diabetes.

There are 23.6 million children and adults in the US with diabetes -- 5.7 million people are undiagnosed and 57 million have a condition called pre-diabetes.
Take this test to see if you are at risk for having or developing type 2 diabetes.