Tips on blood glucose monitoring

When you have been diagnosed with diabetes, testing your blood sugar or blood glucose levels becomes an important part of your daily treatment routine.  Ensure that you make the most of these readings by following our top tips.

  • Be clear about what you are using blood glucose monitoring for. To assess the effect of new medication? To assess the effect of making changes in your diet or lifestyle? To monitor your blood sugar during illness? Unless you are clear about your purpose, then it may be a waste of time.
  • Make sure you know how to use your blood glucose meter. Read the instructions carefully and call the manufacturer’s helpline if you have questions. The phone number is usually printed on the ‘strip’ box.

 
  • Understand what your blood glucose levels should be doing. Often people are surprised that their levels are so different from one moment to another. Blood sugar levels normally fluctuate between 4 and 7 mmol/l throughout the day. Without diabetes, this fluctuation may be higher than the normal range, especially after meals. People with type 1 diabetes experience wide fluctuations from time to time. People with type 2 diabetes in the early stages may not see such fluctuations, but this may change over time.
  • Understand how your readings relate to your HbA1c result. For many years, blood glucose monitoring was the only means available to assess the level of blood glucose control. Now the HbA1c test has added to that. The test measures your average blood glucose level over the past 8-12 weeks before the sample was taken. It is now the main overall assessment test, while self blood glucose monitoring provides information about day-to-day fluctuations.
  • When starting out, test regularly for a few days to understand your usual pattern of blood glucose levels. Note that your blood glucose level will usually rise after food and fall before a meal (or when you have not eaten for a few hours).
  • If one of your readings appears unusual (either very high or very low), then repeat it. It may be a technical error.
  • Understand what things affect your blood glucose levels. Your treatment, different foods, your exercise activities and your moods all influence your blood glucose levels. Measure before and  after these events to see what happens.

  • Use ‘pattern management’ to learn to adjust your lifestyle and treatment to control your blood sugar levels. Test before and after the event you are interested in (e.g. lunch), repeating this for a few days to establish a pattern. This pattern will then guide your decisions. Often people are tempted to alter their treatment and/or food as soon as they find they have a high blood glucose level. This is not necessary, as the occasional high glucose level is not detrimental and reacting to it may cause problems later in the day.
  
  • Learn how your blood glucose levels change during illness. This can help you decide whether you need any treatment changes to help your recovery. High blood glucose levels can slow down recovery from some illnesses (especially infections).
  • Remember your readings are not a reflection of how well or how badly you are managing your diabetes. People often judge themselves by their results. You may think “I am good” if your blood glucose reading is within an acceptable range, or “I am not good” if the level is outside the acceptable range. Blood glucose monitoring results are simply small pieces of information to help you manage your diabetes – treat them like any tool.

Back to top

INS/037/0809

 

Last updated: August 2009