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Posts Tagged ‘Blood Glucose Monitoring’

The Ins and Outs of Blood Sugar Monitoring. By Our Student Pharmacist, Paul Matheke.

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As November, which was American Diabetes Month, comes to a close, it is important to remember the importance of blood sugar monitoring. Checking your blood sugar is essential to your diabetes care. Consistent blood sugar monitoring helps your providers see the trends in your diabetes and adjust your treatments accordingly.

However, we know that life can sometimes get in the way of consistent and quality readings. In addition, there are barriers that you could encounter that impact your willingness to check your sugars. And for those of you who don’t have a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), we know there are a lot of steps involved in measuring and understanding your blood sugar levels. That is why we want to share some helpful tips to maximize the quality of your blood sugar monitoring routine.

  • When it comes to your finger-sticks: location matters.
    • Some patients report issues with finger-sticking to be the biggest barrier in their monitoring routine. Oftentimes, the issue patients have with their finger-sticks is pain. Whenever a patient is reporting excessive pain with lancet use, the location of their finger-sticks is often the culprit. There are two easy ways you can reduce finger-stick pain:
      • Sticking on the sides of your fingertips rather than the center
      • Rotating your fingers for sticking
    • Many patients who have excessive finger-stick pain use their lancet on the center of their fingertips. Now it’s not hard to imagine why this location could present a problem. This is the most sensitive area of your finger! Try using your lancet on the sides of your fingertips and you should notice a big difference in the pain you may experience during finger-sticks.
    • In addition, many patients use the same fingers for their sticking. Repeatedly sticking the same finger presents more opportunities for pain and over time may cause your skin to become calloused. The calloused skin will be difficult to stick and draw enough blood for a reading. That is why it is important to rotate your fingers for lancet sticks.

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  • If lancets give you needle anxiety, tell your doctor!
    • There can be alternative lancing devices that may be more comfortable for you.
  • Find a routine that works for you.
    • Forming a habit of when you check your sugars is one of the easiest ways to have a strong glucose monitoring routine. This routine building starts with your diet and meals. It is important to keep your meal timing and size consistent each day and reduce snacking. Inconsistency with your meals can impact the quality of your blood sugar readings and make controlling your diabetes more challenging.
  • Measure your sugars at the right time.
    • Make sure you are measuring at the best times to record your sugar. Generally, there are three great times to be checking your blood sugar that will help your doctor assess your diabetes plan:
      • When you wake up
      • Right before eating a meal or two hours after eating
      • If you are having symptoms of high or low blood sugar
    • Remember your fasting sugar goal, the level you take right when you wake up and before you eat breakfast, is 80 mg/dL – 130 mg/dL.
      • This may also be your goal before eating any meal throughout the day.
    • Your sugar goal two hours after eating is going to be anything less than 180 mg/dL.
  • Record everything.
    • Many patients don’t check their sugars as often as their doctor wants because whenever they check their numbers are usually fine. Also, some patients may be afraid of “bad” numbers.
      • Unfortunately, it’s not enough to check your sugars whenever you feel like they are good.
      • Your providers want to see the full picture of your diabetes and the best way to do that is to measure consistently and often.
      • Providers want to see the trends of your sugars. Just because your sugars are good at one time of the day does not mean they are where they need to be at other times.
      • If your sugars run high at other times of the day, your diabetes therapy may need to be adjusted.
      • Finally, there are no such thing as “bad” numbers. You do not need to hide bad numbers from your doctor. Your providers want to know if your sugars are running too high or too low, because this can harm you and may mean a need to optimize your diabetes therapy. Knowing consistent numbers helps individualize your care.
    • Keep a blood sugar reading log.
      • Many patients take readings, but do not log what these readings mean. When they go to the doctor with all their readings, it can be difficult to remember the circumstances surrounding each reading. The numbers are great, but blood sugar monitoring is even more effective when we can start to figure out how blood sugars tend to run.
      • Ask your doctor for a blood sugar monitoring log.
      • Make note of the differences between what you ate or what was happening around each reading.

Ultimately, blood sugar monitoring is vital because it helps you take control of your diabetes and receive the best care from your providers. That is why it’s important to discuss your diabetes care and goals with your doctor so you can get an individualized plan.

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References:

[1] ADA. The Big Picture: Checking your Blood Sugar. American Diabetes Association. Accessed November 24, 2021. https://www.diabetes.org/healthy-living/medication-treatments/blood-glucose-testing-and-control/checking-your-blood-sugar

[2] CDC. Monitoring Your Blood Sugar. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated August 10, 2021. Accessed November 24, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/managing/managing-blood-sugar/bloodglucosemonitoring.html

Images:

[1] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/best-lancets#_noHeaderPrefixedContent

[2] https://www.statnews.com/2019/10/08/time-in-range-new-metric-diabetes-blood-sugar/

[3] https://www.postertemplate.co.uk/templates/health/blood-sugar-chart-templates/