Why Monitor Blood Sugar Levels When You Have Type 2 Diabetes?

Monitoring the amount of sugar in your blood is part of your daily routine when you have type 2 diabetes. It helps you to know if you need to make any adjustments to your diet. Even if you are eating healthy food and exercising regularly, testing tells you if your glucose level is too high or too low. These levels can be affected by stress and illness also.

It has never been easier to self-monitor your blood sugar levels, there are dozens of meters available that allow you to conveniently check your levels. Glucose meters have become very small, accurate and fast and they keep a record of your results. Many of the better meters also code themselves which means you don't need to calibrate the system every time you start a new pack of strips.

How often should you test?

1. If you are taking insulin:

• you need to test before each meal and at bedtime
• sometimes you should test two hours after a meal and in the middle of the night to see just how high your levels go after a meal and how low they go during the night

2. If you are on tablets or controlled by diet and exercise:

• test twice a day, before breakfast and dinner. This should give you enough information to gauge the effect of your treatment
• if you are really stable 75-130 mg/dl (4 to 7mmol/l) and your HbA1c is less than 7%, you could test once a day, alternating a pre-breakfast test with a pre-dinner test on consecutive days
• if you really want to know how food is affecting your blood sugars, test one or two hours after your meals

3. It could be useful to also test:

• when you eat something not normally part of your diet, you might want to test it's effect
• before you exercise so you know whether you need to eat something first, or if the exercise is going to be used to lower your blood glucose
• if your levels have been unstable and you need to drive, check to see you will not become hypoglycemic whilst driving
• when you are ill

What level should you be aiming for?

• the ideal range is 75-130 mg/dl (4 to7 mmol/l) but it is not unusual to get occasional levels outside this range.

Being overweight can cause a rise in your blood sugar levels and it increases your risk of complications. Losing even a small amount of weight has a number of health benefits.

If you would like to learn some weight loss secrets, download my free E-book by clicking here now: Trim Down Tips

Beverleigh Piepers is a registered nurse who would like to help you understand how to live easily and happily with your Type 2 Diabetes.

http://drugfreetype2diabetes.com