How to test your blood sugar
Learn how to test your blood sugar effectively and make informed decisions about your health.
Learn how to test your blood sugar effectively and make informed decisions about your health.
When it comes to managing diabetes, it is all about blood sugar. If your blood sugar (or “blood glucose”) levels get too high or too low, it can drastically alter your mood, your well-being, and even your long-term health. There are many ways to monitor blood sugar. Some people use glucose meters with test strips and blood drawn from their fingertips for instant measurements. Others use continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) that are either implanted in their bodies or attached to them. There are also hybrid monitors called “flash glucose meters” (FGMs) that can monitor blood glucose continuously and offer instant readings. Each person is different, so your doctor will review your unique case and recommend the right solution to help you monitor your blood sugar effectively.
Checking your blood glucose as recommended can help you see how your meals, medications and activities affect your blood sugar. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends that you routinely test blood sugar levels to aid in managing your diabetes.1
Routine or daily blood glucose testing
For people using an insulin pump or insulin injections throughout the day, the ADA recommends testing multiple times daily. If you take another kind of medication, test your blood sugar level as often as your healthcare team recommends.
You and your healthcare team will determine when you should check your blood sugar based on your current health, age and level of activity, as well as the time of day and other factors. They may suggest that you test your blood sugar at any of the following times:
To check your blood sugar level, gather your blood glucose meter, a test strip and your lancing device. See how to prepare the meter and test strip, lance your finger and get a reading using the Accu-Chek® Guide Me system by watching the video or following the steps here:
The steps are similar for many meters, and generally look like this:
Day-to-day blood sugar checks can give you a good idea of how you're doing at this moment, and they can be reviewed overall to see trends. They can help answer questions such as:
Structured blood glucose testing
Structured testing supports your routine or daily testing by giving you deeper, more targeted data to work from. It can help you determine if you're in a safe range and problem-solve around how the things you do are connected to your blood sugar. You simply perform additional tests over a short period at specific times of day.
Structured blood glucose testing can help you:
Pattern management: If you find that your A1C result is rising in spite of your best efforts, or if you don't feel as well as you'd like, talk with your healthcare professional about the Accu-Chek 360° View tool. This simple paper tool helps you track your blood sugar over 3 days, so you and your doctor can quickly identify patterns that can guide adjustments to your treatment plan. As a result, you may be able to feel better and lower your A1C.2
Before-and-after testing: You may also decide to try the Accu-Chek Testing in Pairs tool. This easy-to-use, printable tool helps you see changes in your blood glucose with before-and-after testing. In just 7 days, you can see the effect a specific meal, exercise or other event has on your blood sugar.
There are many blood sugar meters to choose from, so start by thinking about what's most important to you. Ask yourself a few questions.
Nobody gets excited about pricking their fingertip. In fact, studies have shown that it's one of the main reasons people refrain from regularly checking their blood glucose.6,7 So how can you make this less of a hurdle in your self-care?
Select a less-painful lancing device
Naturally, one factor that can contribute to the pain is your lancing device. That's why we've worked hard to ensure that Accu-Chek lancing devices keep discomfort to a minimum. For example, our lancing devices feature:
You can reduce pain by using a fresh lancet for every test. Today's lancets are so tiny that just a single use can bend or dull the tips. This can make them hurt more as you reuse them.
5 tips for reducing fingertip pain
You can make testing more comfortable and help ensure that you get a good sample on the first try by following these 5 easy steps.
You may also want to consider testing beyond the fingertip. If you and your healthcare professional agree that it's right for you, you may experience less pain if you use your palm, forearm or upper arm for routine testing.4
In general, the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) recommended blood sugar levels are9:
Your range is yours alone—based on your health, age, level of activity and other factors. And remember that your target is a range you'd like to stay within, not a single number.
How to use blood glucose testing results
It's not unusual for your blood glucose results to be out of range now and then. But if you see a pattern of highs or lows outside your target range, you may want to ask yourself:
Any of these can have an impact on your blood glucose numbers. If you're making changes to your lifestyle, or if you can't figure out why you've been out of range, talk to your doctor, nurse or diabetes educator.
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1American Diabetes Association. Standards of medical care in diabetes—2016; Abridged for primary care providers [position statement]. Diabetes Care. 2016;34(1): 3-21. Available at: http://clinical.diabetesjournals.org/content/34/1/3.full.pdf. Accessed April 26, 2019.
2Polonsky WH, et al. Structured self-monitoring of blood glucose significantly reduces A1C levels in poorly controlled, noninsulin-treated type 2 diabetes: results from the Structured Testing Program study. Diabetes Care. 2011;34(2):262-267. Accessed April 26, 2019.
3Joslin Diabetes Center. Tips for more pain-free blood glucose monitoring. Available at: https://www.joslin.org/info/tips_for_more_pain_free_blood_glucose_monito.... Accessed April 26, 2019.
4Talk with your healthcare professional before deciding if alternate site testing is right for you.
5The Bolus Advisor feature requires setup and activation by a healthcare professional.
6Sahnan A, Simpson SH. Effect of an experiential exercise in diabetes management on pharmacy students' fear and perceived pain of injection and fingertip lancing. Am J Pharm Educ. 2015;79(1). Available at: http://www.ajpe.org/doi/full/10.5688/ajpe79105. Accessed March 14, 2016.
7Burge MR. Lack of compliance with home blood glucose monitoring predicts hospitalization in diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2001;24(8). Available at: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/24/8/1502.full. Accessed March 14, 2016.
8New Scientist. Fingertips and forehead are most sensitive to pain. Available at: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25688-fingertips-and-forehead-are.... Accessed March 14, 2016.
9Tight Diabetes Control. http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/tight-diabetes-control.html. Accessed April 26, 2019.
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