| People with diabetes who keep their blood glucose levels within their target range report that they are more active and feel healthier and more in control of their lives. Blood glucose monitoring helps you understand what causes your glucose levels to rise and fall outside your target range.
What is a normal blood glucose level? In a person who does not have diabetes, blood glucose levels typically range from around 80 mg/dL to 120 mg/dL (or, in A1c measurements, in a range of 4% to 6%). While everyone's glucose levels go up and down throughout the day, a person without diabetes and in good health will rarely have levels outside of the normal range. However, people with diabetes can have glucose levels that go much higher, putting them at increased risk for long-term complications like heart disease and stroke. They can also have glucose levels that go much lower, causing a very serious short-term complication known as hypoglycemia.
To minimize the risk of complications, an A1c of 6.5%*, or an average glucose level of about 150 mg/dL is often recommended. However, not all people with diabetes can manage to that level, so you should work with your doctor to determine the target range that's right for you.
Once you know your target glucose range, you can test to get the information needed to effectively manage your glucose levels. A number of factors affect blood glucose and can push you out of range, either too high or too low. The four most important are food, exercise, stress, and medication. With regular testing, you will be able to better understand how these factors impact you. Your doctor will be able to help you determine if lifestyle or medicine changes are required.
See your doctor or diabetes educator to plan the right testing schedule for you. They may recommend some testing times:
Test around meals
- Testing before lunch and dinner can help you decide on appropriate food and portion sizes.
- If you are taking insulin, testing can help you figure out how much insulin to take at meals to cover the carbohydrates.
- A test 2 hours after a meal can show you how your meal has affected your blood glucose levels.
Test around exercise
- Testing before and after exercise can help you see how your activity is affecting you. If your glucose drops too low, you may need a snack. If you glucose increases, you may need to stop and rest.
- To avoid hypoglycemia, test before exercising to make sure your blood glucose level is at least 100 mg/dL but not more than 250 mg/dL.
Test around medication
- Testing before and after medications or insulin can help you see if you're getting the results you expect.
Test around stress
- If you find yourself feeling stressed, test your glucose levels. If your blood glucose spikes, you may want to take a break from the stressful situation, or use a stress management technique.
Some other times your doctor or diabetes educator may tell you to test:
- If you are ill.
- If you make major changes in your medication, eating, sleeping, exercise routines.
- If you start seeing patterns of blood glucose levels that are outside of the target range recommended by your doctor.
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