Each day you make choices for your health-choices about what and when to eat, how active to be, and so on. Blood glucose testing can be an important part of diabetes management because it can show you how well your choices are working. The results from your blood glucose meter provide immediate feedback, which can help you understand how different factors are impacting your blood glucose levels.
But testing is not just about getting a test result. It's also about knowing how to interpret each result and how to take action. Your goal should be to keep your blood glucose in the target range recommended by your health care team, and avoid going either too high or too low. Once you know your blood glucose level, you can use the information to adjust your food, exercise or medication, so that you can feel your best. Keeping your blood glucose level as close to normal as possible is one of the best ways to stay healthy and reduces your risk of diabetes complications.
- Know when to test - Various factors determine when you should check your blood glucose. You will need to talk to your health care team about setting up a testing routine, which might include testing around certain events (meals, exercise, medication) to see how they impact you.
- Know where to test - Learn more about fingertip and forearm testing, and general tips for making sure you're testing properly.
- Know what your results should be - Use your blood glucose test results to spot short and long-term patterns so you can make choices that help avoid high and low blood glucose levels. Talk to your healthcare professional about your results and set realistic goals to keep your blood glucose as close to normal as possible.
- Tools for blood glucose meter users: