How Often Should I Check My Blood Sugar?

Medically reviewed by Anna Goldman, MD.

In case you’re utilizing a blood glucose meter or glucometer (BGM) to handle your diabetes, checking your blood sugar is important — and in the event you take insulin, you’ll must verify a number of instances per day. The numbers in your BGM can inform you how properly your physique is dealing with the meals you eat and in case your remedy dosages have to be adjusted. Checking your blood sugar on daily basis can be to your quick and long-term security. 

Issues to think about about when and infrequently you need to verify your blood sugar:

• What the American Diabetes Affiliation (ADA) says: The ADA’s suggestion is broad however features a few important factors: In case you take insulin, try to be monitoring your blood sugar each day. General, blood sugar monitoring frequency must be tailor-made to every particular person primarily based on targets, present blood sugar ranges, adjustments in medicines, and many others.
• In case you take insulin by way of injections or pump, your healthcare workforce ought to prescribe a BGM and/or CGM (steady glucose monitor) that can assist you monitor your blood sugars. When taking insulin, your blood sugars can fluctuate shortly and dramatically in case your doses aren’t fine-tuned to your physique’s wants! In case your BGM says your blood sugar spikes 100 factors after breakfast, for instance, that tells you and your healthcare workforce that your insulin doses want a significant adjustment!
• In case you don’t take insulin, checking your blood sugar on daily basis remains to be essential. Your ranges might be creeping up steadily or shortly, however you’re not feeling the signs or conscious of the fluctuations. In case your healthcare workforce feels comfy with the steadiness of your blood sugar ranges — that means you’re sustaining your A1C aim — you could be given the inexperienced mild to chop again considerably on common monitoring.

You’ll be able to’t handle what you don’t know! Right here’s a take a look at what instances of day you would possibly think about checking your blood sugar.

Uninterested in pricking your finger?

The tedious (and painful) act of pricking your finger can get tiring. In case you’re bored with pricking your finger, positively take a look at as we speak’s steady glucose monitoring choices:

When you would possibly really feel hesitant about sporting one thing in your pores and skin all day, as we speak’s CGM know-how is fairly darn comfy. Actually, you’ll seemingly neglect it’s even in your pores and skin. 

CGMs provide you with extra information than a BGM or A1C check ever may, like time-in-range (TIR). TIR tells you what proportion of the day you’re inside, above, or beneath your goal blood sugar ranges.

Analysis continues to reveal that utilizing a CGM — even in individuals who aren’t taking insulin — improves A1c ranges and reduces the frequency and severity of low blood sugars. Current analysis from T1D Alternate discovered vital advantages of utilizing a CGM inside six months of being identified with sort 1 diabetes.

You’ll be able to attempt the Libre or Dexcom sensors totally free with the Hi there, Dexcom and My Freestyle trial packages.

Okay, let’s check out essential instances of day to verify the ol’ blood sugar.

If you get up

Your blood sugar very first thing within the morning says rather a lot about how your physique and medicines are working. It’s been at the least eight hours because you ate something, in order that removes the largest variable: meals! That is in all probability crucial time of the day to verify your blood sugar, particularly when you’ve got sort 2 diabetes and don’t use insulin.

In case you’re persistently waking up above your goal blood sugar vary, that’s a transparent signal for you and your healthcare workforce. Whereas being just a little bit above your goal vary isn’t essentially trigger for alarm, being considerably above your goal vary means it’s time to take motion.

It may imply it’s good to regulate present remedy dosages, think about beginning a brand new remedy, or make some changes in your general life-style habits that impression insulin resistance. 

Then again, in the event you’re waking up low, it may recommend you’re getting an excessive amount of of a medicine — particularly insulin or sulfonylureas! Remember that in the event you begin one other remedy, like Ozempic or Mounjaro, this might imply it’s good to regulate your insulin doses to stop lows, despite the fact that Ozempic and Mounjaro don’t trigger hypoglycemia on their very own. Both manner, it’s time to talk along with your healthcare workforce.

Earlier than consuming

Checking earlier than each meal sounds tedious, but it surely’s essential — particularly in the event you take insulin or your A1c is larger than your aim.

It’s essential to know what your blood sugar is earlier than consuming as a result of we’re additionally going to speak about checking your blood sugar after consuming! In case your blood sugar was excessive earlier than the meal, that’s important info for you and your healthcare workforce.

Heading right into a meal with a excessive blood sugar may imply just a few issues:

• You didn’t get sufficient insulin along with your final meal.
• You aren’t getting sufficient basal/background insulin.
• It is advisable think about beginning insulin remedy or one other diabetes remedy.
• Your physique, usually talking, wants extra assist managing your blood sugar.

Checking your blood sugar earlier than consuming units you up for achievement!

Two hours after consuming 

Whereas it will possibly definitely take greater than two hours for a meal to digest, this can be a good indicator of how properly your physique is dealing with the meal you ate.

• In case you take insulin, excessive or low blood sugars after consuming recommend you’re getting too little or an excessive amount of insulin. This tells your healthcare workforce your doses and insulin-to-carbohydrate ratio want fine-tuning!
• In case you don’t take insulin, excessive blood sugars after consuming suggests your physique wants extra assist from diabetes medicines otherwise you would possibly think about making adjustments in your meal decisions.

The data you get from that post-meal BGM verify can even inspire you to make some changes in what you’re consuming. That enormous bowl of cereal or pasta could be greater than your physique can deal with. If you see the proof in your BGM, it’s exhausting to disregard. That doesn’t imply you possibly can’t ever eat pasta, but it surely would possibly imply you need to think about lowering the portion dimension.

Earlier than and after bodily exercise 

Train could cause speedy adjustments in your blood sugar degree as a result of your physique wants extra gasoline to carry out!

Cardio train: Also referred to as “cardio train,” such a bodily exercise will increase how shortly your cells take up glucose to make use of that glucose for power. In case you take insulin, this implies your blood sugar can drop in a short time. Cardio train contains strolling, jogging, vacuuming the home, gardening, biking, and many others

Anaerobic train: Anaerobic train is totally different! It might really trigger your blood sugar to rise due to “gluconeogenesis” — when your physique converts lactic acid into glucose to make use of for gasoline! Your liver can even launch saved glucose throughout and after anaerobic train. Anaerobic train contains issues like power coaching, CrossFit, and sprinting.

Studying find out how to handle your blood sugar throughout train — particularly in the event you take insulin — takes time. Work along with your healthcare workforce and take good notes!

No matter what sort of train you’re doing, at all times carry fast-acting carbohydrates with you to deal with potential hypoglycemia.

Earlier than mattress

Earlier than you agree in for the night time, it’s important to your well being and security to provide that ol’ blood sugar degree a glance. You’re going to be snoozing for eight hours! 

Test your blood sugar earlier than mattress is important as a result of:

• In case you take insulin or different diabetes medicines, you’ll need to ensure you’re in a protected vary earlier than falling asleep. In case you’re low, you’ll want a small snack. In case you’re excessive, you might want a correction dose. This time of day additionally lets you understand how properly your insulin dose lined your dinner and/or dessert.
• In case you don’t take insulin, that pre-snooze blood sugar tells you the way properly your physique is dealing with dinner and/or dessert. In case you’re persistently above your goal vary, it’s a transparent signal that your meals decisions would possibly want some adjusting or that you simply want assist from diabetes medicines.

That 8-hour snooze is 25% of your whole day’s value of blood sugar ranges! Getting your blood sugar into your aim vary all through the night time can have a big effect in your A1c, too. However you possibly can’t handle what you don’t know — so that you’ve gotta begin checking your blood sugar earlier than mattress.

The underside line

Accumulate that information and discuss to your healthcare workforce! The extra typically you verify your blood sugar, the higher you’ll perceive your situation and find out how to handle it.

In case you don’t use insulin, your physician might advocate solely checking as soon as a day or just a few instances per week, however the extra information you collect, the extra you recognize about your diabetes well being. You may also discover you simply must verify extra typically for per week or two to see how issues are going. Get that information, discuss to your healthcare workforce, and by no means quit!