Manage Your Diabetes With A Blood Sugar Monitor: A Comprehensive Guide
If you have been sorrowing from type 2 diabetes, then blood sugar which is also known as glucose, monitoring at home is your primary tool for controlling your blood sugar levels. Because a blood sugar monitor quickly tells you your sugar level at any time. You can modify your food and exercise routine to assist in lowering your blood sugar by staying aware of your sugar levels at particular times throughout the day.
Also you can change your food and exercise routine to help lower your blood sugar by being aware of your blood sugar levels at specific times throughout the day.
How can blood sugar levels be effectively monitored at home?
A blood sugar monitor is one of the best and only ways to track your blood sugar from virtually anywhere daily. It monitors is a vital and valuable tool for treating diabetes. Since they enable you to test your blood at home or on the go. Both blood glucose meters and continuous glucose monitors are used to check blood sugar levels.
Blood Glucose Meter (BGM)
A blood glucose monitor manually measures blood sugar levels. A lancing device (a little needle) punctures your (clean) finger while you hold the test strip against your finger to collect a small amount of blood for a BGM. After that, the test strip is put into the BGM. Your blood sugar level will eventually show up on the meter’s display.
Benefits of BGMs include:
• Fast, correct results
• Affordable than continuous glucose monitors
• Added features, including downloadable results
However, because the blood sugar monitor is manual, there is more possibility of user error, which could reduce the reliability of the testing. It can also be inconvenient—and possibly painful—for some people to need to monitor their blood sugar levels multiple times throughout the day.
Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM)
A sensor must be placed under your skin for this monitor. Typically in the upper arm, thigh, or abdomen. A receiver that analyses and displays the blood glucose data receives an electrical current from the sensor. Once it detects the presence of glucose in your blood. The blood is usually tested by a CGM every five minutes. And it can either display the results in real-time, collect them into a report for later viewing, or do both.
The benefits of utilizing a continuous blood sugar monitor include the following:
• Improve blood sugar for people with type 2 diabetes
• Possibly fewer daily finger pricks are needed
• Assessment of high blood sugar moves is made simpler
• More data than a BGM can offer
• You can program an alarm to go off when your blood sugar levels go too high or too low
CGMs have a few drawbacks, too:
• To calibrate your CGM, you still need at least two finger pricks daily
• The Dexcom G5 Mobile is the best CGM design permitted for treatment selection. A finger-stick test is required for all other cases to validate. The CGM results before starting insulin therapy or treating hypoglycemia.
• In general, CGMs cost more than BGMs
How to select the best blood sugar monitor?
Only your healthcare provider can choose whether a continuous blood sugar monitor. Or manual meter is good for you based on factors such as the severity of your diabetes. And whether your insurance will cover a continuous glucose monitor.
How to read the results of your blood sugar test?
The blood sugar monitor displays your blood sugar levels as eAG or estimated average glucose. A milligram of sugar per deciliter of blood, or mg/dL, is used to calculate your eAG. Even though the American Diabetes Association has set primary blood sugar objectives. You should always follow your doctor’s advice. Because your optimal targets may change depending on things like:
• Your duration of type 2 diabetes
• Your age
• Other health issues you may have, like hyperlipidemia(high cholesterol) and hypertension(high blood pressure)
How often should a type 2 diabetes test be carried out?
Commonly, people with type 2 diabetes test their blood sugar twice a day. Two hours after eating your most incredible meal of the day, right after waking up. If you have high or low blood sugar symptoms or need to alter your medication based on your blood sugar levels. Your doctor may occasionally advise you to test more frequently.
What to do if you have too high or too low blood sugar?
Hyperglycemia, or consistently high blood sugar, puts you at risk for several diabetic complications. While low blood sugar of hypoglycemia, or consistently, can cause weakness, confusion, and disorientation. Both blood sugar extremes can be harmful. To monitor blood sugar levels, use a blood sugar monitor.
You might be able to lower your blood sugar if it is too high. Either beyond your target level or greater than 180 mg/dL—by drinking a lot of water. And going for a quick walk. Call your doctor if your blood sugar exceeds your goal range or rises above 180 mg/dL more than three times in two weeks without a known cause. Also, you may need to change your diabetes medication(s).
Please act immediately to raise your blood glucose with one of these professional. Recommended snacks if your blood sugar falls below 70 mg/dL, a condition known as hypoglycemia:
• Four tablespoons of regular soda or fruit juice
• Consume some sweet fruit, such as an apple, an orange, or a banana
• You must take or consume four glucose tablets
• Swallow four hard candies
• You must consume one tablespoon of honey
Test your blood sugar once more after 15 minutes. And keep doing this until it reaches 70 mg/dL or above. Eat a snack or meal within an hour after your blood sugar has returned to normal.
What does it mean to have high blood sugar in the morning?
The so-called “dawn phenomenon” is most likely to blame for high blood sugar levels in the morning. Hormones tell your liver to manufacture extra sugar in the early morning hours. So you’ll have the energy to get out of bed. If you suffer from type 1 or type 2 diabetes, it’s possible. That your body doesn’t create enough insulin to control high blood glucose levels. To monitor morning blood sugar levels, use a blood sugar monitor.
If you are undergoing high blood sugar in the morning. It may be helpful to monitor blood sugar at home throughout the night with a blood sugar monitor. The Somogyi effect is your body’s reaction to having low blood sugar during the night. Maybe a third, more uncommon, cause. When your blood sugar falls too low, your liver produces extra sugar to make up for it. And your blood sugar ends up high when you wake up.
You must speak to your doctor if your blood sugar is consistently high in the morning. Since chronically elevated blood sugars can increase your hemoglobin A1C.
Ways to record & follow your blood sugar test results
It’s important to record blood sugar monitor results every time you test your blood sugar. You can use your method when your doctor gives you a sheet to write them on. Various people keep a dedicate notebook for this purpose which offers much space for making notes, while others document them into a spreadsheet or note app on their phone. Some blood sugar monitors include a mobile app that you may use to monitor your blood sugar levels. Also, some fitness trackers have blood glucose monitoring built so you can view graphs and charts of how different lifestyle options affect your blood sugar levels.
Whatever method you use to record your results, it’s important to add information like:
• How you rest
• What you consume
• How much you do exercise that day
• Whether you’re experiencing anxiety, depression, or stress
• When you last smoked or drank, if you do either regularly
You can identify patterns over time by keeping these notes close to your blood sugar measurements.
Speak with your doctor if your blood sugar has been consistently high for several days without a clear cause. You may need to change your medication(s) or lifestyle in other ways.
Still, need hemoglobin A1C tests if you monitor at home?
A home blood sugar monitor does not replace a routine hemoglobin A1C test. This test gives you and your care team a broad overview of your average blood sugar levels over the previous three months. In contrast to at-home monitoring, which provides instantaneous snapshots of your blood sugar levels.
You can get familiar with seeing your blood glucose levels display in mg/dL . By the time you take your first post-diagnosis A1C test. Since A1C is frequently state as a percentage, understanding how those percentages apply to your at-home tests is essential:
Sum Up
Monitoring blood sugar levels at home is vital for managing diabetes effectively. The best blood sugar monitor includes finger-stick meters, CGM, and FGM systems. People with diabetes should choose a monitoring device that suits their needs and lifestyle. Accurate readings and proper hygiene are essential for maintaining reasonable control over diabetes. Regular monitoring and healthy lifestyle choices help keep blood sugar levels under a healthy range and prevent complications.