Testing your blood sugar is an integral part of diabetes management. Testing helps you monitor your diabetes and make adjustments in your diet and exercise regimen as needed. The goal is to keep your blood sugar level as close to normal as possible. In doing so, you can delay or even prevent many long-term health problems caused by high blood sugar. Besides testing your blood sugar, you also need to chart and track your blood sugar results to find patterns and make changes in your regimen as needed.

Self-Monitoring Log
A self-monitoring log helps you look for patterns in your diabetes. Recording and reviewing your blood sugar test results will help you make decisions about food intake, activity and medication in order to achieve better control. Sometimes the diary may show patterns in blood sugar levels that indicate a need to contact a healthcare professional between office visits.

Ask Yourself “WHY?”
If you discover a pattern in your blood sugar level that is above or below your target range, problem-solve by asking questions:

• did I change my meal plan or eat any unusual food?
• did I change my exercise routine?
• did I forget to take my medication, take too little or too much, or take it at the wrong time?
• was I stressed about something?
• do I have an infection or illness developing?
• did I drink alcohol?
• did I take a new medication that may affect blood sugar?

Answering these questions will help you avoid extremes in future blood sugar levels. Keeping your blood sugar levels within your target range will help prevent or slow the development of complications that affect the kidneys, eyes, nerves, heart, and gums.

Ask Your Healthcare Team How You Can Improve Blood Sugar Control
How well are you managing your diabetes? Take this test to see for yourself. Of course, you also need to work with your healthcare team to monitor your blood sugar control and make improvements.

Questions you may want to ask include:

• how often and under what conditions should I test my blood sugar?
• what should I do with the results?
• what patterns in my blood sugar results should I try to achieve?
• what is my hemoglobin A1c (a test that measures average blood sugar level over the past two to three months)?
• how can I get my hemoglobin A1c in the normal range?
• do I have microalbuminuria (detection of tiny amounts of albumin in urine indicating early diabetic kidney disease)?
• when should I get together with a dietitian to review what I eat?
• what exercises are best for me?