Blood Sugar Control : Are you meeting your glucose goals?

One of the main keys to keeping your diabetes under control is managing your glucose (blood sugar). By doing so, you reduce your change of experiencing the complications that are associated with diabetes mellitus regardless if you have Type I or Type II Diabetes. 

So, if your blood sugar control is, well, out of control, here is a list of questions to explore.

Oral Medications:

• Do you forget to take your medication?
• Do you run out of medications?
• Are you taking the correct dose of your medication?
• Are you scheduling your medications correctly?

Insulin:

• How do you store your insulin?
• What is the needle size you are using?
• How long do you keep an open bottle of insulin?
• What is the expiration date on the bottle?
• How much insulin is actually in the syringe?
• If you are mixing insulin, do you know how to draw it up correctly?
• Is the insulin well mixed before drawing it up?
• Are you using the correct insulin?
• If you are using a rapid acting insulin, do you know how to correctly adjust the dosage based on your carb intake?
• Are you injecting the rapid acting insulin as you sit down to your meal?

Measuring Glucose:

• How old is your glucose meter?
• Has your meter been calibrated recently?
• Do you know how to calibrate your meter?
• How old is your control solution?
• How old are your strips?
• Have you looked at the expiration date of your strips and solution?
• How often are you testing?
• Are you testing at the correct times?
• Does your meter need a new battery?
• Does your meter need cleaning?

Nutritional Intake:

• Do you really understand the recommendations you were given regarding diet?
• What are you eating throughout the day (not just at meals)?
• Do you measure portion sizes?
• Do you take this measurement before or after cooking?
• Do you understand how to count carbs?
• Can you identify a carbohydrate, protein and fat?
• Do you understand how each type of food can affect your blood sugar?

Exercise:

• What kind of exercise are you getting on a daily basis?
• How much are you getting?
• What is your normal level of physical activity on a typical day?
• What can you do to increase that activity?
• Do you understand the effect that activity has on your glucose?

There is no question that keeping your glucose under control is essential in your quest for proper management of your diabetes. Good glucose control will go a long way in preventing or delaying the onset of complications. 

(c) 2006 Barbara C. Phillips, NP
Healthy Aging For Women