Testing

Hitting targets

So, what blood glucose levels should you try to achieve? Diabetes UK has examined the medical evidence and currently recommends that people with diabetes aim for the following targets:

Studies have shown that keeping to these targets could significantly reduce your risk of developing diabetic complications. Some people may find these levels difficult to reach immediately. Do not feel downhearted. Any improvement could be beneficial. So, discuss a target to aim for at your clinic; they will help you to set yourself a series of goals and work step by step to bring your levels down.

To try and improve your blood glucose levels you need to regard yourself as your own laboratory. You can try a few simple experiments to see how they affect your blood glucose.

*Your long-term blood glucose average is measured by an HbA1C test, which your doctor or nurse will organise for you. It is a measure of how well your blood glucose has been controlled in the past six to eight weeks.
 

Assessing your situation

Below is some information on how to assess your blood glucose. Your Healthcare Professional should be your first contact for advice.

• Test your glucose levels immediately before and two hours after each meal on two days a week
• Choose one weekend day and one weekday - for many of us our eating and exercise patterns are different during the week and at weekends
• Test twice a day on all the other days, choosing different times of the day each time
• Write your results in your monitoring diary
• Download them to your computer using the software that can be obtained from Abbott Diabetes Care (0500 467 466)
• Study them carefully

Is a pattern emerging?

Look carefully at your results. Can you see any patterns? Are your blood glucose levels always low at a particular time of day? Or high after certain meals? Read through the remainder of this book and you will find a lot of possible explanations for the patterns in your blood glucose. When you understand what is causing the highs and lows, it is easier to correct them.

Then, in the future, you will be able to use regular, everyday testing to help you to continue to keep your blood glucose well controlled.