Toolkit No. 15 All About Blood Glucose

Keepingyourbloodglucose(sugar)inyourtargetrange canpreventordelay thehealthproblemscausedby diabetes.Mostofthestepsneededtotake careof diabetesarethingsyoudoyourself. • Useamealplan. • Bephysicallyactive. • Takeyourmedicines. • Trytoreachyourbloodglucosetargetsmost ofthe time. • Keeptrackofyourbloodglucosenumbers usingthe resultsfromyourdailybloodglucosetestingandyour A1Ccheck. Youcanuseametertocheckyourownbloodglucoselevels. What makes my blood glucose levels rise or fall? Bloodglucoselevelsriseandfallthroughoutthe day. What are the blood glucose targets for Onekeytotakingcareofyourdiabetesis understanding people with diabetes? whyitrisesandfalls.Ifyouknow thereasons,youcan TargetssetbytheAmerican DiabetesAssociation takestepstohelpkeepyour bloodglucoseontarget. (ADA)arelistedbelow. Talkwithyourhealthcareteam aboutyour personalgoals . What can make blood glucose rise? • amealorsnackwithmorefoodormore carbohydrates ADA Targets for My Usual My Goals Blood Glucose Results (carbs)thanusual Beforemeals: • physicalinactivity 80 to130mg/dl ______to ______to ______• notenoughdiabetesmedicine 2hoursafterthestart • sideeffectsofothermedicines ofameal: below180mg/dl below______below______• infectionorotherillness • changesinhormonelevels,suchasduring menstrual periods What’s the best way to keep track of • stress my blood glucose levels? Checkingyourbloodglucosewilltellyou whether What can make blood glucose fall? you’rereachingyourbloodglucose targets.Thereare 2waystodoit. • missingamealorsnack,orhavingamealorsnack withlessfoodorfewercarbsthanplanned • Useabloodglucosemetertolearnwhat yourblood glucoseisatthemoment. • alcoholicdrinks,especially onanemptystomach • GetanA1Ccheckatleasttwiceayear. • moreactivitythanplanned • toomuchdiabetesmedicine Using a blood glucose meter • sideeffectsofothermedicines Manypeopleusetheirmetertochecktheirblood glucoseseveraltimesaday.Talkwithyour healthcare

American Diabetes Association 1–800–DIABETES (342–2383) www.diabetes.org ©2009 by the American Diabetes Association, Inc. 1/15 ToolkitNo.15: All About Blood Glucose continued

teamaboutwhenandhowoftento checkyourblood What if my blood glucose is often too glucose.Theycangiveyoua recordbookwhereyou high? canwritedownyour bloodglucosenumbers.Youcan learnhowto useyournumberstomakechoicesabout Seeyourhealthcareprovidersoonifyourbloodglucose food,physicalactivity,andmedicines. numbersare oftenhigherthanyourgoals.Talkwith your healthcareteamaboutchangesin yourmealplan, Yourresultstellyouhowwellyourdiabetescare planis yourphysicalactivity,oryour diabetesmedicines. working.You’llbeabletolookatyour recordbookand seepatterns—lookforsimilarresults overandover. What if my blood glucose is too low? Lookingatthesepatternscan helpyouandyourhealth Lowbloodglucose,alsocalledhypoglycemia, occurs careteamfine-tune yourdiabetescareplaninorderto whenyourbloodglucoseleveldrops below70mg/dl. reachyourtargets. Lowbloodglucosecanmakeyoufeelhungry,shaky, nervous,sweaty,light-headed,sleepy,anxious,or Getting an A1C check confused.Ifyouthinkyourbloodglucoseistoolow, TheA1C tellsyouyouraverageblood glucoselevelover use yourmetertocheckit.Iftheresultisbelow thepast2to3months. Yourresultswillbereportedin 70mg/dl,followtheseguidelinesto bringitbackuptoa twoways: saferrange.Haveoneof thecarbchoicesinthislist (whicheachhaveabout15gramscarbohydrate)right • A1Casapercentage awaytoraiseyour bloodglucose: • estimatedAverageGlucose(eAG),inthesamekindof numbersasyourday-to-daybloodglucosereadings • 3or4glucosetablets •½cup(4ounces)offruitjuice Askyourhealthcareteamforthistestatleasttwicea •½cup(4ounces)ofaregular(notdiet) softdrink year.Ifyouraveragebloodglucoseistoohigh,youmay • 8ouncesofmilk needa changeinyourdiabetescareplan. • 5to7piecesofhardcandy Association’s My Last My Goal • 1tablespoonofsugarorhoney Targets Result A1C:below7% After15minutes,checkyourbloodglucose again.Ifit’s eAG:below154 mg/dl stillbelow70mg/dl,eatanothercarbchoice.Repeat thesestepsuntilyourblood glucoseisatleast70mg/dl. What does my A1C number mean? What should I do about frequent low FindyourA1Cnumberontheleft.Then,lookatthe numberontherightundereAG toseeyourestimated blood glucose? AverageGlucosefor thepast2to3months. Ifyourbloodglucoseisoftenlow,youmayneed a changeinyourmealplan,physicalactivity,or diabetes A1C (%) eAG (mg/dl) medicines.Keeptrackofwhenyou’vehadlowblood 5 97 glucoseevents.Note possiblecauses,suchasunplanned 6 126 physical activity.Thentalkitoverwithyourhealthcare 7 154 team. 8 183 9 212 10 240 11 269 12 298 Provided By

American Diabetes Association 1–800–DIABETES (342–2383) www.diabetes.org ©2009 by the American Diabetes Association, Inc. 1/15