Blood Glucose Monitor
Benefit and Goals of blood glucose monitor in diabetes care
Blood glucose monitor is an important part of diabetic care. When done properly and with support and education, blood glucose monitoring can allow you to modify the type of food you eat, vary amount of time you exercise and help to adjust medication to avoid diabetes complication.
Here are some benefit of blood glucose monitoring.
To identify patterns in blood glucose level and help to better control of blood glucose
To lead a more flexible life
To reduce risk of long term diabetes complication
To understand the impact of food, activity and medications on your blood glucose
To quickly identified high or low glucose level and treat the problem appropriately.
To determined effectiveness of current diabetes treatment plan and identified changes needed
To better manage diabetes
To feel good
To live healthy, well free from the complications of diabetes.
In general it is recommended that blood glucose monitor is done two hours after you start eating. A common goal is to be less than 160mg/dl. The blood glucose goal are summarized in the table below and are given as plasma and whole blood values. The drop of blood you check with your glucose meter is known as whole blood. Yet most meter will convert the number to plasma value. Plasma is more concentrated and values will be 10% higher than whole blood values. Check your meter so you know what results you are getting.
Average Blood Glucose Goals Plasma (mg/dl) Whole Blood (mg/dl) Before Meals 90-130 80-120 2 hours after meal Less than 160 Less than 150 At bedtime 110-150 100-140 The blood glucose goals given in the above table are averages. Some of your results may be at higher range, some at the lower range. Discuss and establish your target goals with your diabetes care team based on what is best for you. Your target blood glucose goals will depend on variety of factors, including your medical condition, you living situation and your desire and ability to make lifestyle change.
Blood Glucose Monitor Source: American Diabetes Association: "Position Statement: Standard of medical care for patient with diabetes mellitus".
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