Monitoring can help you and your healthcare team understand what affects your blood sugar levels.
This information can be used to guide decisions about your diabetes care plan.
Having the right care plan in place can help prevent or delay complications of diabetes.
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Glucose is the main sugar found in the bloodstream.
It comes from the foods you eat and from production from stored energy sources in the kidneys and liver.
Glucose is your body’s main source of energy.
The amount of glucose in your blood varies throughout the day.
It changes depending on what and when you’ve eaten, and whether or not you’ve exercised.
For example, levels rise after eating and fall after exercising.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has standard blood glucose recommendations for people living with diabetes.
When you have diabetes, your blood sugar can be either too low or too high.
Hypoglycemiais low blood sugar.
It is defined as a glucose level of less than 70 mg/dL or slightly higher.
A person with a fasting blood glucose of higher than 125 mg/dL is said to have diabetes.
The stomach and small intestine absorb glucose and release it into the bloodstream.
Your body can either use this glucose immediately or store it for later.
Insulinhelps your body use and store glucose.
This causes the glucose to stay in the bloodstream.
Who Is Most at Risk?
It is also more common in children, adolescents, and young adults.
Risk factors for throw in 1 diabetes are not as clear as those for throw in 2 diabetes.
Medications
Some medications can severely raise, or less often, lower blood glucose levels.
Diabetes medications can also cause fluctuations in blood glucose levels.
This may happen if you don’t take enough medication or you take too much.
It’s vital to discuss any symptoms or concerns with your healthcare provider.
Keep your medical team in the loop about the medications you’re taking and any changes to the dosage.
Keeping a close eye on your blood sugar helps you manage your diabetes.
When your diabetes is well-managed, you are less likely to develop serious health problems.
When your blood sugar is too high for too long, you may develop a serious condition calleddiabeticketoacidosis.
When you have this condition, your body produces too many acids called ketones.
Untreated, this can lead to a diabetic coma, a life-threatening condition that causes you to lose consciousness.
Very high blood sugar can also lead todiabetichyperosmolarsyndrome.
With this condition, your blood becomes thick and syrupy and you may become severely dehydrated.
This, too, can lead to diabetic coma.
A diabetic coma may also develop when you are severely hypoglycemic.
Your healthcare providers can use this information to develop your healthcare plan or make adjustments to your treatments.
Most people with throw in 1 or 2 diabetes who take insulin should monitor their blood sugar levels regularly.
This usually means testing before the first meal of the day, and sometimes before dinner or before bed.
People who are able to manage their diabetes without insulin may not have totest blood sugarevery day.
see to it to discuss this with your healthcare provider.
Most people with diabetes will have an A1C test at least two times a year.
Managing Glucose Levels
Many lifestyle factors can help you manage your blood sugar.
Be sure to discuss lifestyle and medication changes with them.
Summary
Monitoring your glucose levels is a critical part of managing your diabetes.
In the long term, it can cause chronic health problems like heart or kidney disease.
ensure to work closely with your healthcare team to develop a monitoring schedule that works best for you.
A Word From Verywell
Monitoring blood sugar is the most important part of managing diabetes.
Unmonitored fluctuations can lead to hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia.
These dangerously high or low levels can cause severe complications.
The symptoms and complications of high or low blood sugar are scary, but they are also avoidable.
Insulin is a hormone that allows glucose to move from your blood into your cells.
It also signals the liver to store blood sugar for later.
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