If you are diabetic, you must be closely monitoring your blood glucose levels all the time.
Understand that even if you are taking your medications and following your doctor’s orders religiously, there are many variables that could result in a positive test for glucose in the urine, plus the fact that even if the urine was negative, the patient could still be suffering diabetic damage.
The urine becomes negative at a blood glucose level of 180 mg/dL, a level that could still cause damage.
Although you can achieve normal blood glucose most of the time if you treat your diabetes properly, there still may be times when, for no apparent reason, the glucose level is not normal.
There are many factors that determine the blood glucose level at any given time in a diabetic person. These factors include:
- Your diet
- Your physical activity
- Your mental state and stress levels
- Other diseases that you may have
- Medications that you are taking
- For women, the day of your menstrual cycle.
You have diabetes if your fasting blood glucose is greater than or equal to 126 mg/dL on more than one occasion OR your glucose after eating is greater than or equal to 200 mg/dL on more than one occasion.
Some diabetics claim that they can tell the level of their blood glucose by the way they feel.
However, the most common symptom of high blood sugar is having no symptoms at all! Which is why many people are living with prediabetes and diabetes without knowing about it! The fact is less than half of patients who try to guess come even close to the correct answer.
Sure, if your blood glucose is under 50 mg/dL and you have severe signs of hypoglycemia – you are sweaty, irritable, have palpitations and a headache – you know that your blood sugar level is low. And even then, you will not be able to tell for sure what your level is.
You must test yourself regularly and not depend on how you feel, or you risk one or several of the long term and short term complications of diabetes, such as excessive thirst, frequent urination, blurred vision, kidney disease, or nerve damage.
If you have type 2 diabetes, you should measure your sugar level a twice a day, before breakfast and supper. If you have type 1, measure it before meals and at bedtime. The more accurate information you have, the better will be your control over your glucose, and better chances of avoiding complications.
Frequency of monitoring of blood glucose level for people with diabetes:
- Before meals and bedtime for people with type 1 diabetes
- Twice daily before breakfast and supper for person with type 2 diabetes.
- Once daily for people with stable diabetes.
- Before meals and one hour after eating for pregnant woman with gestational diabetes or type 1 diabetes.
Thank you for your information. I am a newly diagnosed Diabetics Type 2 patient. I did have Hypoglycemia many years ago. I aready have HTN..( High Blood Pressure) and some minor Kidney issues. So thnaks. But I also have a question: Have you ever known anyone who had an experience as a Diabetic, who instead of the Glucose going up after a meal, the Glucose went down? Thank you. And "Be Blessed"
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My friend's Mother died from complications of diabetes and I have several family who are fighting this battle now. Thank you very much for sharing this article. please keep sharing. I want to know more about it.
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