People with diabetes must maintain a balanced diabetes blood sugar level. This can be difficult to do in certain situations, such as traveling. The first step to making sure that your blood sugar levels stay balanced is talking to your healthcare provider to find out when and how often to check your blood sugar. Most people check anywhere from one to four times each day.
Most health care practitioners will tell you to vary the times of the day that you're checking your diabetes blood sugar level so that you have a better idea of what's going on throughout the day. The first time you check your blood sugar should be in the morning before you eat anything. This is called fasting blood sugar. Make sure that you haven't had any food for at least eight hours. This will let you know how well your blood sugar is being controlled during the night while you're asleep.
You should also check diabetes blood sugar level before and after a meal so that you can see how your body responds to certain foods. Some people will check at 2 AM or 3 AM in the morning to make sure that their insulin dose is adequate.
It's very important to check diabetes blood sugar level before and after exercise because a person's body can react strongly to physical movement. For instance, people with high blood sugar will often notice a great reduction in their glucose levels because of exercise.
If your diabetes is not under good control, always check your diabetes blood sugar level before you drive a car. This is especially true if you take any medications that can cause low blood sugar. If you feel any symptoms of low blood sugar, you should always check your glucose levels.
Finally, during illness it is very important to check your diabetes blood sugar level more often as being sick can cause your glucose levels to rise. Make sure that you always write down your blood sugar results so that you can keep a good track record for your healthcare provider.
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