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
canwritedownyour bloodglucosenumbers.Youcan
high?
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
• ½ cup(4ounces)offruitjuice
Askyourhealthcareteamforthistestatleasttwicea • ½ cup(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:below154mg/dl stillbelow70mg/dl,eatanothercarbchoice.Repeat
thesestepsuntilyourblood glucoseisatleast70mg/dl.
What does my A1C number mean?
FindyourA1Cnumberontheleft.Then,lookatthe
What should I do about frequent low
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