Blood Glucose Monitoring and Tracking: The Essentials
Monitoring your blood glucose levels provides valuable information to help you control your diabetes. How often should you check your blood glucose level? What should you write in your logbook? Let's take a look at both questions.
How Often Should You Check Your Blood Glucose Level?
While this is a matter for you and your health care team to decide, most people with diabetes who use insulin generally check three or more times per day — once before each meal and then before bed.
Those with type 2 diabetes who use oral medication(s) or who control blood glucose levels with diet and exercise, should check enough to reach their goals. The more information you have about your blood glucose, the better job you'll do at managing your diabetes. Checking on a regular schedule and understanding what your levels should be will help you and your health care team adjust your treatment as needed.
Check more often when:
- Feeling ill and/or having a fever
- Making changes to your meal plan
- Changing your exercise/physical activity in any way
- Changing insulin or medications
What Should I Write in My Logbook?
Writing your blood glucose results helps you learn your blood glucose level patterns — blood glucose levels you should expect to see at specific times of the day. A logbook becomes even more useful — to both you and your health care team — when you also write down:
- What you eat and drink, including how much and how often
- How much you exercise
- Insulin type, dosage and time of day
- Blood glucose control medication(s) and dosage
- Emotion and stress that you experience, along with the time