Diabetes Home Testing: What You Need to Know
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Insulin brings high blood glucose levels back to normal levels. CGM devices are not as reliable for acute problems like identifying low blood sugar levels. For the most accurate results, you should use a glucometer or a blood test. If your diabetes medications cause your blood sugar level to drop too low or if it's consistently too high, the dosage or timing may need to be adjusted. Right after you give birth, doctors will check your newborn's blood sugar level.
If you have high blood sugar levels, exercising may help to bring them down. If you have high blood sugar, your doctor or care team may ask you to test your blood or pee to check for ketones. A high level of ketones is a sign of diabetic ketoacidosis.
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You should have a blood test to check for diabetes 6 to 13 weeks after giving birth. This is because a small number of women with gestational diabetes continue to have raised blood sugar after pregnancy. Any medicines you were taking to control your blood sugar will usually be stopped after you give birth. You'll usually be advised to keep checking your blood sugar for 1 or 2 days after you give birth. Your baby's blood sugar level will be tested starting 2 to 4 hours after birth. If it's low, your baby may need to be temporarily fed through a tube or a drip.
Brightly colored and packed with fiber and antioxidants, pumpkin is a great choice for blood sugar regulation. In fact, pumpkin is used as a traditional diabetic remedy in many countries like Mexico and Iran . Additionally, eating cruciferous vegetables has been linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes .
Target Blood Glucose Levels After Meals by Age
High and low blood sugars can be a nuisance, but they don’t always have to become scary and dangerous. Unfortunately, about 25% of newly diagnosed people with type 1 diabetes are diagnosed when they are already in DKA. High blood sugar is dangerous, but it’s important to remember that high blood sugar is mostly dangerous over prolonged periods of time . Health's content is for informational and educational purposes only. Ultimately, a healthcare provider will look at the full picture and do additional testing to find out if there is a bigger problem. "My blood sugar will get really wacky if I have a lot of stress," said Carol Mullen of Sandia Park, NM.
This is especially true when your sugar is changing fast, like after a meal or after exercise. Your blood sugar levels will likely return to normal about 6 weeks after childbirth. (Your doctor will check on that.) If it does, you should get follow-up tests every 3 years. You can exercise when you have gestational diabetes as long as your doctor says it’s OK. Being active is a good way to help manage your blood sugar.
High blood sugar
You can, however, include foods in your diet that will help to regulate your blood sugar at healthy levels and prevent episodes of high blood sugar. Your levels may be different depending on your age and the type of diabetes you have. Your doctor may recommend changes in your meal plan, activity level or diabetes medications to make up for blood sugar variation. However, if you're unable to eat because of nausea or vomiting, contact your doctor. In these situations, you may need to adjust your insulin dose or temporarily reduce or withhold short-acting insulin or diabetes medication because of a risk of hypoglycemia.
Depending on the type of activity you’re doing, you might experience your blood sugar level going up or down. People with type 2 diabetes can control blood glucose levels through diet and exercise and, if necessary, by taking insulin injections or oral medications. Despite their former classifications as juvenile or adult, either type of diabetes can occur at any age. They may also order a glycosylated hemoglobin test called a hemoglobin A1C test. The test results reflect your blood sugar levels over the previous 90 days. The results will show if you have prediabetes or diabetes.
Some also feature software kits that take information from the meter and display graphs and charts of your past test results. Blood sugar meters and strips are available at your local pharmacy. Glycosylated hemoglobin is blood glucose attached to hemoglobin . This test is often called the "diabetes report card." It reflects the average blood sugar for the two to three month period before the test.
However, more research is needed to determine how whole pumpkin, such as when it’s eaten roasted or steamed, may benefit blood sugar. The level by which carbs can raise blood sugar is classified by a food's glycemic index . This is a ranking system based on a scale of zero to 100 that can help you assess which foods are more or less likely to cause a spike.
A key to many diabetes management plans is learning how to count carbohydrates. Carbohydrates often have the biggest impact on your blood sugar levels. For people taking mealtime insulin, it's important to know the amount of carbohydrates in your food, so you get the proper insulin dose.
In general, most adults should get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity. Aim for about 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a day on most days of the week. These factors work together to lower your blood sugar level.
Cleveland Clinic’s Endocrinology & Metabolism Institute is committed to providing the highest quality healthcare for patients with diabetes, endocrine and metabolic disorders, and obesity. If you plan to have another baby, keep in mind that you are more likely to get gestational diabetes again. Ask your doctor if there are any lifestyle changes that would help you avoid that. Because you had gestational diabetes, you have a greater chance of having type 2 diabetes. But it won’t definitely happen, and you can take action to prevent that.
If you use insulin to treat your diabetes, you might need to make changes to your dose when exercising. If you’ve had a severe hypo in the last 24 hours, do not do any physical activity. The CDC recommends that if your readings are unusually low (below 60 mg/dL) or high (above 300 mg/dL), you call your doctor right away or seek emergency medical attention.
Sleeping With Your Eyes Open
Always have a small snack or glucose tablets with you during exercise in case your blood sugar level drops too low. The exception is if you are experiencing a low blood sugar level. Sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soda, juice and sports drinks can be used as an effective treatment for quickly raising blood sugar that is too low. They could suggest you test anywhere between four and 10 times a day. For example, you could test before meals and snacks, before and after exercise, before bed, and even during the night. You may also need to check more often if you’re sick, making changes to your daily routine, or starting a new medication.
While there are no foods that bring down blood sugar levels quickly, adding the following to your diet can help keep your diabetes under control. Blood samples are generally used to screen for diabetes. A doctor will typically order a fasting blood sugar test, which measures your blood sugar levels.
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