icon-nav-help
Need Help

Submit your question to our team of health care professionals.

icon-nav-current-questions
Current Question

See what's on the mind of the community right now.

icon-conf-speakers-at-a-glance
Meet the Team

Learn more about our world-renowned team.

icon-nav-archives
CWD Answers Archives

Review the entire archive according to the date it was posted.

CWD_Answers_Icon
December 24, 2004

Behavior, Blood Tests and Insulin Injections

advertisement
Question from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada:

For a while now, I have been trying to get my diabetes under better control. I’ve been testing my blood sugars a lot, between 10 and 20 times a day. I think I’m obsessed with what my blood sugars are. My doctor says that it’s good that I’m testing often. I told him that if I continue to do this so often, I need him to call my drug plan about approving me for unlimited strips. He still hasn’t. Is there any way I can feel more comfortable with my diabetes to not test as much? Should I maybe see a diabetes counselor?

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

It’s terrific that you’ve been trying to achieve more consistent blood sugar readings and checking blood sugars more often is a great way to achieve that goal. However, merely checking more often without knowing what to do with all of those numbers may not be all that helpful. So, think about what information you’d like to learn from those numbers. Are you interested in deciding how much insulin to take before a meal? Then you’d want to check blood sugars prior to eating. Are you interested in seeing how your blood sugars react to the foods you eat? Then you’d want to check blood sugars two hours after a meal. If you are feeling like you are hypoglycemic, you’d check your blood sugars to know if you need to treat a low. Once you’ve decided what information you are looking for, the number of checks will become more reasonable, and they will certainly be more useful.

JWB