
December 24, 2004
Behavior, Blood Tests and Insulin Injections
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:
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