Testing Blood Glucose

Testing my blood glucose (BG) can be quite the hassle, but it is a necessity in the maintenance of diabetes, no matter the type. To check BG, there are many tools and rules. The main rule is that one must ALWAYS wash their hands with non-alcoholic soap (so no anti-bacterial soaps, scented wet wipes, or alcohol wipes) because it can cause the BG results in the glucometer to be much lower than they actually are. Dirty hands do just the opposite; they can cause the BG results to be much higher, even by hundreds of points, than what it should be. BG SHOULD be checked first thing in the morning, just before a meal, and 2 hours after consuming a meal, and just before bed. So, you now see why checking BG can be a hassle, even irritating. I know that I get really mad when the error pops up and I have to check again. I am also quite reluctant to check when I need to. It can be a pain in the ass.

Following are the tools needed for checking MY BG:

When I was first diagnosed as a Type I Diabetic, I was very afraid of the Lancet (used to pierce the skin slightly to bring out a drop of blood for testing). It was always so painful and I dreaded those times when the blood would not come out, meaning I would have to prick my finger again until enough blood was available.

Nowadays, I have grown more confident in checking my BG as it no longer takes me 5 minutes with my eyes tightly shut and face deformed preparing for the possible pain to come. However, the tricks I have learned do not always work. I still only use two fingers, my middle and ring finger on my left hand, as I am too chicken to use others, like my pinky and pointer. I have observed that when pricking my finger hurts like a mo-fo, there wont be any blood, or at least not enough. I have also learned that to produce a good drop of blood, I must have warm hands, so I wash them with HOT water (gets the blood flowing), to pump my hand for about a minute, then after pricking my finger with the Lancet, to violently shake my hand in a downward motion. I have had little failed attempts with this method.

Aside from the physical pain and numbness caused by checking BG, it can also cause an emotional pain of sorts. Low BG can usually be detected by my body before the need to check, and so there isn't much of a surprise there, but there are times when I believe I have been doing great, whilst in the meantime, my BG is above 200 mg/dL. Results like this can be saddening, especially when I do not understand why.

What should my results be?

• In the morning, my results should be between 100 mg/dL and 110 mg/dL.
• Before meal should be between 90 mg/dL and 110 mg/dL.
• 2 hours after meal should be between 100 mg/dL and 120 mg/dL.

The above results are based off of my personal ideal BGs set by my endocrinologist. They can change along with my weight and hA1c.