Checking your blood sugar levels often and recording the results will tell you how well you are managing your diabetes so you can stay as healthy as possible. The best times to check your blood sugar are before meals and at bedtime.

Your blood sugar meter may have software to help you track your blood sugar level. This is usually available from the manufacturer's website. There are websites available to store your blood sugar data so your health care provider can access it more easily. Ask your provider if this might help your diabetes be better controlled.

Blood is drawn from a vein venipuncture , usually from the inside of the elbow or the back of the hand. A needle is inserted into the vein, and the blood is collected in an air-tight vial or a syringe.

Preparation may vary depending on the specific test. A person with diabetes constantly manages their blood's sugar glucose levels. After a blood sample is taken and tested, it is determined whether the glucose levels are low or high.

If glucose levels are too low carbohydrates are ingested. If glucose in the blood is too high, the appropriate amount of insulin is administered into the body such as through an insulin pump. Know the basic steps for managing your diabetes. Poorly managed diabetes can lead to many health problems.

Diabetes is on the rise worldwide, and is a serious, lifelong disease that can lead to heart disease, stroke, and lasting nerve, eye and foot problems. Let's talk about diabetes and the difference between the three types of diabetes. So, what exactly is diabetes and where does it come from?

An organ in your body called the pancreas produces insulin, a hormone that controls the levels of your blood sugar. When you have too little insulin in your body, or when insulin doesn't work right in your body, you can have diabetes, the condition where you have abnormally high glucose or sugar levels in your blood.

Normally when you eat food, glucose enters your bloodstream. Glucose is your body's source of fuel. Your pancreas makes insulin to move glucose from your bloodstream into muscle, fat, and liver cells, where your body turns it into energy.

People with diabetes have too much blood sugar because their body cannot move glucose into fat, liver, and muscle cells to be changed into and stored for energy. There are three major types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes happens when the body makes little or no insulin.

It usually is diagnosed in children, teens, or young adults. This disease often occurs in middle adulthood, but young adults, teens, and now even children are now being diagnosed with it linked to high obesity rates.

In Type 2 diabetes, your fat, liver, and muscle cells do not respond to insulin appropriately. Another type of diabetes is called gestational diabetes. It's when high blood sugar develops during pregnancy in a woman who had not had diabetes beforehand. Gestational diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born.

But, still pay attention. These women are at a higher risk of type 2 diabetes over the next 5 years without a change in lifestyle. If you doctor suspects you have diabetes, you will probably have a hemoglobin A1c test. This is an average of your blood sugar levels over 3 months. You have pre-diabetes if your A1c is 5.

Anything at 6. Type 2 diabetes is a wake up call to focus on diet and exercise to try to control your blood sugar and prevent problems. If you do not control your blood sugar, you could develop eye problems, have problems with sores and infections in your feet, have high blood pressure and cholesterol problems, and have kidney, heart, and problems with other essential organs.

People with Type 1 diabetes need to take insulin every day, usually injected under the skin using a needle. Some people may be able to use a pump that delivers insulin to their body all the time.

People with Type 2 diabetes may be able to manage their blood sugar through diet and exercise. But if not, they will need to take one or more drugs to lower their blood sugar levels. The good news is, people with any type of diabetes, who maintain good control over their blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure, have a lower risk of kidney disease, eye disease, nervous system problems, heart attack, and stroke, and can live, a long and healthy life.

Checking your blood sugar levels often and writing down, or using an app to track the results will tell you how well you are managing your diabetes. Talk to your doctor and diabetes educator about how often you should check your blood sugar.

Usually, you will test your blood sugar before meals and at bedtime. You may also check your blood sugar:. Keep a record for yourself and your provider.

This will be a big help if you are having problems managing your diabetes. It will also tell you what works and what doesn't work, to keep your blood sugar under control. Write down:. You and your provider should set a target goal for your blood sugar levels for different times during the day.

If your blood sugar is higher than your goals for 3 days and you don't know why, call your provider. Random blood sugar values are often not that useful to your provider and this can be frustrating to people with diabetes. Often fewer values with more information meal description and time, exercise description and time, medicine dose and time related to the blood sugar value are much more useful to help guide medicine decisions and dose adjustments.

For people with type 1 diabetes, the American Diabetes Association recommends that blood sugar targets be based on a person's needs and goals.

Talk to your doctor and diabetes educator about these goals. A general guideline is:. For people with type 2 diabetes, the American Diabetes Association also recommends that blood sugar targets be individualized.

Talk to your doctor and diabetes educator about your goals. High blood sugar can harm you. Glucose can then enter the bloodstream. The pancreas gradually loses its ability to produce insulin. The result can be a high blood glucose level.

Track Levels Health care professionals can take blood glucose readings and provide recommendations. Tips for Success Eat Smart: Eat a healthy diet of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts, plant-based proteins, lean animal proteins like fish and seafood. Limit sugary foods and drinks, red or processed meats, salty foods, refined carbohydrates and highly processed foods.

Move More: Being physically active can lower your risk of developing diabetes and help you manage the disease if you already have it. Manage Weight: Stay at a healthy weight to help prevent, delay or manage diabetes. No Nicotine: Smoking, vaping, exposure to secondhand smoke or using tobacco can increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, many cancers and other chronic diseases.

It may also make prediabetes and diabetes harder to manage.