Regular glucose monitoring is one way you can learn more about your diabetes. Your doctor will calculate your target blood glucose range based on your age, your type of diabetes, your overall health, and other factors. Without proper treatment, high blood sugar levels can lead to long-term complications such as:.

Additionally, low blood sugar can lead to serious complications such as seizures and coma. Risks from the blood glucose test are minimal and much less significant than the risks of not monitoring your blood sugar levels. You should never share needles or finger-stick devices for any reason. Sharing testing supplies with someone can increase your risk of contracting or transmitting viruses such as:.

Regular blood glucose monitoring is a way to gather information about how your blood sugar levels respond to your day-to-day activities. These readings can help you and your doctor make informed decisions about your diabetes management plan. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

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Monitoring Your Blood Sugar. Medically reviewed by Mia Armstrong, MD — By Brian Krans — Updated on November 14, Supplies Preparation Procedure Understanding results Benefits Risks Takeaway Blood glucose monitoring is an essential tool for managing diabetes.

What supplies are needed for blood glucose monitoring? How to prepare for blood glucose monitoring. How is blood glucose monitoring performed? Understanding results of blood glucose monitoring. What are the benefits of blood glucose monitoring?

What are the risks of blood glucose monitoring? The takeaway. How we reviewed this article: Sources. Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations.

We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy. Nov 14, Written By Brian Krans.

Periodic use of CGM can also help you and your health care provider determine when your glucose is low or high and how to adjust your medication doses or food intake to prevent these fluctuations.

Devices that combine an insulin pump with a CGM system are also available. See "Patient education: Type 1 diabetes: Insulin treatment Beyond the Basics ". Advantages — There is evidence that people with type 1 diabetes who use a CGM system consistently and reliably rather than blood glucose monitoring [BGM] have modestly better managed blood glucose levels.

The "real-time" CGM devices automatically display your glucose level every five minutes, using numbers, graphics, and arrows so you can easily tell if your level is increasing, decreasing, or stable figure 3.

The receiver recording device can also be set to trigger an alarm if your glucose level gets above or below a preset level, which can be especially helpful for people who cannot feel when they have low blood glucose also known as "impaired awareness of hypoglycemia". Most CGM systems permit real-time "sharing" of your CGM readings with others eg, family members or caregivers.

Some, but not all, of these intermittently scanning CGM devices are able to alert you of low or high glucose readings. You can download glucose results from the CGM system to your computer, tablet, or smartphone, allowing you to see glucose trends over time.

If you take insulin, your health care provider can help you figure out how to use this information to adjust your insulin dose if needed. Drawbacks — CGM systems may show lower glucose values than blood glucose meters, especially when blood glucose levels are rapidly rising. In addition, the costs associated with CGM are greater than those of traditional glucose meters.

Not all continuous glucose meters and supplies are covered by commercial health insurance companies. Glucose testing — The results of glucose testing with blood glucose monitoring BGM or continuous glucose monitoring CGM tell you how well your diabetes treatments are working.

Glucose results can be affected by different things, including your level of physical activity, what you eat, stress, and medications including insulin, non-insulin injectable medications, and oral diabetes medications. To fully understand what your glucose levels mean, it is important to consider all of these factors.

When keeping track of your results, you should include the time and date, glucose result, and the medication and dose you are taking. Additional notes about what you ate, whether you exercised, and any difficulties with illness or stress can also be helpful but are not generally required every day.

You should review this information regularly with your health care provider to understand what your results mean and whether you need to make any changes to better manage your glucose levels.

Need for urine testing — If you have type 1 diabetes, your health care provider will talk to you about checking your urine for ketones. Ketones are acids that are formed when the body does not have enough insulin to get glucose into the cells, causing the body to break down fat for energy.

Ketones can also develop during illness, if an inadequate amount of glucose is available due to skipped meals or vomiting. Ketoacidosis is a condition that occurs when high levels of ketones are present in the body; it can lead to serious complications such as diabetic coma.

Urine ketone testing is done with a dipstick, available in pharmacies without a prescription. If you have moderate to large ketones, you should call your health care provider immediately to determine the best treatment. You may need to take an additional dose of insulin, or your provider may instruct you to go to the nearest emergency room.

Meters that measure ketone levels in the blood are also available, but due to their cost, urine testing is more widely used. ADJUSTING TREATMENT. Checking your glucose either with blood glucose monitoring [BGM] or continuous glucose monitoring [CGM] provides useful information and is an important part of managing your diabetes.

If you use insulin, your glucose results will help guide you in choosing the appropriate doses from meal to meal. When you first start treatment for diabetes, you will need to work with your health care provider as you learn to make adjustments in treatment.

However, with time and experience, most people learn how to make many of these adjustments on their own. Your health care provider is the best source of information for questions and concerns related to your medical problem.

This article will be updated as needed on our website www. Related topics for patients, as well as selected articles written for health care professionals, are also available. Some of the most relevant are listed below. Patient level information — UpToDate offers two types of patient education materials.

The Basics — The Basics patient education pieces answer the four or five key questions a patient might have about a given condition. These articles are best for patients who want a general overview and who prefer short, easy-to-read materials.

Patient education: Type 2 diabetes The Basics Patient education: Using insulin The Basics Patient education: Treatment for type 2 diabetes The Basics Patient education: Low blood sugar in people with diabetes The Basics Patient education: Care during pregnancy for people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes The Basics Patient education: My child has diabetes: How will we manage?

The Basics Patient education: Managing blood sugar in children with diabetes The Basics Patient education: Managing diabetes in school The Basics Patient education: Hemoglobin A1C tests The Basics Patient education: Giving your child insulin The Basics Patient education: Checking your child's blood sugar level The Basics Patient education: Diabetic ketoacidosis The Basics Patient education: Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state The Basics Patient education: Diabetes and infections The Basics.

Beyond the Basics — Beyond the Basics patient education pieces are longer, more sophisticated, and more detailed. These articles are best for patients who want in-depth information and are comfortable with some medical jargon. Patient education: Type 1 diabetes: Overview Beyond the Basics Patient education: Care during pregnancy for patients with type 1 or 2 diabetes Beyond the Basics Patient education: Type 2 diabetes: Overview Beyond the Basics.

Professional level information — Professional level articles are designed to keep doctors and other health professionals up-to-date on the latest medical findings. These articles are thorough, long, and complex, and they contain multiple references to the research on which they are based.

Professional level articles are best for people who are comfortable with a lot of medical terminology and who want to read the same materials their doctors are reading.

Glucose monitoring in the ambulatory management of nonpregnant adults with diabetes mellitus Measurements of chronic glycemia in diabetes mellitus Overview of the management of type 1 diabetes mellitus in children and adolescents Treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the older patient.

org , available in English and Spanish. Why UpToDate? Product Editorial Subscription Options Subscribe Sign in. Learn how UpToDate can help you. Select the option that best describes you. View Topic. Font Size Small Normal Large. Patient education: Glucose monitoring in diabetes Beyond the Basics.

Formulary drug information for this topic. No drug references linked in this topic. Find in topic Formulary Print Share. Author: Ruth S Weinstock, MD, PhD Section Editor: David M Nathan, MD Deputy Editor: Katya Rubinow, MD Contributor Disclosures. All topics are updated as new evidence becomes available and our peer review process is complete.

Literature review current through: Jan This topic last updated: Apr 06, GLUCOSE TESTING OVERVIEW If you have diabetes, you have an important role in your own medical care and monitoring your glucose sugar level is a key part of this.

FREQUENCY OF GLUCOSE TESTING Studies have proven that people with diabetes who maintain normal or near-normal blood glucose levels reduce their risk of diabetes-related complications. ADJUSTING TREATMENT Checking your glucose either with blood glucose monitoring [BGM] or continuous glucose monitoring [CGM] provides useful information and is an important part of managing your diabetes.

The Basics Patient education: Managing blood sugar in children with diabetes The Basics Patient education: Managing diabetes in school The Basics Patient education: Hemoglobin A1C tests The Basics Patient education: Giving your child insulin The Basics Patient education: Checking your child's blood sugar level The Basics Patient education: Diabetic ketoacidosis The Basics Patient education: Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state The Basics Patient education: Diabetes and infections The Basics Beyond the Basics — Beyond the Basics patient education pieces are longer, more sophisticated, and more detailed.

Patient education: Type 1 diabetes: Overview Beyond the Basics Patient education: Care during pregnancy for patients with type 1 or 2 diabetes Beyond the Basics Patient education: Type 2 diabetes: Overview Beyond the Basics Professional level information — Professional level articles are designed to keep doctors and other health professionals up-to-date on the latest medical findings.

Glucose monitoring in the ambulatory management of nonpregnant adults with diabetes mellitus Measurements of chronic glycemia in diabetes mellitus Overview of the management of type 1 diabetes mellitus in children and adolescents Treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the older patient The following organizations also provide reliable health information.

org , available in English and Spanish [ ]. Translating the A1C assay into estimated average glucose values. Diabetes Care ; ElSayed NA, Aleppo G, Aroda VR, et al. Diabetes Technology: Standards of Care in Diabetes Diabetes Care ; S Machry RV, Rados DV, Gregório GR, Rodrigues TC. Self-monitoring blood glucose improves glycemic control in type 2 diabetes without intensive treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Diabetes Res Clin Pract ; Danne T, Nimri R, Battelino T, et al. International Consensus on Use of Continuous Glucose Monitoring.

It does NOT include all information about conditions, treatments, medications, side effects, or risks that may apply to a specific patient. It is not intended to be medical advice or a substitute for the medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment of a health care provider based on the health care provider's examination and assessment of a patient's specific and unique circumstances.

Patients must speak with a health care provider for complete information about their health, medical questions, and treatment options, including any risks or benefits regarding use of medications.

This information does not endorse any treatments or medications as safe, effective, or approved for treating a specific patient. UpToDate, Inc. and its affiliates disclaim any warranty or liability relating to this information or the use thereof.