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“Diabetes is not a choice, but how I live with it is.” – Brett Andreas
It has been said that sugar addiction goes beyond heredity. In India, where every state and every city has its own version of sweet treats, it is no surprise that it is home to the second-highest number of diabetic patients. According to the National Family Health Survey of India, over 74 million Indians were diagnosed with diabetes in 2021.
Diabetes is a chronic condition manifested by high levels of glucose in the blood. This happens when body glucose is not effectively absorbed or utilised by body cells for energy generation due to the lack of a hormone called insulin. The beta cells in the pancreas are known to produce this much-needed hormone. There are variations of diabetes based on the levels of insulin produced by the body in different situations.
1. Type 1 Diabetes: In Type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system fights and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. As a result, it requires lifelong insulin therapy, regular glucose monitoring, and major lifestyle changes.
2. Type 2 Diabetes: It is characterised by resistance to insulin. It can be caused by physical inactivity, unwanted obesity, and even genetic factors.
3. Gestational Diabetes: As the name suggests, it develops during pregnancy and is usually resolved after childbirth. However, it can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes if not controlled effectively.
4. Prediabetes: In prediabetes, the patient has glucose levels that are higher than normal but lower than those of a diabetic person.
One of the most effective ways to manage diabetes is through glycemic control, which means regularly monitoring your blood glucose levels.
Why You Should Monitor Glucose Levels Regularly?
Being human involves giving into your soul cravings, and you must have done it more often than not. No one can refuse a warm brownie and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, drenched in hot chocolate sauce. But would you like to think about your glucose level while enjoying it? Definitely not. However, you will need to take adequate measures so that these little joyous moments do not turn into a tragedy. For that, keep track of and control your glucose levels to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Here are a few other benefits of monitoring blood glucose levels:
1. You can track the effects of diabetic medicines on your sugar levels. You can also check whether any other medication is suddenly shooting up your glucose levels as a side effect.
2. If your doctor prescribes, you can also adjust the dosage of your medicine if required.
3. You can find out if your blood sugar is consistently high or low . In such cases, you can adjust your treatment accordingly with your physician’s advice.
4. If you have set a goal to take control of your health within a period, this check can help you maintain discipline and stay healthy.
5. Diet and exercise are the two pillars of human health. Regular monitoring of blood sugar helps you understand how effective these are on your insulin level.
6. Recent studies have also found evidence that high sugar levels may also be related to stress or other illnesses. Regular monitoring also helps in noticing sudden alarming changes in glucose levels due to other chronic illnesses and even pregnancy.
>> Also Read: Best Diet Plan Recommended for Diabetics in India
Know When to Track Your Glucose Levels
To track your glucose levels, you must know the right time to do so. Your healthcare provider will be the best person to get the best advice as to when these levels need to be checked and controlled as it varies from person to person. Some general guidelines may help you to assess the best time to use your glucometer :
1. After Waking Up: Checking in the morning helps you assess your overnight fasting glucose levels and compare it with levels before sleep.
2. Before Meals: Measuring your levels before meals helps you make smart diet choices. If you have insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes, it even helps your physician to ascertain your insulin dosage accurately.
3. Post Meal: If you check your blood glucose after two hours of your meal, it helps your healthcare provider understand how different foods impact your diabetic condition. It is common for the sugar level to spike after a meal, especially if you take insulin. These checks show the importance of self-monitoring of blood glucose, as it helps your doctor decide and adjust your insulin medication.
4. Pre-and Post-Workout: Be sure to use your glucometer before and after rigorous physical activity or hitting the gym. While exercising usually lowers your blood sugar, it may sometimes give rise to unexpected highs. This daily monitoring can help you understand how different types of exercises impact your diabetes in different ways.
5. Before You Hit the Sack: This is a critical time, as both high and low levels of glucose at this time can be of risk. Going to sleep with elevated blood sugar levels every day exposes you to high risk as the level remains at its peak for several hours while you sleep, and you cannot feel the symptoms until morning, when it may be too late.
The Best Way to Keep Tabs on Your Sugar Levels
The importance of a glucometer cannot be undermined whilemonitoring accurate blood glucose. In general, you need to follow a few steps with your glucometer:
- First and foremost, you need to cleanse your hands. If washing with soap and water does not suffice, you can use an alcohol wipe for your fingertips. Any debris or food residue can interfere with the result.
- You need to insert a test strip into your glucose meter.
- With the lancing device, you need to prick your fingertip and obtain a drop of blood by gently squeezing your finger if required.
- Hold the edge of the test strip to get a droplet of blood from your fingertips, and wait for some time for the result to show up on the meter screen. Redo it if you feel the reading is unclear or inaccurate.
It is wise to go through the user manual before you use the glucometer, as every device functions a little differently.
Understanding Optimal Blood Glucose Levels
Your glucose level is unique to you, like a signature recipe from a chef. The best way to go is to discuss with your physician the level that should work best for you. This reading will vary from patient to patient and with different phases of human life.
The aspects based on which these optimal levels differ are:
- The span of your diabetic condition.
- If you suffer from conditions that affect sugar levels, like Cushing Syndrome or Cardiovascular diseases.
- You may have hypoglycemia unawareness, which is why you fail to assess the symptoms of low blood sugar.
- Pregnancy, or if you are trying to conceive, will impact your level of glucose.
- Neuropathy, retinopathy, or nephropathy will also cause changes in blood sugar levels due to diabetic complications.
For a commoner who is a non-pregnant adult, the optimal level of glucose suggested by various medical associations before a meal ranges from 80 to 130 mg/dl and less than 180 mg/dl just one to two hours after the beginning of the meal. Consult your doctor to get a better idea of your fasting blood sugar and sugar level before going to bed.
For these kinds of regular checkups and consultations, Care Health Insurance has outpatient consulting and annual health checkups incorporated into their health insurance policies.
Wrapping Up!
This discipline of tracking and monitoring, not only helps your doctor to analyse if the treatment is effective and sufficient but also helps you to avoid any unforeseen emergencies that may arise due to the symptoms or sudden spike in your sugar levels. The results also help you decide on lifestyle management, diet choices, and physical activities that help you control your diabetes and prevent the aggravation of parallel medical conditions in the long run. Ultimately, testing your blood glucose regularly can save you financially as well as prevent major mishaps and hospital visits.
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