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Monitoring

Controlling your blood sugar is very important part of managing diabetes. Regularly testing your blood sugar helps measure the effectiveness of your meal plan, physical activity and medications is by testing your blood sugar regularly.

To self-test your blood sugar, you need a blood glucose meter, a test strip and a lancing device. Then, follow these steps:1

  • Wash and dry your hands. Using warm water may help the blood flow.
  • Prick your finger with the lancing device to obtain a drop of blood.
  • Apply the drop to the test strip as directed.
  • Wait a few seconds to view your results.
  • Discard the lancet and test strip properly.

Follow the instructions included with your lancing device to get a drop of blood— which normally include shaking your hands below the wrist or gently squeezing your finger a few times to help. While testing from the tip of a finger is most common, it is possible to use alternate site testing (AST). Other methods of testing and monitoring look at your blood sugar in the long-term. An HbA1c (also known as glycated hemoglobin or A1c) test gives you a picture of your average blood glucose control for the past 2 to 3 months.

Dr. Madani instructs his patients on general diabetes education.

1 Joslin Diabetes Center. Blood glucose monitoring: your tool for diabetes control. Available at: http://www.joslin.org/managing_your_diabetes_650.asp. Accessed October 16, 2008.
2 American Diabetes Association. A1C test, Available at http://www.diabetes.org/type-1-diabetes/a1c-test.jsp. Accessed November 11, 2008.

 

The long-term measure of blood sugar control, also known as A1C or glycated hemoglobin. (On this site, we use A1C.) The A1C test measures how many A1C hemoglobin cells (a specific part of red blood cells) have sugar attached to them. Because these cells live for about four months, this gives a picture of how well blood sugar has been controlled for the past few months. The American Diabetes Association recommends an A1C result of 7% or less to help reduce the risk of long-term complications of diabetes.1

1 American Diabetes Association. Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes -- 2006. Diabetes Care. Volume 29, Supplement 1, January 2006.

HbA1C

The HbA1c test (also known as A1c or glycated hemoglobin) measures your average blood sugar levels over a period of time by taking a sample of a specific component of your red blood cells—hemoglobin A1C molecules.

Some blood sugar naturally attaches itself to these A1C molecules as the molecules move through your bloodstream. When this happens, the molecule is considered "glycated." The more sugar in your blood, the more glycated A1C molecules you will have.1

The A1C test is not a substitute for frequent self-monitoring. It shows the average amount of blood sugar in the body over the last 3–4 months. Frequent highs and lows can result in a healthy-looking A1C result. Only self-monitoring can show how meals, physical activity, medications and stress affect your blood sugar over short periods of time. This provides more reference as you manage your diabetes.

Most experts recommend an HbA1c test every 3 months. Your healthcare professional will help you schedule HbA1c tests and decide what testing schedule is right for you.

1 American Diabetes Association. A1C test. Available at: http://www.diabetes.org/type-1-diabetes/a1c-test.jsp. Accessed October 16, 2008.

 

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My active meal planner and My active recipe box

To achieve better blood glucose results, one of the things you need to do is plan your meals accordingly. Click here to find out how My active meal planner and My active recipe box can help you. To use the tools, please be prepared to enter your Accu-Chek Active serial number.

PerformaAccu-Chek Performa

The meter that thinks for itself! – The Accu-Chek Performa offers great performance due to its intelligent safety checks. Its technology enables a precise interaction of meter, test strip and safety chip.

VegetablesFasting

During fasting people with diabetes need to take special precautions to manage blood glucose levels and aim at avoiding hypoglycemia during the day and hyperglycemia at night. Find useful information with regards to this topic in the fasting section.

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