How frequent do I need to check my blood sugar levels if I am diagnosed with diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus is a common disease caused by family history and unhealthy lifestyle. It is a lifetime disorder and needs extra caution to avoid further complications. It is wise to get to know the disease more to get ideas on how to prevent it and we have come up with a list of commonly asked questions about it and the answers are coming straight from the experts.

The frequency of home checks actually depends on the type of diabetes that you have.

Type 1 Diabetes

Since these patients have a daily dose of insulin injections, it is highly advisable to practice a 7-point check which covers before and after meals reading and another one at 3 am. However for children, 2-4 times is considerably fine. The purpose of frequent checks is to monitor and evaluate the body’s reaction to insulin injection and if there is a need to change the dose of the medication.

Type 2 Diabetes

For type 2, evaluating blood sugar levels is done on a scattered basis meaning, once before a meal and another one two hours post meals at any given day. The reason is to recognize stability of glucose levels and if it is suggestive of changes in the dose of medications.

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes suggests sugar check once before meals and two hours after meals. Your doctor needs accurate evaluation because gestational diabetes can be harmful to you and your baby.