Diabeties of both types runs in my family on both sides. I have been having slightly elevated blood sugar for a while now, and due to my family history, it's cause for concern.
I have been told by the Health Department (not a Diabetic Specialist) to start keeping a food diary and blood sugar record, in hopes of finding a pattern. The problem is that I wasn't told when to check my blood sugar. Before and after every meal? Once a day? Three times a week?
And also, if they now keep the machines behind the counter at the Pharmacy, do I need a doctor note to obtain one?
?2010-12-20T16:48:12Z
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Hello my friend,
These are all great questions.
I check my blood sugar both before and 1 hour after my meals when I have a concern. I like to see what a particular food does to my sugars.
Any food that raises my blood sugar significantly is eliminated from my diet.
Testing like this can become costly with out insurance. But once you find out which foods are best for you, you only need to check your sugars 2 or 3 times a day. If the numbers are still consistent after a week you can test less often..
The other times I test is at night before bed time and also with in 20 minutes after waking up before I eat anything. Sometimes I use as many as 10 strips a day, but normally I use 2 (morning and night)
You can buy both a blood sugar meter and testing strips from any pharmacy with out a prescription.
Some times you can find a coupon for a free meter when you buy a box of test strips. Unfortunately, the strips are the most expensive part because they usually cost more than the meter and you can't reuse them.
There is a great book that I highly recommend, it is called Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution - A Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars by Dr Richard K Bernstein.
You can get these machines without prescription. I would recommend that you go on Tudiabetes.com and join it and then go to the group Free Stuff. There should be a lot of information about where you can get free meters.
Usually the best times to test are first thing in the morning, before you drink or eat anything. Two hours after a meal and then before each meal. And then last thing at night. But to establish if you have diabetes you would need to have a fasting blood sugar test where you do not eat for a certain number of hours and only drink water. It is a simple blood test. It might need to be repeated a couple of times to check if the first time was a fluke or a pattern is forming.
You can buy glucose monitors at the drug store without a prescription. You test BEFORE meals, if you are only thinking you might need to test the best time is in the morning before breakfast every day. I am curious, however to know 2 things 1) if there is so much diabetes in your family how do you know so little about it and 2) you are misinformed, type 1 diabetes does NOT run in families and has nothing to do with family history, so why do you think that?