Be a Diabetes Detective

Be a Detective to Manage your Diabetes

Managing your diabetes can often feel like trying to solve a mystery.  Questions that always arise up are:

How does my food effect my blood sugars?

Are my medications working? 

What does physical activity do to my blood sugars?

How come I don’t feel any different even though I am making changes?  

Diabetes is very individualized, so when it comes to figuring out how best to manage it you need to become your own detective.  The best way to do this is through Self-Monitoring your Blood Glucose (SMBG) or checking your own blood sugars!

Collect the Evidence

Checking your own blood sugars or SMBG helps you:

• -         Determine your blood sugars in that exact moment (after a meal, after activity, first thing in the morning).
• -         Determine if your blood sugars are high, low or within target.
• -         Show you in that exact moment what your food, activity and medications are doing for you.
• -         Work with your health care team to help put the puzzle pieces together with any adjustments needed for either lifestyle or medication.

I don’t like to poke my fingers so how often would I need to check?

-          As mentioned before, diabetes is very individualized, so SMBG is also individualized.  How frequent you test is dependent on your medications, your lab results, you current health status: sick, hospitalized, pregnant or even starting a new medication

What do I use to check my blood sugars?

-          You check your blood sugars through use of a portable blood glucose machine.  These devices are available through your community pharmacies or health teams.  Talk to your pharmacist or team members about what meter is right for you and coverage that is available for you

Interpreting the Evidence

Recommended blood glucose (sugar) targets for most people with diabetes*

(Your target may not be the same as the examples in this blood sugar levels chart. Yours should be specific to you.)

	A1C**	Fasting blood glucose/ blood glucose before meals (mmol/L)	Blood glucose two hours after eating (mmol/L)
Target for most people with diabetes	7.0% or less	4.0 to 7.0	5.0 to 10.0 (5.0 – 8.0 if A1C** targets not being met)

* This information is based on the Canadian Diabetes Association 2013 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in Canada and is a guide.
** A1C is a measurement of your average blood glucose (sugar) control for the last two to three months and approximately 50 per cent of the value comes from the last 30 days.

- See more at: http://www.diabetes.ca/diabetes-and-you/healthy-living-resources/blood-glucose-insulin/managing-your-blood-glucose#sthash.JOnq46Ax.dpuf

Putting the Puzzle pieces together

Now that I have tested what do I do with the information?

-     Record your blood sugar readings in a log book or journal. This is a great way to start seeing trends and patterns.  Depending on how in-depth you want to go you can record your food, activity, medications and your blood sugar readings to get the whole picture.

-     

      Take this log book with you to your medical appointments to be able to discuss the best management options for you when it comes to managing your diabetes.

-     Look at the information you have collected. You can interpret the readings to determine whether or not it’s the food, activity or medications that needs to be reviewed.

Click on the links to see the samples of how to log your blood glucose readings:

Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose Tool

Weely Blood Glucose Log sheet (printable)

Solve the Mystery!

The more you know about diabetes and how it affects your body the better able you are to start managing it! 

If you are newly diagnosed or have question about help to manage your diabetes please ask your PCN doctor for a referral to the SMILE team, where a team of detectives can also help you out!

Please visit the CDA website for more information.

Andrea Shackel is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator at the Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network.