Monitoring Your Glucose

Before beginning any type of exercise program, you should be well acquainted with the glucose meter you and your health care team have chosen to use. You also need to maintain the quality of your testing unit.

Accuracy in glucose monitoring is important when gauging the effectiveness of exercise on your health. The best way to ensure this is to have a member of your health care team, typically the diabetes nurse educator, teach or review the proper techniques for testing your blood and maintaining your glucose meter. Most blood sugar monitors work the same way: After you insert a plastic strip or disk into the glucose meter, you obtain a small drop of blood by pricking your finger, palm, or arm with a spring-loaded pen that contains a lancet. Then you put the drop of blood on the plastic strip or disk, and in less than a minute the glucose meter gives you a digital reading of your blood glucose level.

Choosing a Glucose Meter

Determining When to Check Your Blood Glucose