Diabetes Blood Glucose Management

Keeping your blood glucose levels in a healthy range may require monitoring several times a day. Articles in this section discuss how often to check your blood glucose, how to do it properly, and how to interpret the numbers. You’ll also find tips for getting accurate results from your meter, and keeping records of your readings.

You can read about “Blood Sugar Monitoring: When to Check and Why,” “High Blood Sugar Symptoms,” “Dealing With High Blood Glucose After Meals,” and more!

High Blood Sugar Symptoms: Causes, Signs, and Taking Control

Do you experience frequent urination, blurry vision, or excessive hunger? Learn about these and other common symptoms of high blood sugar …

Blood Sugar Chart: What’s the Normal Range for Blood Sugar?

April 17, 2023

This blood sugar chart shows normal blood glucose levels before and after meals and recommended A1C levels for people with and without diabetes… Read More “Blood Sugar Chart: What’s the Normal Range for Blood Sugar?”

CGM for Diabetes Management

August 10, 2021

When compared with a standard blood glucose meter, using a CGM improves monitoring by giving you feedback throughout the day while requiring fewer finger sticks. Learn more about CGM for diabetes management… Read More “CGM for Diabetes Management”

Strike the Spike II: How to Manage High Blood Glucose After Meals

March 5, 2021

We know more than ever about the harmful effects of high blood sugar after meals, but we also have new tools and techniques for preventing them… Read More “Strike the Spike II: How to Manage High Blood Glucose After Meals”

Understanding Hypoglycemia

March 3, 2021

Controlling blood glucose is more than just managing the “highs”; it also involves preventing and managing the “lows,” or hypoglycemia… Read More “Understanding Hypoglycemia”

Managing Hyperglycemia

March 3, 2021

With your doctor’s help, your diabetes educator can help you learn to self-manage your diabetes by working through the challenges of managing hyperglycemia… Read More “Managing Hyperglycemia”

Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring

March 3, 2021

The year is 1978. The global population reaches 4.4 billion, and in the United States, 5.2 million people have diabetes. For around $400 ($1,500 in today’s dollars), those 5.2 million Americans with diabetes can, for the first time ever, buy a home blood glucose meter… Read More “Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring”

Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring: Part 2

March 3, 2021

To measure the concentration of glucose in your blood, you put a strip in the meter, poke a hole in your finger to get a sample of blood, touch the tip of the test strip to the drop of blood, and wait for the result. It sounds pretty straightforward. But, of course, the devil is in the details… Read More “Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring: Part 2”

Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring: Part 3

March 3, 2021

Isolated blood glucose checks are next to meaningless; they don’t tell you anything about how you got to where you are. “Smart” monitoring, on the other hand, does, because it follows a pattern… Read More “Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring: Part 3”

Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring: Part 4

March 3, 2021

The analytical features of newer blood glucose meters have had an unintended consequence: Doctors and patients often rely too much on the brains of the meter… Read More “Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring: Part 4”