Diabetes Health Tips: Prevention, Treatment & More

A variety factors can influence your blood glucose levels, including food, medicines, exercise, stress, infection, and normal hormonal variation in the body. A single high blood glucose level is of little concern, but a pattern of high blood glucose needs to be addressed.

If your blood glucose levels are rising despite your best efforts to control them, speak to your physician about adding, increasing, or changing your dose of diabetes medicines.

Unless otherwise directed, don’t skip insulin or oral medicines when you’re sick, even if you’re eating less than usual. The stress of an illness may actually increase your insulin needs temporarily.

If a difficult situation can be anticipated (for example, a funeral or an exam), and you know how your body typically responds to stress, you may be able to prepare for it by changing your basal insulin or oral medicine dose, or by altering some other aspect of your diabetes regimen.

To treat low blood glucose, or hypoglycemia, eat or drink 15 grams of carbohydrate, wait 15 minutes for the carbohydrate to be absorbed, and check your blood glucose level again. If it has not increased in 15 minutes, eat or drink another 15 grams of carbohydrate and check again in 15 minutes. Using preportioned glucose tablets or gel to treat hypoglycemia instead of food or juice may help you control the amount of carbohydrate you consume.

Never use an open vial for more than a month, and always check the expiration date on your insulin before using it.

A good set of records should include blood glucose values, insulin and/or oral medicine doses, the amount of carbohydrate eaten at meals and snacks (with notes about high-fat or extra-large meals), and physical activities.

Both your premeal blood glucose level and the glycemic index of the foods you are planning to eat should be taken into consideration when deciding when to take a mealtime insulin dose.

Substituting foods with a lower glycemic index for foods with a higher glycemic index in your diet may help to reduce your after-meal blood glucose spikes.

Keep a food diary for several days, noting the foods and amounts you eat. Also write down the amount of insulin or other diabetes drugs you take and when you take them relative to your meals. Look for patterns in your records to guide you in making changes to your mealtime routines.