Whether you are testing first thing in the morning or after a meal, checking your blood sugar is the best way to understand how the foods that you eat affect your blood sugar. You can obtain a glucose meter from your healthcare provider.
How do I test my blood sugar?
Checking Blood Sugar at home is quick and easy!
“That’s great, but I don’t want to finger prick myself like ever…”
Poking your finger is the best way to get an accurate reading of your blood sugar. Your nurse will show you exactly how to do this and don’t worry, it’s very quick and pretty painless. Make sure that you wash your hands with soap and water first (don’t use any hand sanitizers, lotions or cleansers like peroxide!) before poking.
"Great. How often do I have to do this?”
Your healthcare provider may recommend that you take readings four times per day: before breakfast (fasting), after breakfast, after lunch, and after dinner.
“Oh dear, that seems like a lot, how do I keep track of all that?”
Your healthcare provider may give you a handy little booklet to record all your readings. It is recommended that you record your readings in this booklet so that you and your health care team can track your blood sugar trends. Your meter will also store your readings for a certain amount of time, so if you forget, you can go back and record a missed blood sugar reading.
Blood sugar targets:
Fasting Blood Sugar
This reading is done first thing in the morning before you have breakfast and at least 8 hours after your last meal. A target fasting blood sugar is less than 5.3 mmol/L.
After a meal
- This reading is done 1 or 2 hours after eating a meal.
- 1-hour blood sugar after a meal should be less than 7.8 mmol/L
- 2-hour blood sugar after a meal should be less than 6.7 mmol/L
Diabetes and Pregnancy
Diabetes Canada Clinical Practice Guidelines Expert Committee
http://guidelines.diabetes.ca/cpg/chapter36#sec4