Why is it necessary to monitor glucose levels in patients with diabetes?

One of the most important conditions for the successful treatment of diabetes is self-control of blood glucose levels. This is the most reliable means of preventing the development of diabetic complications. From the first day of treatment, patients learn how to inject insulin and determine blood glucose levels. However, this knowledge is far from sufficient. It is necessary to be trained in a school for patients with diabetes, and perhaps more than once.

What is self-control?

This is the regular determination of blood sugar content and, most importantly, the ability to analyze the results and take the necessary measures to correct hypoglycemic therapy. In addition, it is mandatory to take into account the regime and features of nutrition and physical activity, as well as the ability to independently change the dose of insulin, depending on the blood sugar level and changing conditions of the day.

In order to lead the same lifestyle that was habitual before the disease, it is necessary for the patient and his family members to learn the basic rules of self-control. If you can independently detect changes in your condition, regularly determining the level of blood glucose, acetone in the urine, you can achieve good control of diabetes and various complications will be prevented.

Why is blood glucose monitoring necessary?

If you know the blood glucose level at any given time, you can solve several questions at once:

• Is the patient's insulin dose sufficient?
• How much insulin is currently administered depending on the glucose level?
• Should I change my insulin dose or diet before exercise?
• How to change the dose of insulin during the disease?

What is necessary for self-control?

To date, there is a large selection of portable devices for determining blood glucose-glucose meters, which are produced by various companies. All of them are quite easy to handle, provide high accuracy of results and allow you to get the result in a short time. Therefore, the main task is to choose the most appropriate blood glucose meter for each individual patient.

Glucose meters differ in the calibration of the device (plasma or whole blood), the size of the blood drop required to obtain the analysis, the speed of obtaining the result, the size of the memory for the tests already performed, the presence of additional functions (communication with the computer, calculating the average value of glycemia, highlighting the test area and the display of the device), and, of course, the cost of the device and test strips.

The small size of modern blood glucose meters and the minimum time to determine the blood sugar level (5-10 seconds) allow you to determine the blood sugar level not only at home, but also in any other place — at a party, in a cafe, on a walk. At any time, you can quickly and with minimal effort independently assess the amount of blood sugar at a particular time.

How often do I need to monitor my blood glucose levels?

Optimal for most patients who are on insulin therapy is daily self-monitoring, which includes 4 studies of glycemia, three of which are carried out before the main meals and the fourth-before bedtime.

However, there are situations when blood glucose levels should be monitored much more often:

• on days of poor health – every 2-3 hours.
• with unusual physical activity or a change in the usual rhythm of life-before and after the activity.
• when changing the amount and time of meals-before and after meals.
• if you experience symptoms of high or low blood glucose levels — at the time of the onset of symptoms.
• for air travel across time zones.
• if you suspect nocturnal hypoglycemia — at night from 02.00 to 04.00.

The fact that there may have been hypoglycemia at night may be indicated by high glucose levels in the morning with good indicators at the same time on other days, as well as headache and a feeling of exhaustion in the morning.

Chief freelance specialist endocrinologist,
health departments of the Lipetsk region,
Gorbunova Natalia Petrovna