Blood Sugar Testing Log: Fill & Download for Free

I’ve struggled with my weight my whole life, and a few years back the weight loss team at my GP’s surgery put me on a 1200 calorie diet. I lost 8 pounds the first week…and then a further 7 pounds in the next eighteen months. This was first met with, “That’s still 15 pounds, good work!”, and then, when I pointed out that fifteen pounds in eighteen months is not really celebratory when you’re permanently exhausted and have hunger pains and mood swings every day, and you’re walking 15km a day and swimming thrice a week, my calories were reduced to 1000, and then to 800. After a while, I gave up and started eating normally again, and while I didn’t lose weight, I didn’t gain any either. That was actually more demoralising than gaining, I think. My body stays the same whether I’m eating normally or whether I’m eating so little I pass out? Fuck that noise.We never did find out how I lost so little weight, since I weighed and logged every single bite that went into my mouth for 18 months.A few months after that I got Guillain-Barré, which made me really sick, and I was stuck in bed for a few months. After a few months I seemed to get better for a month, and then worse again for the entire summer, which I mostly spent in bed. I felt atrocious - weak, dizzy, tired, thirsty, hungry all the time. After a few months of that, I had the following conversation with one of my doctors:Sati: I’ve lost about 35 pounds…Doc (interrupting): That’s great!Sati: …in three months, without doing anything differently.Doc: Wonderful!Sati: Wonderful? Doc, I’ve struggled with my weight my whole life, and I haven’t made any changes lately. If anything, I’m eating more because I’m hungry all the time. Something is going on.I pushed, and eventually I got sent for blood tests - although not by that doctor. It was actually my gynaecologist who discovered the diabetes, after she sent me to get tested for anemia. She called me two days after the blood tests (they usually take a week) and told me she needed to see me that day as an emergency (where I live you typically wait 1–2 weeks for most appointments unless they’re super-urgent) and when I got there, she said, flatly: “I’m not sure why you’re not in a coma. Your blood sugar is dangerously high. Why was this not caught earlier?”A similar thing happened this summer - after being under a lot of physical stress over the winter and spring, I took what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation in June. Instead, I got two infected ears on the way to Spain and struggled with them the whole vacation, and then came down with shingles two days before flying home. The combination of infections pushed my blood sugar up to 35.5 mmol/L (639 mg/dL), which also netted me a bad yeast infection, and between the blood sugar and the pain and the fever, I lost 15 pounds in a week. The weight just dropped off me. (As did my pants.) When I went to my GP for my yearly diabetes check, I mentioned the sudden weight loss, only to be told, “That’s amazing! Good for you!”SMH. I get that losing weight when you’re overweight is a good thing, and that my insulin resistance should improve with weight loss, but losing 15 pounds in a week is not a good thing. Losing weight because your body’s gone haywire is not a good thing.I was hospitalised that afternoon, after they checked my blood sugar and saw that I wasn’t lying or mistaken about the numbers. I’m on a new, extended-release form of metformin now (though a higher dosage) and things seem to be stabilising, though my numbers still aren’t in a healthy range, and I’m still exhausted and faint a lot. Every time I need anything, it’s the same battle, though.And you know what? They’re still telling me I shouldn’t be testing my blood sugar at home, as a Type 2. Despite my sugar levels running in the high 20s and low 30s before getting my first glucose meter, despite testing having saved my life twice when I needed emergency treatment - I get the same old “Type 2s don’t need to test” line.The thing is, it isn’t any one doctor that’s to blame. Part of it is the overworked NHS - not enough time is dedicated to dietetics in medical school, and time constraints caused by too many people and not enough medics mean doctors here have 7–8 minutes to spend with a patient - and part of it is the fact that my GP’s surgery is woefully disorganised and nobody ever communicates properly. The lack of time for appointments means that there’s no opportunity for doctors to read patients’ notes beforehand, so things that might set off an alarm - like sudden unexplained weight loss in a diabetic, or an abscess, or wounds that don’t want to heal - don’t necessarily register as important because if I see a new doctor (and there are now about 25 at my GPs and you can’t insist on seeing your own unless you want to wait weeks; the practice has gotten far too large) they don’t know I have diabetes. Obviously I tell them the important basics, but I can’t go through much of my medical history in an 8-minute appointment. Individually, most of the doctors at my practice are decent and competent, but as a whole, the place is a shambles.

I have a diabetes level of 9.1 after 1 hour of meal. Am I a diabetic?Blood glucose and blood sugar are interchangeable terms, and both are crucial to the health of the body; especially for people with diabetes.Most diabetics will be familiar with the terms blood glucose, blood glucose test, blood glucose level and blood glucose meter, but what does blood glucose really mean? Why do blood sugar levels need to be controlled?The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends you check your blood sugar levels right before mealtime with a blood sample from a finger stick. Then do it again 1 to 2 hours after that first bite of food.Keep this up for a week or so. Write down the time and the blood sugar number. Make a note about anything you think might affect your levels, like medicine or exercise. And don't forget to log exactly what you ate, along with portion sizes and the amount of carbs.What levels are too high after a meal? Experts vary on what the number should be, but the ADA says a general goal is a blood sugar level under 180 mg/dL, 1 to 2 hours after a meal. Talk to your doctor about what you should aim for, and don't adjust your medicine without speaking to them first.Less than 140 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L) is normal. 140 to 199 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L and 11.0 mmol/L) is diagnosed as prediabetes. 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) or higher after two hours suggests diabetesEffective Home Remedies for Diabetes - Click Here to Read

How can checking your blood sugar help treat type 1 diabetes?Checking your blood sugar is a really important part of taking care of your diabetes. Blood sugar is checked on a small machine called a blood sugar meter.When should I check my blood sugar?Before breakfast2 hours after breakfastBefore lunch2 to 3 hours after lunch (before afternoon snack)Before supper2 to 3 hours after supper (before your bedtime snack)You need to do extra blood sugar checks:If you are having signs of low blood sugarWhen you are sick or vomiting (throwing up)When you are very active (a lot of exercise or participating in sports)Before drivingBefore riding anything with wheelsA diabetes nurse will teach you how to check your blood sugar.Follow these steps to check your blood sugar:Wash and dry your hands to be sure to get an accurate reading.Put a test strip into the meter.Use a small needle, called a lancet, to poke your finger. This will get a very tiny drop of blood on your fingertip.Touch the window on the test strip to the drop of blood on your finger. The test strip “sucks” the drop of blood into the strip.In a few seconds, your blood sugar reading will show on the screen on the meter.Keep track of your blood sugars so you, your family, your school, and your diabetes team can help keep your diabetes in control.Write all of your blood sugar readings on the blood sugar record log. Write them down even if they do not match with the columns. Some people use an app on their smart phone to record their blood sugars.6 Simple Lifestyle Changes Anyone Can Do To Help Maintain Healthy Blood Sugar - Click Here to Read