Boston: Funky Blood Sugar Readings - Ten Things Every Diabetic Needs to Know!

Boston,

When it comes to taking blood sugar levels, every diabetic is told to test, test, test. Blood glucose test strips are the best way to know if diet and medication are working. There are many occasions, however, that the number you see on your glucometer doesn’t reflect your real blood glucose level.

Sometimes you can get false lows, sometimes you can get false highs, and sometimes you can get unusually high or low blood sugars that aren’t explained by your diet or diabetes management. Here are ten situations of which every diabetic needs to be aware.

1. Readings from capillaries (finger sticks) are usually 8 to 20% lower than the sugar levels from veins (lab testing). This explains how you can have good readings at home and then get a surprisingly high HbA1c reading at your checkup.

2. Taking more than 500 mg of vitamin C a day can result in changes to the enzymes in test strips so that the glucometer reading errs on the low side. If your actual blood glucose level is 150mg/dL (8.3mmol/L) and you take 2,000 mg of vitamin C a day, your glucometer might read 110 to 120 mg/dL (6 to 6.67mmol/L).

3. Skin lotion usually causes low blood sugars. Be sure to wash off any skin lotion on your fingers before you take your blood sugar levels.

4. Food on your fingers can cause extremely high readings, especially if you have just handled something sugary. But you shouldn’t be handling sugary foods, anyway!

5. During cold weather, carry your glucometer in a warm place, preferably in a pocket next to your body. If you try to use the glucometer before it warms up, you may get no reading at all.

6. Some test strips come in individual foil packages. There is no reason you have to handle the test strip inside the foil since your hands have to be clean for an accurate reading.

7. An unexpectedly low blood sugar reading on a warm spring day probably does not reflect what is going on inside your body. That is because blood vessels dilate to adjust to warmth. They carry the same amount of sugar in a larger amount of blood, so the blood sugar level goes down even if everything else stays the same.

8. An unexpectedly high reading on a cold winter day likewise probably does not reflect what is going on inside your body. Blood vessels immediately below the skin contract to conserve warmth and the blood sugar in them becomes more concentrated.

9. Intense exercise, enough that you get out of breath, causes a sudden surge in blood sugars due to adrenalin. That’s why exercise sometimes temporarily raises sugar levels rather than lowering them. Blood sugars can go over 300mg/dL (15.7mmol/L) even if you do not eat after weight lifting, rock climbing, or doing any aerobic activity so vigorously you get out of breath. They usually return to normal within an hour.

10. Infections raise blood sugars. If you have a cold, the flu, or especially gum disease, a high sugar reading probably does accurately measure blood sugar levels affecting your inner organs.

Source by Beverleigh H Piepers

Funky Blood Sugar Readings - Ten Things Every Diabetic Needs to Know!