7 misconceptions about Blood Glucose Monitoring

Patients with diabetes need to test their blood glucose regularly during treatment, but many patients fail to do so properly, and the following are the main 7 misconceptions.

Monitoring fasting blood glucose only

Postprandial blood glucose is as important as fasting blood glucose, if not more important. In the past, most blood glucose tests required fasting, but recent studies have confirmed that the significance of postprandial blood glucose is even greater than that of fasting blood glucose.

Firstly, in the early stage of diabetes, postprandial blood glucose often rises first, and fasting blood glucose rises later, so checking postprandial blood glucose can help in the early diagnosis of diabetes.

Secondly, compared with fasting blood glucose, postprandial blood glucose elevation is more closely related to diabetic macrovascular complications, and strict control of postprandial hyperglycemia can help prevent and treat diabetic macrovascular complications.

Moreover, in terms of medication consideration, monitoring postprandial blood glucose is an important basis for adjusting medication regimen.

Incorrect time to check fasting blood sugar

Fasting blood glucose is the most accurate indicator of insulin secretion level in people. Strictly speaking, only the blood glucose value measured after an overnight fast of 8 to 12 hours and taken before 7:00 a.m. the next day can be considered as fasting blood glucose value. Suppose the blood is drawn too late, and the morning medication is delayed. In that case, it will not only fail to reflect the patient’s real fasting blood glucose level but may also affect the treatment due to the delay of injection or medication.

Irregular timing of blood glucose testing

Some people with diabetes are not careful about how they monitor their blood glucose, either not checking it for a long time or checking it only when they have time, which is actually letting the disease progress.

Blood glucose monitoring needs to be done regularly or on a regular basis. The only time to use immediate monitoring is when you eat new food, don’t know how it affects your blood sugar, or feel uncomfortable and suspect that your blood sugar is too low or too high.

For example, the time for monitoring postprandial and fasting blood glucose is not arbitrary but is required. When monitoring postprandial blood glucose, it is required to eat according to the usual diet, take preprandial hypoglycemic drugs, and draw blood for 2 hours from the first bite of the main food. At the same time, avoiding eating too much, strenuous exercise, smoking, and drinking stimulating drinks are necessary. The best time to check fasting blood glucose is from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. When blood is drawn, patients should ensure that they have fasted for 8 to 12 hours from the previous day’s dinner to the next morning when they do the monitoring, and a “super fasting” state of more than 12 hours will also affect the monitoring results.

Stop taking glucose-lowering drugs before monitoring blood sugar

Some diabetic patients believe that the blood glucose measured after stopping glucose-lowering drugs is the true reflection of their condition.

In fact, the purpose of blood glucose testing is to check the efficacy of medication on diabetes control. Suppose blood glucose is measured after stopping glucose-lowering medication. In that case, the test results obtained will not accurately reflect the condition but will also cause blood glucose fluctuations and aggravation the condition. To avoid the fluctuation of blood glucose caused by medication discontinuation and to reflect the true situation of blood glucose control, the patient should use glucose-lowering medication normally on the day of blood glucose monitoring.

Neglecting to monitor blood sugar before exercise

Exercise can effectively help sugar lovers control their blood sugar, but if they do not test their blood sugar before exercise, those with low blood sugar may pass out during the exercise process. At the same time, those with high blood glucose who exercise without measuring their blood glucose may be at risk for acute illnesses such as ketoacidosis. Therefore, before exercise, sugar lovers must test their blood sugar, and if the blood sugar level is too high or too low, the first step should be to stabilize the blood sugar.