Good Meter Snapshots Make For Poor Blood-Sugar Control
Does this describe you? Diabetes control by many people with diabetes comes down to what can be called the "snapshot" approach.
It is the least effective way to manage diabetes.
They test their blood sugar from time to time, especially if they "feel funny".
They use their glucose meter to get an immediate reading of their blood sugar.
If the reading is too high, they might inject some insulin (if they use insulin) or drink several glasses of water or try something else to get it down.
If it's very low (or even if they just "feel shaky"), they might eat a piece of candy or even "pig out" until they feel better.
How does this "snapshot" of the present and immediate blood sugar level relate to anything in the long term? How does it help get their diabetes under control and prevent complications? In a word, it doesn't.
"Complications," as another writer has said, "is just a pleasant euphemism for terrible things we don't want to think about.
" Heart attack, stroke, blindness, nerve damage, kidney damage, premature death.
Inefficient and insufficient diabetes control is the road to very bad things happening.
The snapshot approach is a very dangerous and all too common way to deal with diabetes.
It is asking -- no, it's begging -- for complications down the road.
The only way to make your immediate glucose readings work towards real diabetes control is as part of a series of readings over time and under similar circumstances.
But what many if not most diabetics do not have is a system to put it all together and make it work.
Without a system you are headed down the road to complications from diabetes.
One of the most important elements of any system to control diabetes is TIME.
Not just the present moment in time, but a record of readings over time will give a more true picture of your diabetes health and condition.
A spike of a very high blood sugar reading in the midst of many normal readings will be of nominal effect and should not cause great concern.
Several highs in a row, or at the same time of day over several days or more, however, need to be addressed.
Something needs to be changed, whether it's diet, medications, or something else.
The point is, trying to control diabetes on the fly with the immediate snapshot approach, though common to many diabetics, is dangerous and doesn't work.
You need a good time-based system to recognize patterns and irregularities so that you can deal with them.
It is the least effective way to manage diabetes.
They test their blood sugar from time to time, especially if they "feel funny".
They use their glucose meter to get an immediate reading of their blood sugar.
If the reading is too high, they might inject some insulin (if they use insulin) or drink several glasses of water or try something else to get it down.
If it's very low (or even if they just "feel shaky"), they might eat a piece of candy or even "pig out" until they feel better.
How does this "snapshot" of the present and immediate blood sugar level relate to anything in the long term? How does it help get their diabetes under control and prevent complications? In a word, it doesn't.
"Complications," as another writer has said, "is just a pleasant euphemism for terrible things we don't want to think about.
" Heart attack, stroke, blindness, nerve damage, kidney damage, premature death.
Inefficient and insufficient diabetes control is the road to very bad things happening.
The snapshot approach is a very dangerous and all too common way to deal with diabetes.
It is asking -- no, it's begging -- for complications down the road.
The only way to make your immediate glucose readings work towards real diabetes control is as part of a series of readings over time and under similar circumstances.
But what many if not most diabetics do not have is a system to put it all together and make it work.
Without a system you are headed down the road to complications from diabetes.
One of the most important elements of any system to control diabetes is TIME.
Not just the present moment in time, but a record of readings over time will give a more true picture of your diabetes health and condition.
A spike of a very high blood sugar reading in the midst of many normal readings will be of nominal effect and should not cause great concern.
Several highs in a row, or at the same time of day over several days or more, however, need to be addressed.
Something needs to be changed, whether it's diet, medications, or something else.
The point is, trying to control diabetes on the fly with the immediate snapshot approach, though common to many diabetics, is dangerous and doesn't work.
You need a good time-based system to recognize patterns and irregularities so that you can deal with them.
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