To Test, or Not to Test… That is NOT the Question

By testing your blood glucose (sugar) as prescribed by your doctor and using the results to make informed decisions, you may be able to avoid: kidney failure, heart attack, nerve damage, blindness, amputations or stroke. Regular blood sugar monitoring is like keeping track of how much gas you have in your car. You know how much gas you need to get where you are going. Similarly, by keeping within your target blood sugar range, you can continue enjoying your life. If you ignore it, like ignoring your gas gauge, you won’t be going anywhere.

Diabetes is a disease that causes higher than normal blood sugar. This high level of blood sugar may cause damage to the body’s blood vessels, nerves and organs. Over time this damage can become so severe that it leads to serious complications like those listed above. To have a fighting chance of preventing or minimizing complications from diabetes, you must monitor your blood sugar. Just simply checking and writing numbers down is not enough. To really make the numbers work for you, you have to know what they mean.

Source: American Diabetes Association Clinical Practice Recommendations, 2009

The American Diabetes Association gives target ranges for blood sugar for people with diabetes, which are shown above. "Before meals" refers to right before you start eating, and "after meals" is about 1-2 hours after you start eating. It is important to remember that your doctor or healthcare provider may recommend a different range for you based on your specific situation, so make sure you know what ranges are right for you.

There are many things that affect your blood sugar – food, activity, medication, stress, alcohol, even illness – and each person is different. The only way to learn how these things affect your blood sugar is to test. This will show you, for example, if your meal size was appropriate, how much that walk with the dog did for your blood sugar, or that your dose of insulin may need adjusting. Finding these patterns will give you and your healthcare provider valuable information you can use to control your diabetes. By learning all you can about your blood sugar, you become a powerful self-advocate.

Without testing, you are ignoring your diabetes – and the consequences are far worse than running out of gas. R'ther than leaving it up to chance – get back in the driver’s seat and take control of your diabetes by testing your blood sugar!

Simplify your life. . . with just a CLICK!

Now, you can authorize your next shipment of diabetes test supplies online. Simply visit www.AmMedDirect.com and click the Member Login tab at the top of the page. Answer a few questions and you’ll have access to reorder supplies, valuable diabetes management tools and much more. Check out some of these resources only available for our Better Care Program members:

Online Reordering
Health and Nutrition Tools
Member Only Recipes
Ask Nurse Lorraine

Good Things Do Come in 3s

Fact #1: Medicare reimbursement guidelines cover the batteries and strips for your meter.

Just ask your Customer Service Representative to include them in your order.

Fact #2: Test strips are like house flowers;

you have to take extra care with them. They cannot be exposed to excessive heat, cold or humidity. So, don't keep them in places like the car, refrigerator, freezer or bathroom. The vials they come in are specially designed to protect them. When you take one strip out of the vial, close the lid promptly. Never store strips outside of the vial they came in. Any of these actions can cause the strips to go bad. It could affect the accuracy of your test results. Check your meter’s instruction book to see if yours require special handling.

Fact #3: Lancets cannot be thrown away loose in your regular trash.

Used lancets and syringes are considered potentially infectious because of their ability to spread diseases like Hepatitis or HIV. They may cause injury to family members, housekeepers or municipal waste handlers. State and local laws vary. To find out proper disposal methods for your area, contact the Coalition for Safe Community Needle Disposal toll free at 1-800-643-1643, or online at www.safeneedledisposal.org

Less PAIN, More Gain!

When you have diabetes, testing your blood glucose (sugar) can be a real pain, but it doesn't have to be. The "pain" part of testing has nothing to do with the meter you use. All meters require a blood sample to give you a blood sugar reading. But, by making a few, simple, minor adjustments you can make a BIG difference in your comfort!

Tip #1: New vs. Used:

Simply using a new lancet for each test greatly reduces the pain. Lancets are sharpened, polished and coated to glide through the skin easily. Would you use a dull knife to carve your turkey? After just ONE use, the tip bends back, like a fishhook, and dulls significantly, resulting in MUCH more pain going in.

Tip #2: Reduce your Depth:

Most lancing devices have adjustable depth settings to control how deep the lancet pierces your skin. The deeper the stick, the greater the chance the lancet will touch nerve fibers, which can cause throbbing pain. Use the lowest setting that allows you to obtain enough blood to test.

Tip #3: Replace your lancing device every 6 months.

The majority of devices sold are spring-loaded, which wear out after repeated use. A weak spring may require deeper or multiple sticks to get a blood sample. Medicare reimbursement guidelines cover one lancing device every 6 months for this very reason!

Tip #4: Lancet thickness can make a difference!

If the lancet is too thick, then tearing or bruising of the skin may occur and this causes pain. If the lancet is too thin, the lancet must go deeper to get a large enough drop of blood. Lancets come in different widths, called "gauges" (G). Common sizes are 28G, 30G and 33G. So, the thinnest gauge does not always equal less painful testing. Try different gauges to find the one that works best for you.

Tip #5: Location, location, location!

Fingertips are loaded with nerve endings – especially right in the middle. By testing on the side of your fingertip, you can minimize your pain. Another option, alternate site testing (AST), may be less painful. Sampling blood from alternate sites may be desirable but there are limitations. Your meter’s manual lists its approved alternate sites. Also, be sure to ask your doctor if AST is right for you.

Tip #6: Change is Good:

By rotating where you stick for your blood sample, you could ease your pain tremendously. Using the same 1 or 2 places causes the skin to form a callous, requiring a deeper stick for future samples which may lead to more pain. A quick rule of "thumb" is to start on one side of your left thumb, then go to the other side. Then use one side of your index finger. Use the other side and so on until you have used that entire hand. Then switch hands. When you return to your first stick site, it will have had lots of time to heal.

By following these 6 Easy Tips to Reduce Your Pain you will increase your gain – on living an easier life with diabetes!