Monitoring Blood Sugar - Non diabetic
By jalucia
@jalucia (1431)
United States
January 9, 2009 7:27am CST
I was diagnosed with diabetes when I was pre-teen, but was never put on medication for it. With my first two children I had gestational diabetes, but not with my third. When I get my blood tested at the lab I'm told that it's a little high but, basically, no need to do anything. So, recently I have been monitoring my blood sugars on my own (not under doctors orders to do so) and adjusting how much, when and what I eat. I read, online, that it is not suggested for non diabetics to do home testing of blood sugar. Does anyone know this to be true? Is there anything wrong with what I am doing?
1 response
@nowment (1757)
• United States
11 Jan 09
Best one to ask this question would be a good doctor.
But it seems that if you had blood sugar levels that showed high, and you had issues with this over the years, it seems to me that testing on a regular at the very least every couple of months will help.
No doubt you had to go through the whole nutritisit thing of learning what foods are starchy raising sugar levels etc.
Diabetes runs my family it took a while I finally got one of my uncles to get tested, he was borderline, perhaps if he monitored early he never would have ended up on meds. When he was told he was borderline but could control this by food and eventually pills, he began to montitor his sugar levels and watch what he ate, and unlike a few of his siblings he has not had to go on insulin shots.
So it seems to me that since you already have the history for diabetic related issues it only makes sense to watch what you eat, as often as possible stick to diabetic diet, which I have learned is one of the healthiest diets for anyone to follow, and periodically check your sugar, sounds like you don't need to check daily unless you feel more comfortable doing so. But maybe once every few weeks or every month or if you feel some of the symptoms associated with elevated sugar levels, since you have the history you must know what those warning signs are by now, this is likely to benefit you and it would prompt you to stick more with a diabetic diet than if you were not monitoring your blood sugar levels.
Of course it is always best to check with a trusted doctor rather than self diagnose anything, but the reason for the home monitors for sugar, blood pressure are so people who may be more prone to a problem can monitor and keep from having health problems later.
It is surly better to prevent the problem than it is to have to treat it?
@jalucia (1431)
• United States
14 Jan 09
Thank you so much for responding. I actually have attained my own meter and blood pressure monitor (I have been diagnosed with high blood pressure) through my own efforts. I'm going to see my doctor soon and explain that I have been self testing and my results. I test often (am trying not to overdo it) and trying to figure out the right combination of actions to take to keep my sugar in range. I hope that I am successful at this because I feel like getting this under control will improve many other areas of my health, life and appearance in a positive way. I do thank you for responding and sharing. I really do appreciate your comments.
@nowment (1757)
• United States
16 Jan 09
When we learned of my mom's blood sugar levels being so high, we had gone to a nutritionist based on doctor's advice, the class was worth it, and you can make the arrangements for a kind of one on one, thing so it is specific to you.
My mom had heart, blood pressure and diabetes, so she had a very specific diet, oddly enough she kept getting mad at me, telling me I was feeding her to much, I made sure she had the breakfast, morning snack, lunch, dinner and evening snack, and the proportions were as outlined based on also the calorie intack for someone of her weight and size, and mom was battling weight problems all her life, tried weight watchers more than once etc.
By maintaining for the most part the diabetic diet, she lost weight kept it off, and was eating foods that were good for her, lol except she actually was eating more than she had in the past. But since she was eating the right foods at the right times of day and with the right blends it made a difference.
During that time she wasn't on blood pressure meds as she was for a while controlling it with diet, and while she was on insulin, she didn't need to take that much, if she was going to do something special and knew she would be eating foods that were higher in starch, or sugar, she would substitute, and just not eat something else that day. A kind of balance.
On occassion she would maybe have to much or not enough of something, but because she usually maintained the proper balance she was fine.
IT wasn't until other health concerns and stress began causing problems and yes raising her blood sugar levels.
So that is something else to take into account, until then it had never dawned on me that worrying would raise blood sugar levels, or that something as simple as having a cold would raise blood sugar levels, but it seems that when the body is ill and out of balance it throws the sugar levels off more, and I used to think that say having potatoes with a veggie like corn was fine, until I realized that some veggies are starches, and so need to be considered a bread rather than a vegtable.
Its funny when I talk about it, it sounds more complicated than it was, and I am sure with you monitoring your health you are aware that you can make it more complicated or more simple depending on the attitude, and such.
But from what I have learned one of the healthiest diets for anyone to eat is a diabetic diet.
Good luck keeping your blood pressure and sugar under control.
