Being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes can be extremely scary, especially because most type 1 diabetics are diagnosed as children. After leaving the hospital, the disease is still with you everyday and you must monitor it and control it 24-7. Over the next couple of weeks, we will go over some of the things that will become an everyday responsibility for a type 1 diabetic.
Blood Glucose Testing- This is how you monitor your blood glucose level at any given time. To check your blood sugar you need to first wash your hands, then use a lancing device to poke the tip of your finger to draw blood. Next, touch the edge of the test strip and wait for the results on a blood glucose monitor. A normal range for a type 1 diabetic is 80-120. If levels are higher or lower than normal range, you must take the proper medication that has been discussed between you and your doctor.1
A type 1 diabetic must check their blood glucose often. It is usually recommended that you check your blood glucose at least three times a day.2 Once in the morning, afternoon, and before bed. Type 1 diabetics must also check blood glucose before every meal or snack. This is extremely important because if you do not know blood glucose level, the amount of medication might be too much or too little to get levels back to normal range. It is important to keep a daily log of all blood glucose levels and what times they were checked and take this log to every doctor appointment for review.
As a child, when I left the hospital after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I thought I was never going to have to poke my finger again. Once I got home I realized, after eating a delicious meal, this was something I was going to have to live with for the rest of my life.
References:
1Checking Your Blood Glucose. (n.d.). Retrieved May 23, 2016, from http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/checking-your-blood-glucose.html
2Type 1 Diabetes. (n.d.). Retrieved May 23, 2016, from http://www.diabeticlivingonline.com/type-1-diabetes
Nichole, great read. Does it ever get easier when testing your levels, as far as it comes to poking your finger? Both my parents are diabetics, my father was diagnosed 16 years ago and my mother just recently. Although my father has been poking himself for several years he still hesitates before he has to draw blood.
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