It is important to keep your blood sugar levels in your target range as much as possible to help prevent or delay long-term, serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease. Staying in your target range can also help improve your energy and mood. Below, find answers to frequently asked questions about blood sugar for people with diabetes.

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It’s important to keep yourblood sugarlevels in yourtarget
rangeas much as possibleto help prevent ordelaylong-term,
serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss,
and kidneydisease. Stayingin yourtarget rangecan also help
improveyourenergyand mood. Find answers below to
common questions about blood sugarforpeoplewith
diabetes.
How can I check my blood
sugar?
Useablood sugarmeter(also called aglucometer) ora
continuous glucosemonitor(CGM) to check yourblood sugar.
A blood sugarmetermeasures theamount of sugarin asmallsampleof blood, usuallyfromyour
fingertip. A CGM uses asensorinserted undertheskin to measureyourblood sugareveryfew
minutes. If you useaCGM, you’llstillneed to test dailywith ablood sugarmeterto makesure
yourCGM readings areaccurate.
When should I check my blood sugar?
How often you check yourblood sugardepends on thetypeof diabetes you haveand if you take
anydiabetes medicines.
Typicaltimes to check yourblood sugarinclude:
When you first wakeup, beforeyou eat ordrink anything.
Beforeameal.
Two hours afterameal.
At bedtime.
If you havetype1diabetes, havetype2diabetes and takeinsulin, oroften havelow blood sugar,
yourdoctormaywant you to check yourblood sugarmoreoften, such as beforeand afteryou’re
physicallyactive.
What are blood sugar targets?
A blood sugartarget is therangeyou tryto reach as much as possible. Thesearetypicaltargets:
Beforeameal: 80to 130mg/dL.
Two hours afterthestart of ameal: Less than 180mg/dL.
Yourblood sugartargets maybedifferent dependingon yourage, anyadditionalhealth problems
you have, and otherfactors. Besureto talk to yourhealth careteamabout which targets arebest
foryou.
What causes low blood sugar?
Low blood sugar(also called hypoglycemia) has manycauses, includingmissingameal, taking
too much insulin, takingotherdiabetes medicines, exercisingmorethan normal, and drinking
alcohol. Blood sugarbelow 70mg/dLis considered low.
Signs of low blood sugararedifferent foreveryone. Common symptoms include:
Shaking.
Sweating.
Nervousness oranxiety.
Yourblood sugartarget is
therangeyou tryto reach
as much as possible. Read
about MonitoringYour
Blood Sugarand AllAbout
YourA1C.
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Irritabilityorconfusion.
Dizziness.
Hunger.
Know what yourindividualsymptoms areso you can catch low blood sugarearlyand treat it. If
you think you mayhavelow blood sugar, check it even if you don’t havesymptoms. Low blood
sugarcan bedangerous and should betreated as soon as possible.
How can I treat low blood sugar?
Carrysupplies fortreatinglow blood sugarwith you. If you
feelshaky, sweaty, orveryhungryorhaveothersymptoms,
check yourblood sugar. Even if you don’t havesymptoms but
think you mayhavelow blood sugar, check it. If yourblood
sugaris lowerthan 70mg/dL, do oneof thefollowing
immediately:
Takefourglucosetablets.
Drink fourounces of fruit juice.
Drink fourounces of regularsoda, not diet soda.
Eat fourpieces of hard candy.
Wait for15minutes and then check yourblood sugaragain.
Do oneof theabovetreatments again untilyourblood sugaris
70mg/dLoraboveand eat asnack if yournext mealis an hour
ormoreaway. If you haveproblems with low blood sugar, ask
yourdoctorif yourtreatment plan needs to bechanged.
What causes blood sugar to be high?
Manythings can causehigh blood sugar(hyperglycemia), includingbeingsick, beingstressed,
eatingmorethan planned, and not givingyourself enough insulin. Overtime, high blood sugar
can lead to long-term, serious health problems. Symptoms of high blood sugarinclude:
Feelingverytired.
Feeingthirsty.
Havingblurryvision.
Needingto urinate(pee) moreoften.
If you get sick, yourblood sugarcan behard to manage. You maynot beableto eat ordrink as
much as usual, which can affect blood sugarlevels. If you’reilland yourblood sugaris 240mg/dL
orabove, usean over-the-counterketonetest kit to check yoururineforketones and callyour
doctorif yourketones arehigh. High ketones can bean earlysign of diabeticketoacidosis, which
is amedicalemergencyand needs to betreated immediately.
What are ketones?
Ketones areakind of fuelproduced when fat is broken down forenergy. Yourliverstarts
breakingdown fat when there’s not enough insulin in yourbloodstreamto let blood sugarinto
yourcells.
What is diabetic ketoacidosis?
When too manyketones areproduced too fast, theycan build
up in yourbodyand causediabeticketoacidosis, orDKA. DKA
is veryserious and can causeacomaoreven death. Common
symptoms of DKA include:
Fast, deep breathing.
Dryskin and mouth.
Flushed face.
Frequent urination orthirst that lasts foradayormore.
Fruity-smellingbreath.
Headache.
Musclestiffness oraches.
Nauseaand vomiting.
Stomach pain.
Hypoglycemia
Unawareness
If you’vehad low blood
sugarwithout feelingor
noticingsymptoms
(hypoglycemia
unawareness), you may
need to check yourblood
sugarmoreoften to seeif
it’s low and treat it.
Drivingwith low blood
sugarcan bedangerous, so
besureto check your
blood sugarbeforeyou get
behind thewheel.
If you think you mayhave
low blood sugar, check it
even if you don’t have
symptoms.
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If you think you mayhaveDKA, test yoururineforketones. Follow thetest kit directions,
checkingthecolorof thetest strip against thecolorchart in thekit to seeyourketonelevel. If
yourketones arehigh, callyourhealth careproviderright away. DKA requires treatment in a
hospital.
DKA happens most in peoplewith type1diabetes and is sometimes thefirst sign of type1in
peoplewho haven’t yet been diagnosed. Peoplewith type2diabetes can also develop DKA, but
it’s less common.
How can I treat high blood sugar?
Talk to yourdoctorabout how to keep yourblood sugarlevels within yourtarget range. Your
doctormaysuggest thefollowing:
Bemoreactive. Regularexercisecan help keep yourblood sugarlevels on track. Important:
don’t exerciseif ketones arepresent in yoururine. This can makeyourblood sugargo even
higher.
Takemedicineas instructed. If yourblood sugaris often high, yourdoctormaychangehow
much medicineyou takeorwhen you takeit.
Follow yourdiabetes mealplan. Ask yourdoctorordietitian forhelp if you’rehaving
troublestickingto it.
Check yourblood sugaras directed byyourdoctor. Check moreoften if you’resick orif
you’reconcerned about high orlow blood sugar.
Talk to yourdoctorabout adjustinghow much insulin you takeand what types of insulin
(such as short-acting) to use.
How do carbs a ect blood sugar?
Carbs in food makeyourblood sugarlevels go higherafteryou eat themthan when you eat
proteins orfats. You can stilleat carbs if you havediabetes. Theamount you can haveand stayin
yourtarget blood sugarrangedepends on yourage, weight, activitylevel, and otherfactors.
Countingcarbs in foods and drinks is an important toolformanagingblood sugarlevels. Make
sureto talk to yourhealth careteamabout thebest carb goals foryou.
What is the A1C test?
TheA1C test is asimpleblood test that measures youraverageblood sugarlevels overthepast 2
or3months. Thetest is doneat alab oryourdoctor’s officein addition to—not instead of—
regularblood sugartestingyou do yourself.
A1C testingis part of theABCs of diabetes—important steps you can taketo prevent ordelay
health complications down theroad:
A: Get aregularA1C test.
B: Tryto keep yourblood pressure below 140/90mmHg(orthetarget yourdoctorsets).
C: Manageyourcholesterol levels.
s: Stop smoking ordon’t start.
TheA1C goalformost adults with diabetes is between 7%and 8%, but yourgoalmaybedifferent
dependingon yourage, otherhealth conditions, medicines you’retaking, and otherfactors.
Work with yourdoctorto establish apersonalA1C goalforyou.
What else can I do to help manage my
blood sugar levels?
Eatingahealthydiet with plentyof fruit and vegetables, maintainingahealthyweight, and
gettingregularphysicalactivity can allhelp. Othertips include:
Keep track of yourblood sugarlevels to seewhat makes themgo up ordown.
Eat at regulartimes, and don’t skip meals.
Choosefoods lowerin calories, saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, and salt.
Track yourfood, drink, and physicalactivity.
Drink waterinstead of juiceorsoda.
Limit alcoholicdrinks.
Forasweet treat, choosefruit.
Controlyourfood portions (forexample, usetheplatemethod: fillhalf yourplatewith
non-starchyvegetables, aquarterwith lean protein, and aquarterwith agrain orstarchy

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