Why testing matters.
If someone took a picture of you first thing in the morning, how would you look? How about after you were done getting ready for a party? After lunch? On the commute home?
They’d all be photos of the same you — but unless you looked at them all, it would be tough to tell what you “usually” look like. It’s the same way with blood glucose monitoring. You need to check your blood glucose levels throughout the day gauge how you’re doing right now.
You also need to get a different kind of test every few months, so you’ll have an idea of how you’re doing overall with your blood glucose control. That’s the A1C test done by your doctor.
Snapshot and big picture
Why is it so important to test both short-term and long-term? Say you just splurged and ate a large piece of chocolate cake. You don’t and shouldn’t normally eat like this, but checking your blood glucose right now will tell you if you need to rethink what to have at your next meal or adjust an insulin dosage ASAP.
Still, this one indulgence doesn’t mean you’re always struggling with very high blood glucose levels. And if your doctor only looked at your after-chocolate cake levels, he might prescribe unnecessary changes to your overall care plan. That’s why it’s also important to look at your blood glucose levels over time — to get a “big picture” view of how well your current regimen is working for you.
