When you are living with diabetes, the hallmark of disease management is the tracking of your blood glucose levels. Blood glucose tracking will tell you how much insulin is needed by your body. Variable blood sugar levels can cause damage to your body. Blood sugar that is too high or extremely low is bad and, if not treated rapidly, can even be life-threatening.
Several things can affect blood sugar management, and diabetes will affect different people in different ways. Diet and medication may affect one person's glucose level in one way and cause a different outcome for someone else. That is why you should always properly monitor your glucose levels. Your body can be unpredictable, and this can make diabetes management challenging.
Many people choose to regularly use a fingerstick blood check and glucose monitor to check glucose levels. A fingerstick check, though, will only measure the glucose level of the blood at that particular time, so performing additional checks at different intervals will produce a more comprehensive picture of your day.
On the other hand, continuous glucose monitors (CGM) can provide up to 288 readings per day and show trends and repeated patterns of glucose control. A CGM can take glucose levels both during the day and at night. It can produce a graph reporting glucose levels over a day, or patterns tracked over 2 weeks. This information is available for viewing by both the patient and health care providers.
CMG monitors your blood sugar in the following way:
- A sensor is placed just under the skin and held in place via an adhesive. It is usually placed on the arm or belly.
- The sensor measures levels of glucose under your skin, usually every five minutes or so.
- A transmitter wirelessly sends glucose data to a device where it can be viewed.
- Glucose data is sent to a receiver, an app, or an insulin pump.
CGM data can be downloaded at any time, and some regularly send information to both the patient and the medical provider.
