May 27th, 2016 Tracking Your Progress
Know Your Body
You are the one that knows your body. You know how you feel and you know what the medications do to you. That is the reason why it is very important to keep track of vital data about your diabetes.
This is what I normally do. I take my glucose reading every morning before breakfast around 8 AM. The typical level for me is less than 120 mg/dl. I then eat breakfast and take my medications. If the reading before breakfast is over 120 mg/dl, I take another reading before eating lunch at around 1pm. Under normal conditions, it would be under 110 mg/dl. I would then eat lunch. If the reading before lunch is higher than 110 mg/dl, I take another reading before dinner at around 7 pm. Most of the time, I take 3 readings daily.
After each reading, I would log the results in my logbook, such as the one shown on the download. Recently, I started using the Health App in my iPhone. This neat and simple application allows me to track all the information shown in the log more easily. An image of the app is shown.
Once you have a reliable record of your glucose and blood pressure readings, it is very convenient to show it to your doctor for him to help manage your health and keep you well.
Click here to download the Glucose and BP Log Chart
For blood sugar, I collect the following information:
- Date
- Time
- Blood sugar level
For blood pressure, I store the following information:
- Date
- Time
- Systoli
- Diastoli
- Heart Rate
Using Excel or other tools, I calculate the minimum, maximum, average readings for Systolic, Diastolic and Heart Rate.
If you would like a copy of the logbook, please refer to the top of the page. It will be downloaded as a pdf file.