Some glucose meters are expensive. Ongoing cost of buying the test strips can be a burden. There are a number of different glucose meters with a range of features and prices. Your healthcare provider can help you choose a meter and show you how to use it.

If you have health insurance, call the member services department to see what your plan covers.

Contact your local American Diabetes Association.

People who have a busy lifestyle sometimes find it difficult to test several times a day. Most people have a daily routine – things they do at about the same time every day. Now, you need to add blood glucose monitoring to that daily routine. Many people find that it makes it easier when they connect some of the times they check their glucose to something they already do regularly. For example, you can connect taking your fasting blood glucose with making coffee in the morning. Perhaps you can set your alarm on your cell phone to remind you to check your after meal blood glucose 2 hours after you’ve eaten.

Lack of a convenient place to do testing can also be an obstacle. Or you may not want to have to worry about carrying the equipment and supplies with you when you are away from home. Where do you keep your supplies and monitor? If you don’t keep all of the supplies you need to check your glucose together and in one place, it will make it harder and more time consuming to check your glucose levels. So, keep everything you need in one kit.

If you are trying to check your glucose a few times a day, you probably need to take your monitoring supplies with you when you leave the house. Meters are small, require limited blood and little time for results, making it easy to check your levels wherever you are. Put all of your testing supplies into a case that is small enough to pack into a purse, briefcase, or backpack so you can use them at home or away from home.

You may want to get more than one meter so you can keep one where you eat, one in the bedroom, and one at work. Meters are often available free or at low cost when you buy strips in quantity.

Also, don’t let yourself run out of supplies. Be sure to reorder when you have a week’s worth of supplies left.

• To increase blood flow to your fingertip, right before pricking your finger, wash your hands in warm water for a few moments. (Be sure to dry them thoroughly, though, so you don’t dilute the drop of blood.)
• To increase blood flow, shake your arms briskly at your sides before using the lancet.
• Prick the sides of your fingertip quickly and firmly. (Going slowly and gently is actually more painful.)
• Change where you take your sample. With 10 fingers, each with 2 sides and a pad, you won’t need to use the same area more than once every few days.
• Using alternative sites gives you more options. Some blood glucose meters can use blood samples from the upper arm, forearm, base of the thumb, or thigh. However, glucose levels from these sites may not always be as accurate as readings from the fingertips. Check with your healthcare provider about using alternative sites to check your blood glucose levels.

When you don’t know what to do with the blood glucose results, it can seem pointless to gather the information. It’s hard to be motivated to draw blood and keep records unless you can benefit from the information. Talk with your healthcare provider to make sure you know how often and when to test and how to interpret your results. Should you increase or decrease the amount of insulin or diabetes pills that you take? When should you change what you eat, and what should you change? Should you increase or decrease your exercise for the day? All of these are possible responses to blood glucose monitoring.

Also, keep a written record of your results using a

Blood Glucose Diary(pdf).

Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader® to View and Print

Your diary will help you see what is happening with your blood glucose levels over time. When you and your healthcare provider can see patterns, you will start to understand what is happening in your body and how actions you take can affect your blood glucose levels.

Checking your blood glucose may help you keep your blood glucose levels in your target range on a day-to-day basis. The A1C test measures your average blood glucose levels over a period of the past 2 to 3 months, so you can see the “big picture” of how well your diabetes care plan is working. The more days you are in your target range, the better your A1C will be.

One possible cause of a difference between your self-monitoring results and those of your A1C test could be a problem with how you do your testing. You want to be sure that you are testing as accurately as you can. Here are a few tips:

• Make sure that you store your monitor and test strips correctly, in their proper containers. If you are not sure about this, ask your diabetes educator for more information.
• To do the testing, be sure you have a generous drop of blood on the test strip. Some inaccurate results come from not having enough blood.
• Check your strips from time to time to make sure they are not out of date. Even though they are expensive, don't use out of date strips because the results may not be accurate.
• Be sure you know how to calibrate your glucose meter and that you re-calibrate it as needed. Check the directions or ask your diabetes educator if you are not sure how often to do this.
• Be sure to keep the optical screen that reads your test strip as clean and dust-free as possible.

A number of things can make it hard to perform blood glucose testing. These reasons could range from poor vision to difficulty understanding the directions to not having the proper coordination due to neuropathies. If you are having a hard time using your glucose monitor, it could be time to find a monitor that is easier to use. Your healthcare provider can help you choose a meter and show you how to use it. You could also talk with people you know who check their blood glucose to find out which monitors they use, along with each one’s pros and cons.

Maybe the monitor is right for you, but the instructions are hard to follow. Once you settle on the monitor, ask your diabetes educator or pharmacist to show you how to use it and watch you perform the procedure.

If your vision or coordination interferes with your ability to do the testing correctly, then you may need to enlist the help of a family member or friend, if possible, to do the testing for you. Make sure this person gets the instruction they need to do it right.

It’s natural to want some privacy when checking blood glucose levels. Some of the newer meters are small, quick, and quiet. You may be able to check your glucose in a quiet corner. Most people probably won’t even realize what you are doing.

Try making checking your blood glucose part of something you do each day. For example, you can connect taking your fasting blood glucose with making coffee in the morning. Leave notes to remind yourself to check your glucose levels where you will see them at the right time – for example, where you prepare or eat food such as the kitchen or dining area.

It’s normal to get tired and overwhelmed by dealing with the details of managing diabetes day in and day out. You are not alone in feeling this way. However, it is important to learn to recognize these feelings of frustration and find healthy ways of coping with them. See Coping with the demands of blood glucose Monitoring for some specific tips that will help you cope with some of the most challenging aspects.