Instructions for Glucose Monitoring & Insulin

Managing blood sugar levels is extremely important for good diabetes management. Maintaining tight control of blood glucose levels requires testing the blood sugar and following a strict regimen of diet, exercise, medication and stress control. Always follow doctor's orders, and don't change any of the elements of diabetes management without a doctor's consent. Whether you're testing your own blood sugar or treating diabetes in a loved one, the steps are the same. Always get medical advice from medical professionals.

Things You'll Need

• Glucose testing meter
• Lancets
• Lancing device
• Glucose test strips
• Alcohol wipes
• Blood sugar record
• Pen
• Insulin
• Syringe

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Instructions

Blood Sugar Testing

• 1

  Test your blood sugar for the first time before eating or drinking anything, first thing in the morning. Set out the items on a table and wash your hands.

• 2

  Put a new lancet in the lancing device. If there is a lancet left in the device, pull it out and place it on the table. You'll cover the tip and dispose of it in a moment. Push the new lancet down into the device until it clicks, then twist off the protective tab and expose the tip of the lancet. Carefully replace the cover of the lancing device and place it on the table. Now put the protective tab from the new lancet onto the old one and dispose of it.

• 3

  Put a test strip in the glucose meter. Push it into the slot smoothly until it's in as far as it will go. The meter should beep and signal that it's ready for a drop of blood to be applied to the test strip.

• 4

  Cock the lancing device. For some, this means pulling the bottom of the lancing device until it clicks. If this doesn't apply to yours, check the instructions that came with your meter.

• 5

  Hold the lancing device against the fingertip of your choice, and press the button to poke your finger. The lancet will move very quickly and puncture your fingertip. It's not a very pleasant feeling, but usually doesn't hurt much.

• 6

  Allow the blood to flow out of the puncture on its own; do not squeeze the fingertip. If necessary, recock the device and puncture again. Place a drop of the blood against the blood sugar testing strip. For most kinds on the market, it doesn't take much blood. The strip "sips" in the blood.

• 7

  Wait as the machine counts down. For some, this is 5 seconds, but for others, 30 seconds or more. Record the number in the blood sugar log. If it is under 90 fasting, that is excellent control. Proceed as normal with breakfast and insulin shot. If it is over 120, that is too high, and you should adjust the insulin shot according to your doctor's orders. Many doctors recommend increasing the insulin by two to five units, but that depends on things like your weight, level of insulin resistance and activity level. Check with your doctor. If your fasting blood sugar is over 200, call your doctor and get instructions.

• 8

  Tear open an alcohol wipe, and wipe the area where you'll be administering the shot. Many people prefer the abdomen, the thigh or the upper arm. Choose a place that has a layer of body fat. Wipe in one direction, three times. Allow to air dry while you do the next steps.

Giving or taking a shot of insulin

• 9

  Prepare for insulin shot.

  Remove the cap from the insulin vial, if it is still in place. Put the insulin on the table and discard the cap. Pick up the syringe and remove its cap. If the shot needs to be 10 units, for example, draw back the needle's plunger until the rubber tip of the plunger is at the 10 unit line.

• 10

  Invert the insulin bottle. Turn it upside down and hold it in your thumb and fingers so that the rubber seal is pointing toward your body. Carefully insert the needle into the rubber seal at the center of the insulin bottle.

• 11

  Push the plunger up, forcing the air into the bottle of insulin. The speed at which you do this part doesn't matter. For the next step, however, do it slowly.

• 12

  Draw back the plunger again, pulling insulin into the syringe until the rubber stopper inside the syringe is at the 10 unit line. If there are bubbles inside the syringe, it's okay, but if you want to, you can push the stopper back up and draw the insulin into the syringe again.

• 13

  Remove the needle from the vial of insulin. Insert the needle into the shot site you chose, until at least half of the length of the needle is inserted under the skin. There are different techniques for this. Some prefer to "stab" it in quickly, while others prefer to slide it in slowly to make sure it's not hitting any nerves. Choose your preference.

• 14

  Draw the plunger back about one unit to make sure you're not in a blood vessel. If blood enters the syringe, push the plunger down until the blood goes back into the body, then slowly remove the needle and move to another spot close to that location. If blood does not enter the syringe, go ahead and push the plunger down, injecting the insulin. Press on the shot site with one finger as you slide out the needle. Rub the area for a moment. This helps to interfere with pain signals and makes the shot a bit less unpleasant.

• 15

  Dispose of the syringe in a sharps container. Do not try to put the cap back on the needle. Do not reuse the syringe. Put away the supplies, and retest blood sugar in two hours, or according to doctor's instructions.