2016 Wellness Expo

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Page 12 2016 Wellness Expo Lincoln Daily Tuesday, February 16, 2016
There are, however, many good
reasons to test. Here are some:
1. You are hungry. If you are hungry, it’s
possible your blood sugar is on the low side or
you are officially hypoglycemic. If you don’t
check, you don’t know how to treat properly!
Know your number before treating vs. eating
without testing based on hunger.
2. You are thirsty. Sure, you might just be
dehydrated. But thirst is one of the symptoms
of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). Testing
can reveal a high blood sugar that requires your
attention. If your sugar is high, drink plenty of
calorie free fluids to rehydrate.
3. You are tired. Are you tired because your
sugar is high, or low, or are you just tired?
Hypoglycemia is more likely to repeat within 48
hours after a low so check frequently.
A high can put you in a “fog.” Try setting an
alarm on your watch or phone to remind you
to recheck that you aren’t still running high, or
possibly roller-coastered into a low.
4. You are going to drive. Driving is a privilege
and a great responsibility. If you get blurry or
double vision when running high, or if you are
too low to drive, treat your low, check fifteen
minutes later to see where you stand. Another
option is to ask someone else to drive even after
you’ve treated, especially if your blood sugar is
unstable that day.
From ALMH Dietician Jennifer DiPasquale, RD,LD,CDE
Ten reasons to test
your blood sugar
We can all come up with plenty of excuses not to test our blood sugar: It hurts, it’s not
convenient…it seems like everyone else gets to carelessly enjoy what they eat instead
of having to try to manage, or even forget about their diabetes.
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