Diabetes Watch: Common Mistakes to Avoid

As you keep your vigil over your blood sugar level and keep going on your diabetes treatment, here are five common mistakes that you should avoid. Keeping in mind and avoiding these mistakes is one of the good ways to continue your good health.

1. Doing your monitoring alone – it is very important to consider developing a health care team that is constantly on the vigil as to your health situation. The core of this health care team is your doctor, a certified diabetic educator and a nutritionist. For those with type 1 diabetes, it is all very well to add an endocrinologist to be part of your core team also. Knowing why you are testing your blood sugar is significant and what the results mean. A testing routine may be set up with the help of your team and don’t attempt to alter it without consulting them.

2. Ignoring specific routines and schedules – to be consistent in monitoring your situation, do not stray off from the straight and narrow. Getting accurate results depend on following specific routines. Code your meter with every new box of test strips. Control solutions are always handy for your use. This way, you can accurately know that your test strips are accurate. Usually, it is sufficient to have one test per box. That is so, unless you left the remaining strips exposed for a prolonged period of time. Tests that come up a number that does not match your symptoms like having an abnormally high or low test reading may be checked by having your meter coded properly. When this happens, also make sure to do a control test before adjusting medications. Reuse lancets may also lead to callused, infections and increased pain. This is where a team member comes in handy. Don’t hesitate to request for them go over proper procedures as often as necessary.

3. Choosing unfit equipments – do not test with the dinosaurs. Make self – monitoring of blood sugar easier and less painful. It is important that you know how to choose and use your equipment and that it fits your needs. There are meters that give reliable reading that use under 3 micro liters of blood only. Another new technology that could be added for your diabetes medical supply is one that does not require finger sticks. This testing technology lets you use alternate sites on your body. Thus, you could choose a body part to check your blood sugar with virtually zero pain, as compared to using fingertips.

4. Moving your mouth more than your hips – it is best to get a doctor’s or nutritionist’s advice with regards to taking on a healthy diet. You also have to plan ahead so that you can stick to it. Remember that obesity is one of the factors that can lead to and worsen diabetes. Having an exercise regimen may also be ideal for lowering your blood sugar. An activity that fits your interest and lifestyle may be an ideal exercise regimen for you.

5. Using up too much budget on testing supplies – cost of testing supplies can exceed to $1,200 a year for someone who tests their blood sugar three times a day. Medicare and most third party insurers cover some of the cost but you, as patient can incur substantial out-of-pocket expenses while waiting for insurance reimbursement. That is why it is very important to look for the best deal on testing supplies. Look out there for companies that help patients avoid too much expense. These companies take out the hassle from the patient by letting having the ordered supplies be billed directly to insurance providers and Medicare. Patient does not have to face upfront costs, too.

By noting these common mistakes, choosing the best deals for your diabetes home medical supply, and having your health care team support you throughout you will be assured of a straight road to recovery. -30-

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