Things You'll Need:
- Diary & Pen - or -
- Computer
- Microsoft Excel or Word (or similar wordprocessing software)
- Blood Glucose Checking instrument
- Consistency!!!
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Step 1
Keep a Diary.
The best file you can have is a diary Get a notebook, a diary or a notepad and write down all readings before and after each meal, at bedtime and any other time that you do a glucose check. Better yet, write down your daily routine including the date, what you ate, when you ate and how you felt. Not that organized, huh? Well, carry a small notepad in your pocket or purse and write the reading down each time you take one.
Tip: Many (if not all) of the blood glucose checking systems comes with a diary. -
Step 2
Create an Excel Spreadsheet (or similar) and enter your reading.
Go to Microsoft Excel and open a spreadsheet. In the first row, enter a heading for the file. -
Step 3
In the next row, enter “Week Beginning: MM / DD / YYYY”. This will allow you to record the date one time which will be the Sunday date always.
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Step 4
In the first column (or your column of choice) enter the days of the week in each row going down.
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Step 5
In the column next to the days of the week, enter mealtimes going across. For example, enter Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner (we’re suppose to eat at least 3 meals a day, right?) Also enter a field for times when you think you need to take a reading but is not related to the meal. I call that “Unplanned”. In research, we call it “unscheduled”. Finally, in the next column, enter the word “Comments. You will need to write down explanations for low readings or high readings. When I say “explanations”, just try to write down anything you did different that day, like exercise 60 minutes longer (Yeah, right!) or skipped a meal or ate a whole pie - something along those lines.
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Step 6
Enter a backward-slash in each row for each day of the week under each of the column headings. The reading before a meal will be recorded in front of the “slash” and the reading after your meal will be recorded behind the slash.
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Step 7
Save the file with a name you can remember in a place you can find it and you are done. I recommend you save the file to your Desktop as you will access it several times a day.
Tip: A similar chart can be created in Microsoft Word using the “Table, Insert” features. -
Step 8
For the “Less Tech Savvy”, use an online form already created.
The “Less Tech Savvy” is a term I picked up from a cyber-friend on The Third Option.net. Jess doesn’t like for us to call ourselves dumb or stupid when it comes to computers so I adopted his name for those of us who are not members of the Geek Squad. I digress, Sorry. Click on the Walgreen resource link below and print a ready-made chart for tracking your blood glucose levels. -
Step 9
For the Software Savvy, create a database.
Using Filemaker Pro or Excel Access, create a database using the same headings above and entering the readings as appropriate. This would be an awesome tool for you because you could do trends and see look for patterns to determine if there is any specific time that your sugar is low or high. -
Step 10
Regardless of which tool you choose, track your glucose levels. It will help you and your doctor manage the illness and afford you a happy, healthy life.
Comments
JIN1128 said
on 8/8/2008 Great tips!