Think You’re Having A Low? Check Don’t Guess!

By Katherine Isacks, MPS, RDN, CDE

Posted on January 7, 2016 by DiabetesDigest.com Staff in Latest Articles, Liberty Medical

You start to feel shaky, nervous, and you are sweating. Maybe you become cranky all of a sudden. What do you do? Well, if you have diabetes and take medicine for it, then I hope the first thing you do is check your blood glucose.

CHECKING FOR LOWS

The safest site to check when you think you are having a low is the side of your finger. Make sure your hands are clean. And be sure your strips are still good – check the date on the strips container.

LIFESCAN ONETOUCH METERS CATCH THE LOWS

I use the OneTouchVerioIQ meter to check my blood glucose. I have used a number of OneTouch models over the past 8 years and I trust the brand. When it comes to checking lows, your meter needs to be able to detect those lows. OneTouch is very accurate even when blood glucose is less than 75. All of my checks will be within 10 mg/dL of my true blood glucose, when compared to a blood draw. That is important! I want my meter to catch those lows.

Tip: With OneTouch, you can tag checks as “before meal” or “after meal.” You can also look at “Pattern” to find out when you tend to go too low (or too high).

Read the full article “Think You’re Having A Low? Check Don’t Guess!” at Liberty Medical.

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Constance Brown-Riggs, MSEd, RD, CDE, CDN—an award-winning RD, certified diabetes educator, and past national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is the author of The African American Guide to Living Well With Diabetes, which received the Favorably Reviewed designation from the American Association of Diabetes Educators, and Eating Soulfully and Healthfully with Diabetes.

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Dr. Beverly S. Adler, PhD, CDE (aka “Dr. Bev”) is a clinical psychologist and certified diabetes educator, author and speaker. She specializes treating the emotional issues of people with diabetes. In her private practice, she provides individual, family and/or group therapy utilizing a cognitive behavior therapy orientation, combined with a spiritual approach. Her goal is to empower her patients to manage their diabetes.

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In August 2016, Dr. Bev was honored to receive the “CDE Entrepreneur of the Year” Award from her Metropolitan NY Association of Diabetes Educators.

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Barbara Ruhs – MS, RDN is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and owner of Neighborhood Nutrition LLC, a consulting firm focused on providing solutions to help food companies and supermarkets improve consumer health & wellness. She’s a former supermarket dietitian and has run a successful business for 17 years. A leader in the field of nutrition, her mission is to help people by impacting the way food is produced, marketed and sold. She’s a strong advocate for supermarket dietitians and believes the retail food industry has the greatest potential to impact public health.

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