| HbA1c blood test. |
| This is a blood test done at Ilkeston Community Hospital every 3-6 months. It shows how high your blood glucose has been over the two months before the test. A result of less than 7% shows that your blood sugars have been excellently controlled. If the result is higher than 7%, then the diabetes nurses and doctors at the practice will discuss ways of reducing it, usually by diet and exercise, and often a change in your tablets. All the evidence about providing good quality diabetes care for people whose diabetes is controlled by diet and tablets shows that the HbA1c test is the most accurate way of keeping a check on your blood sugars. You are always welcome to ask us for your latest HbA1c result, so that you can monitor your diabetes control. |
Home blood glucose testing. |
| THIS APPLIES ONLY TO PATIENTS NOT ON INSULIN |
| This involves pricking a finger and placing a drop of blood on a special plastic strip, which is then inserted into a monitor. This will tell you your blood glucose at the time of the test. The vast majority of people whose diabetes is controlled by diet and tablets do not need to do home testing for blood glucose. All the diabetes care can be based on the accurate HbA1c blood test. However, there are a few situations where it is useful to test blood glucose at home: During times of illness, especially if you are vomiting (being sick). It is very useful to check blood glucose either at home or at the surgery if you have a vomiting illness. For people whose diabetes is not controlled on tablets and we are recommending insulin treatment. It is useful to practice using a meter as regular home testing is needed when starting insulin. In a recent survey of people with diabetes living in Erewash, most people who checked their blood sugars regularly did nothing with the results. There is no point in regular testing if does not improve your diabetes control. National studies involving thousands of people with diabetes have not shown that regular home blood glucose testing improves diabetes control. |
Urine testing.
THIS APPLIES ONLY TO PATIENTS NOT ON INSULIN |
| This is where a plastic strip is dipped into a urine sample, and the colour change is compared to a chart. The colour shows how much glucose is in the urine. When blood glucose is running very high, glucose will be found in the urine, but if it is moderately high, there is often no glucose in the urine. This can then be falsely reassuring, as people then think they can relax up on their healthy diet. In our recent survey of people with diabetes, those who used urine-testing strips had worse diabetes control than those who relied on the HbA1c blood test alone.Urine testing can sometimes be useful when people are first diagnosed so that they can see the glucose in the urine disappearing as they follow the diet advice. It can also be useful if you are feeling unwell. It is not usually useful for long term regular testing. |
Further information |
| If you would like further information on diabetic monitoring, please ask one of the diabetes nurses or doctors, and we can agree a monitoring plan with you. If you already have a blood glucose machine and are unsure as to how to use it, or how to calibrate it, or how to dispose of the lancets, our pharmacy technician can give you a demonstration. |
