OneTouch Ultra2 is being used by a diabetic patient. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

New to Diabetes? Make Sure You Have These Essential Items!

If you have been diagnosed with Diabetes, chances are you are overwhelmed by the instructions about dieting, exercise and weight loss. To further confuse you, your doctor may have given you a diabetic testing meter and asked you to check your glucose readings at home. Getting a new diagnosis of diabetes can be overwhelming. Many patients forget to ask what kinds of supplies they need for home diabetic testing. If your doctor has asked you to start checking your blood sugar, make sure you have plenty of the following supplies on hand!

• Glucometer: Your physician should provide your with a prescription for or a sample of a glucose meter so that you can test your sugars.
• Diabetes Testing Strips: These little strips absorb a sample of blood and are inserted into the meter so that your glucose reading can be done.
• Lancets: These are small needles that are used to poke your finger to draw a sample of blood to test.
• Alcohol swabs: These should be used on your finger tip prior to use of your lancet to sterilize your finger.
• Notebook: Use this to track your readings if your glucometer does not have a way to track this data. Some meters will track this information for you but many patient prefer to use old-fashioned pen and paper. By keeping track in a notebook, it is often easier to see variations in your readings and to learn how to adjust your diet to improve those readings.

These are the essential items for any diabetic who is new to fingerstick blood sugar testing. Having the right supplies makes this sometimes unpleasant job easy and fast.

Keep careful track of your daily readings to see how effectively you are managing your diabetes!