For patients with type 2 diabetes it is often advised that they check their blood sugar using a glucose meter multiple times for day.  Often patients with type 2 diabetes do not understand why they need to do this.  Often these patients believe that checking blood sugar is necessary only for patients using insulin.  This is simply untrue!  Here are three reasons why checking your sugar is important for all diabetic patients!

1. Understanding How Your Diet Affects Your Diabetes:  By checking blood sugar levels after meals, patients can see how certain foods change their blood sugar.  Patients will eventually notice trends that can lead to improve decision making and better sugar control and restore normal blood sugar ranges.
2. Improve Your Sugar Control:  When you know your sugar you tend to want to see that value improve.  Patients who monitor sugars at home are more involved with improving their diet, remembering medications and keeping important office visits for follow up.
3. Detecting Trouble:  Levels can drop dangerously low or rise to high levels.  Patients need to be aware of these problems and by checking sugar routinely patients can catch these problems before they become severe.

Be sure to check your glucose routinely.  If you have not been prescribed a glucometer be sure to ask your doctor for a prescription or a sample free glucose meter so that you can gain better control of your diabetes.