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Your blood glucose level is the amount of sugar in your blood at a given time. You should monitor and record your blood sugar level to understand how your lifestyle and medications are affecting you. This information will help you and your diabetes health care team to tailor your diet, physical activity, and medication to ensure you stay healthy. Your doctor or diabetes educator will tell you how often you should be checking your blood and at what time of day. Don't stop testing just because your levels look good. Diabetes is a changing disease, so regular monitoring is very important.
Blood glucose meters are available from most pharmacies to test your blood sugar at home. Your diabetes educator or pharmacist will help you choose the one that's best for you. Make sure that you receive the proper training and are confident you know how to use it before you take it home.
The Canadian Diabetes Association suggests the ranges in the table below, but target glucose ranges may not be the same for everybody. Your diabetes health care provider will tell you what your target blood glucose levels should be.
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Target Glucose Ranges (mmol/L) |
| |
Pre-Meal |
2 Hours
Post-Meal |
Target for Most
People with Diabetes |
4.0 – 7.0 |
5.0 – 10.0 |
Normal Range
(target for people in whom
it can be achieved safely) |
4.0 – 6.0 |
5.0 – 8.0 |
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Focusing on good eating habits, getting regular physical activity, and taking your medication as prescribed (if necessary) will help you maintain your blood sugar in your target range. When your blood glucose stays within your target range, it helps to delay or prevent complications of diabetes.
 Low Blood Sugar
If you eat less than usual, skip a meal, exercise more than usual, take too much of certain diabetes medications or insulin, or drink alcohol without eating properly, you could experience low blood glucose (also called hypoglycemia). Symptoms of low blood sugar can include:
- Shakiness or light-headedness
- Nervousness or irritability
- Confusion or disorientation
- Hunger
- Rapid heart rate
- Sweating, headaches
- Weakness
- Numbness or tingling
- Loss of consciousness or seizures
If you experience even one of these symptoms, you must act quickly. Take your blood sugar level if you have your glucose meter handy. If not, you should treat the symptoms anyway with one of these quick sugars. Treat low blood sugar by:
- Drinking 175 ml (3/4 cup) of juice or regular pop, or 3 teaspoons (3 packets) of sugar dissolved in water, or
- Eating 15 grams of glucose in the form of glucose tablets, 6 hard candies, or 1 tablespoon of honey
Note: You should always wear your identification bracelet or card in case you need help. Consult with your doctor if you are experiencing problems with low blood glucose.
High Blood Sugar
If you do not get enough physical activity, do not take enough medication (or insulin) to balance out the food you eat, or are sick or under stress, you may experience high blood glucose (also called hyperglycemia). With high blood glucose, you may:
- Feel thirsty
- Urinate more often than usual
- Feel tired
While high blood sugar is not the same type of short-term emergency that low blood sugar can be, it can cause long-term damage to your heart and throughout your body. That's why when you have high blood sugar, you need to see your doctor, dietitian, or diabetes educator about adjusting your medication, tailoring your meal plan, or increasing your physical activity. Speak to your health care team about how to handle these situations.
Understanding Your A1C
The A1C (formerly called HbA1C is a lab test that offers an excellent way to understand how well your blood sugar has been controlled over the past 3 months. Your A1C shows the "big picture" of your blood sugar levels - your average blood sugar over time rather than reflecting the day-to-day variations revealed by your glucose meter. In general, this measure should be taken every 3 months. The A1C target for most people with diabetes is less than or equal to 7%. For those in whom it can be achieved safely, the A1C target is less than or equal to 6%.
The A1C test cannot show the broad range of blood sugar readings (the highs and lows) that everyone experiences. That's why your self-monitoring blood sugar records, the laboratory glucose test, and the A1C test all work together to give a more complete picture of your diabetes control.
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