Types of diabetes include:7
Gestational: High blood sugar during pregnancy that usually resolves after delivery.
Type 1: An autoimmune condition in which your immune system mistakenly attacks insulin-producing cells, which turns off insulin production. Type 1 diabetes can’t be prevented.
Type 2: A chronic (long-term) condition in which your body doesn't make enough insulin or use it properly, leading to elevated blood sugar levels. Type 2 diabetes is preventable through lifestyle changes.
If you are diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes, you’ll likely start monitoring your blood sugar levels throughout the day on an ongoing basis.
In-Office Testing
Testing your blood sugar is relatively simple, and you won’t have to wait long for results. Possible tests you may receive in a healthcare provider’s office include:
A1C: This test is also known as the hemoglobin A1C or HbA1c test. Your healthcare provider will take a small blood sample. The test determines your average blood sugar levels over the past three months.8
Fasting plasma glucose (FPG): This test measures your blood glucose levels after you’ve fasted for at least eight hours. Avoid eating or drinking anything except water for eight hours before the test.9
Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT): This test is often used to screen for gestational diabetes. You’ll eat a normal carbohydrate diet for the three days before testing and then fast for 10-16 hours. Your healthcare provider will take a baseline blood sample at your appointment. You’ll drink liquid glucose after that. You may be tested again after 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, or 120 minutes to see how your body reacts to the glucose.10
At-Home Testing
You can use a small, portable device called a blood sugar meter (glucometer) to monitor your blood sugar at home.
There are many kinds of meters or monitors, and you can buy them online and at your nearest pharmacy. They often work the same way and include a lancing (pricking) device called a lancet. You’ll need to refill lancets, as well as test strips.11
Here are the steps to monitor your blood sugar using your glucometer:12
Make sure the machine is clean.
Remove one test strip from the package and close the package immediately. Water can damage the strips.
Wash your hands with soap and dry them well. Gently massage the finger you’ll use for the test to increase blood flow to that area.
Use a lancet to prick your finger.
Squeeze a bit of blood onto the test strip or hold the edge of the test strip to the drop of blood.
Place the test strip in the meter and wait for the results. Results appear after a few seconds.
Throw away the lancet and test strip.
You can keep track of your results using a phone app or on a piece of paper that you’ll bring to appointments with your healthcare provider.12
Do not share lancets with anyone else, and make sure that someone you know—for example, someone you live with—knows how to use your glucometer so they can monitor your blood sugar if you’re sick and unable to do it yourself.12
