Understanding Blood Glucose and Ketone Levels

Blood Glucose

Why should you regularly monitor your blood glucose?

For people who have been diagnosed with diabetes and who are taking medications, being aware of their blood sugar is a vital part of their diabetes self-management plan.

Regular monitoring of your blood sugar will indicate how your body is responding to medications, change in diet and exercise. This can help you and your healthcare professional to more precisely manage your diabetes. The trends from the regular monitoring of blood glucose can help to:

Recognise factors that may result in low or high glucose level
Show the effect of medications, diet and exercise on your blood glucose levels
Change the treatment plan, if required

For effective monitoring of blood glucose levels:

With the help of your healthcare professional, find your blood glucose targets and testing schedule
Accurately follow the procedure while checking blood glucose
Record your test results in a logbook or download to a compatible diabetes management software such as SmartLog
Identify the patterns and factors that cause change in blood glucose levels
Discuss with your healthcare professional before making any changes to your treatment plan

Ketones and Ketone Testing

What are ketones?

Your body usually runs on glucose (sugar) created when the body breaks down food. But when your body doesn’t have enough insulin to use the glucose, your body starts breaking down fats for energy. Ketones are a by-product of this breakdown. People with Type 1 diabetes are at risk of having more than normal amounts of ketones in their blood.

Ketones make your blood acidic. Acidic blood can cause a serious condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), because the presence of ketones is often one of the signs that a person needs medical help.

A health professional may recommend to some people with diabetes to test for ketones.

If you take insulin to control your diabetes, you should keep an eye out for signs and symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis. Early signs and symptoms can include:

passing large amounts of urine
feeling very thirsty
feeling sick
abdominal (tummy) pain
tiredness
shortness of breath
an increase in your blood sugar and/or ketone levels

Your specialist diabetes healthcare professional will provide advice about ketone testing and what to do if your ketone levels are raised.

Direct measurement of Beta-Ketone bodies in blood circulation
Real time ketone assessment - reflects the blood ketone levels at the time of testing
Gives a numerical value
Easy and well recognised finger prick testing methodology

If your healthcare professional has recommended you to test your blood ketone levels, the CareSens Dual meter is a device that can help you do this at home.

Testing for blood ketone using CareSens Dual meter is very simple. It is similar to how you test for your blood glucose and gives you a result in 8 seconds. You will require KetoSens test strips to test ketones on CareSens Dual meter. You may be eligible for funded KetoSens test strips from your pharmacy. Your healthcare professional can advise you if you are eligible for funded KetoSens test strips.

Please note that KetoSens test strips can only be used with CareSens Dual meter.