These numbers work like a connect-the-dots drawing to give you a view of how your glucose self-management is working out for you. One number alone will give you a sense of how your body is doing at that particular moment in time, but for the whole image, you have to look at lots of numbers together.

This information can tell you if the changes you have recently made are working or not. For example, you may have been stressed about a particular situation. Or perhaps you have not been eating enough to support your activity level.

That is why any well-rounded self-management plan includes recording every blood glucose test that you perform in a logbook, or tracking results with a diabetes management software program, along with information such as what you have eaten, whether you have been exercising or if you have been feeling unwell.

One out-of-range test should prompt a few questions, such as:

• Did I do the test correctly?
  
• Did I have too much or too little to eat?
• Did I forget to take my insulin or other medications?
• Am I starting to feel ill?
• Should I treat a low blood glucose result now or wait and test again a little later to see if my blood glucose is falling?

A series of out-of-range results over the same time for a few days in a row, for example, every Sunday evening, should prompt other questions, such as:

• What is different about Sunday nights? Am I getting stressed out about the upcoming work week?
• What part of my plan is not working? Do I need to eat a snack before exercising? Am I eating too much at dinner? What else?
• Should I call my doctor or dietician to talk about making modifications to my plan?

Getting an out-of-range result can cause some pretty strong feelings, but you should never use blood glucose results to judge yourself. Instead, judge your self-management plan. Work with your healthcare team to question and critique all aspects of your routine, and then determine a solution that will work for you.