Best Ways To Monitor Blood Sugar

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> Best Ways to Monitor Blood Sugar

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> Your guide to the top devices on the market today...and tomorrow

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> If you have diabetes, you know that monitoring your blood glucose levels

> helps to reduce your risk of disease-related complications. In addition

> to the tried-and-true blood glucose monitor, researchers have come up

> with other devices that may help you keep track of your blood sugar

> health now and in the future. Here's everything you need to know about

> testing devices that will enable you to take charge of your health and

> happiness!

>

> What You Need Now

> The Blood Glucose Monitor

> For people with diabetes, the self-monitoring of blood glucose levels can

> be vital to reducing complications related to the disease. Blood glucose

> monitors for home use help to oversee drug therapy and allow you to

> adjust insulin doses. They also alert you to any needed changes in

> exercise or diet between office visits.

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> To use it, apply blood from a finger prick to a chemically active test

> strip. Then place the strip in a meter that analyzes and displays your

> glucose level. Depending on the type and severity of your diabetes, you

> may need to check your blood sugar several times a day.

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> Monitors vary in terms of price and features. The more expensive ones

> display results in chart or graph form and download results to computer

> software. But whether you purchase a simple monitor or one with many

> features, the results are generally accurate, says Bruce R. Zimmerman,

> MD, former president of the American Diabetes Association. Costs range

> from $34 to $115 for the monitoring kit (onetime purchase) and about $65

> to $70 for 100 disposable strips. If you have a meter that's more than 5

> years old, however, think about replacing it for newer technology, he

> advises.

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> There's no prescription required, but some insurers and Medicare require

> one for reimbursement.

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> What You Can Ask Your MD About

> The MiniMed Continuous Glucose Monitoring System

> The MiniMed Continuous Glucose Monitoring System is a pager-size unit

> equipped with a tiny sensor. Inserted under the skin, the sensor measures

> blood glucose levels every 5 minutes for 2 to 3 days. " The difference

> between this and a finger-stick test is like the difference between a

> movie and a still photograph, " says Alan Marcus, MD, of the University of

> Southern California School of Medicine in Los Angeles. " Once the

> physician knows how glucose levels rise and fall throughout the day, he

> can refine therapy so that levels are always in a safe range. "

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> This device will supplement, rather than replace, the finger-stick blood

> glucose self-tests that patients now perform. The unit is FDA-approved

> for type 1 diabetes; researchers are studying whether it can also be used

> for type 2.

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> What To Look For In The Future

> The Gluco-Watch Biographer

> In the future, you may be able to use a watchlike device to keep track of

> your blood sugar. The Gluco-Watch Biographer is a noninvasive monitor

> that provides continuous glucose readings without the traditional

> pricking and bleeding.

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> Developed and manufactured by Cygnus, Gluco-Watch uses low-level

> electrical current to pull glucose (rather than blood) through the skin

> for measurement--a process known as reverse iontophoresis. It can give

> glucose readings up to three times an hour, day or night, for up to 12

> hours at a stretch.

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> The wristwatch also creates an electronic diary of up to 4,000 glucose

> readings so you can detect trends and track patterns in your glucose

> levels over time, which can come in handy when you're planning diet,

> exercise, and medication schedules.

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> Although Cygnus already distributes Gluco-Watch in Europe, you can't buy

> it in the US because the device is currently under FDA review. There are

> a few kinks--such as erroneous readings and it might not work accurately

> when a user perspires too much--so you may not see it on the market for a

> while. " This sounds like a potentially useful device, " says Enrique

> Caballero, MD, of the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. " Unfortunately,

> many factors can affect getting an accurate reading from it, such as

> sweat and humidity. "

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