Blood Glucose Meters & Glucometer FAQs
Monitoring your blood glucose levels can be hard, especially if you've recently been diagnosed with diabetes. Don't forget that your health professionals are here to help you through this journey and help you manage your diabetes.
What products do I need to manage my diabetes?
To manage your diabetes, you need a range of products, depending on your needs.
You may need a blood glucose meter, which will also need blood glucose monitoring strips, a lancing device and lancets, an insulin pump, and more. Your healthcare provider can guide you through what you need.
Self-management of diabetes is common, with many people making lifestyle changes to keep their blood sugar low. Some lifestyle changes include physical activity, keeping blood sugar levels in a healthy range, and understanding blood glucose readings.
It's essential to find the right products that work for you as your blood glucose management is your responsibility as a part of your diabetes management.
What do diabetics get for free in Australia?
The National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) is an initiative run by the Australian Government and administered by Diabetes Australia. This scheme helps people understand and manage their lives with diabetes.
It also provides subsidised access to syringes and needles, blood glucose test strips, urine test strips, insulin pump consumables, and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) products.
To access NDSS subsidised products, you can show your Medicare card at a chemist or pharmacy and confirm your date of birth and address details for identification.
What’s a glucometer or a blood glucose meter?
A glucometer or blood glucose meter measures the amount of glucose in your blood, or your blood glucose levels.
Using a blood glucose meter to test your blood sugar can be tricky, especially if you've never done it before.
You need to place a test strip into the meter, prick the side of your fingertip with the needle in your test kit and touch and hold the edge of the test strip to the drop of blood.
It's important to ensure your blood samples are big enough. Otherwise, there won't be enough blood on the test strip.
After a few seconds, the blood glucose meter should display your blood sugar levels on the screen.
What should I look for in a blood glucose meter?
Some things that you should look for in your blood glucose meter are:
Most blood glucose meters have these features, but it's important to consider them when choosing the right device.
Some devices even light up when you're not within the target range for your blood sugar, so it can be important to look at all devices.
What's a continuous glucose monitoring device?
A continuous glucose monitoring device can help people who have trouble managing their blood glucose. The device estimates your glucose level every few minutes and tracks it over time.
It includes a tiny sensor that can be inserted under your skin, usually the skin on your arm or body), a transmitter and a receiver.
This device may be recommended to you by your doctor if you need insulin to manage your diabetes, if you have type one diabetes or type two diabetes.
What's a good reading on my blood glucose monitoring device?
A normal blood glucose level for a person without diabetes will generally range between 4.0 and 7.8 millimoles of glucose per litre of blood (mmols/L).
For someone with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, a general guideline for before meals is 4.0 to 7.0 mmols/L, and for 2 hours after meals, it is 5.0 to 10.0 mmols/L*.
*Diabetes Australia, Blood glucose level range accessed 7 January 2025
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