What does mmoll stand for

Glucose is a sugar that you get from food and drink. Your blood sugar levels go up and down throughout the day and for people living with diabetes these changes are larger and happen more often than in people who don't have diabetes. You can check your sugar levels yourself by doing a finger-prick test , by using a flash glucose monitor or with a continuous glucose monitor CGM.

You can do this a number of times a day — helping you keep an eye on your levels as you go about your life and help you work out what to eat and how much medication to take. Find out your ideal target range. But not everyone with diabetes needs to check their levels like this. Everyone with diabetes is entitled to this check. High blood sugar levels increase your risk of developing serious complications. However you manage your diabetes, stay in the know about your blood sugar levels.

If you take certain medication, like insulin or sulphonylureas, checking your blood sugars is a vital part of living with diabetes. It can help you work out when you need to take more medication, when you need to eat something or for when you want to get up and move around more. Routine checks can help you know when you might be starting to go too low called a hypo or too high called a hyper. It can help you and your healthcare team spot patterns too. Do you write your results down? You might find that helpful.

But importantly, it will help you stay healthy and prevent serious diabetes complications now and in the future. By complications, we mean serious problems in places like your feet and your eyes.

This happens because too much sugar in the blood damages your blood vessels, making it harder for blood to flow around your body. This can lead to very serious problems like sight loss and needing an amputation. Knowing all the facts and speaking to other people can help — contact our helpline or chat to others with diabetes on our online forum. Watch our video and follow our simple steps on how to test your blood sugars in the right way and safely.

New meters come on the market all the time, so it can be tricky choosing the right one. If you have sight problems, you may not be able to use some meters so your healthcare team can suggest alternatives. Your health care provider or dietitian can help you set appropriate weight-loss goals and encourage lifestyle changes to help you achieve them. Your health care provider will advise you on how often to check your blood sugar level to make sure you remain within your target range.

You may, for example, need to check it once a day and before or after exercise. If you take insulin, you may need to do this multiple times a day. Monitoring is usually done with a small, at-home device called a blood glucose meter, which measures the amount of sugar in a drop of your blood. You should keep a record of your measurements to share with your health care team.

Continuous glucose monitoring is an electronic system that records glucose levels every few minutes from a sensor placed under your skin.

Information can be transmitted to a mobile device such as your phone, and the system can send alerts when levels are too high or too low. If you can't maintain your target blood sugar level with diet and exercise, your doctor may prescribe diabetes medications that help lower insulin levels or insulin therapy. Drug treatments for type 2 diabetes include the following. Metformin Fortamet, Glumetza, others is generally the first medication prescribed for type 2 diabetes. It works primarily by lowering glucose production in the liver and improving your body's sensitivity to insulin so that your body uses insulin more effectively.

Some people experience B deficiency and may need to take supplements. Other possible side effects, which may improve over time, include:. Sulfonylureas help your body secrete more insulin. Possible side effects include:. Glinides stimulate the pancreas to secrete more insulin. They're faster acting than sulfonylureas, and the duration of their effect in the body is shorter. Examples include repaglinide and nateglinide. Thiazolidinediones make the body's tissues more sensitive to insulin.

Examples include rosiglitazone Avandia and pioglitazone Actos. DPP-4 inhibitors help reduce blood sugar levels but tend to have a very modest effect. Examples include sitagliptin Januvia , saxagliptin Onglyza and linagliptin Tradjenta. GLP-1 receptor agonists are injectable medications that slow digestion and help lower blood sugar levels.

Their use is often associated with weight loss, and some may reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. SGLT2 inhibitors affect the blood-filtering functions in your kidneys by inhibiting the return of glucose to the bloodstream. As a result, glucose is excreted in the urine. These drugs may reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in people with a high risk of those conditions. Examples include canagliflozin Invokana , dapagliflozin Farxiga and empagliflozin Jardiance.

Other medications your doctor might prescribe in addition to diabetes medications include blood pressure and cholesterol-lowering medications, as well as low-dose aspirin, to help prevent heart and blood vessel disease.

Some people who have type 2 diabetes need insulin therapy. In the past, insulin therapy was used as a last resort, but today it may be prescribed sooner if blood sugar targets aren't met with lifestyle changes and other medications. Different types of insulin vary on how quickly they begin to work and how long they have an effect. Long-acting insulin, for example, is designed to work overnight or throughout the day to keep blood sugar levels stable.

Short-acting insulin might be used at mealtime. Your doctor will determine what type of insulin is appropriate for you and when you should take it.

Your insulin type, dosage and schedule may change depending on how stable your blood sugar levels are. Most types of insulin are taken by injection. Side effects of insulin include the risk of low blood sugar hypoglycemia , diabetic ketoacidosis and high triglycerides.

Weight-loss surgery changes the shape and function of your digestive system. This surgery may help you lose weight and manage type 2 diabetes and other conditions related to obesity. There are various surgical procedures, but all of them help you lose weight by limiting how much food you can eat.

Some procedures also limit the amount of nutrients you can absorb. Weight-loss surgery is only one part of an overall treatment plan. Your treatment will also include diet and nutritional supplement guidelines, exercise and mental health care.

Generally, weight-loss surgery may be an option for adults living with type 2 diabetes who have a body mass index BMI of 35 or higher. BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. Depending on the severity of diabetes or comorbid conditions, surgery may be an option for someone with a BMI lower than Weight-loss surgery requires a lifelong commitment to lifestyle changes.

Long-term side effects include nutritional deficiencies and osteoporosis. Women with type 2 diabetes will likely need to change their treatment plans and adhere to diets that carefully controls carbohydrate intake.

Many women will need insulin therapy during pregnancy and may need to discontinue other treatments, such as blood pressure medications. There is an increased risk during pregnancy of developing diabetic retinopathy or a worsening of the condition. If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, visit an ophthalmologist during each trimester of your pregnancy, one year postpartum or as advised.

Regularly monitoring your blood sugar levels is important to avoid severe complications. Also, be aware of signs and symptoms that may suggest irregular blood sugar levels and the need for immediate care:. High blood sugar hyperglycemia. This produces toxic acids known as ketones. Watch for loss of appetite, weakness, vomiting, fever, stomach pain and a sweet, fruity breath. You can check your urine for excess ketones with an over-the-counter ketones test kit.

If you have excess ketones in your urine, consult your doctor right away or seek emergency care. This condition is more common in people with type 1 diabetes. Hyperglycemic hyperosmolar nonketotic syndrome. Hyperosmolar syndrome is caused by sky-high blood sugar that turns blood thick and syrupy. It is seen in people with type 2 diabetes, and it's often preceded by an illness. Call your doctor or seek immediate medical care if you have signs or symptoms of this condition.

Low blood sugar hypoglycemia. If your blood sugar level drops below your target range, it's known as low blood sugar hypoglycemia. If you're taking medication that lowers your blood sugar, including insulin, your blood sugar level can drop for many reasons, including skipping a meal and getting more physical activity than normal. Low blood sugar also occurs if you take too much insulin or an excess of a glucose-lowering medication that promotes the secretion of insulin by your pancreas.

Check your blood sugar level regularly, and watch for signs and symptoms of low blood sugar — sweating, shakiness, weakness, hunger, dizziness, headache, blurred vision, heart palpitations, irritability, slurred speech, drowsiness, confusion, fainting and seizures. Low blood sugar is treated with quickly absorbed carbohydrates, such as fruit juice or glucose tablets.

Explore Mayo Clinic studies testing new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition. Diabetes is a serious disease. Following your diabetes treatment plan takes round-the-clock commitment.

Careful management of diabetes can reduce your risk of serious — even life-threatening — complications. Make physical activity part of your daily routine. Regular exercise can help prevent prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, and it can help those who already have diabetes to maintain better blood sugar control.

A minimum of 30 minutes of moderate exercise — such as brisk walking — most days of the week is recommended. Aim for at least minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week. It's also a good idea to spend less time sitting still.

Try to get up and move around for a few minutes at least every 30 minutes or so when you're awake. Keep your vaccinations up to date.

High blood sugar can weaken your immune system. Get a flu shot every year, and your doctor may recommend the pneumonia vaccine, as well. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC also currently recommends hepatitis B vaccination if you haven't previously been vaccinated against hepatitis B and you're an adult ages 19 to 59 with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

The most recent CDC guidelines advise vaccination as soon as possible after diagnosis with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. If you are age 60 or older, have diabetes, and haven't previously received the vaccine, talk to your doctor about whether it's right for you. If you drink alcohol, do so responsibly. Alcohol can cause either high or low blood sugar, depending on how much you drink and if you eat at the same time. If you choose to drink, do so only in moderation — one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men — and always with food.

Remember to include the carbohydrates from any alcohol you drink in your daily carbohydrate count. And check your blood sugar levels before going to bed.

Numerous substances have been shown to improve insulin sensitivity in some studies, while other studies fail to find any benefit for blood sugar control or in lowering A1C levels. Because of the conflicting findings, there aren't any alternative therapies that are currently recommended to help everyone with blood sugar management.

If you decide to try any type of alternative therapy, don't stop taking the medications that your doctor has prescribed. Be sure to discuss the use of any of these therapies with your doctor to make sure that they won't cause adverse reactions or interact with your current therapy.

Additionally, there are no treatments — alternative or conventional — that can cure diabetes, so it's critical that people who are receiving insulin therapy for diabetes don't stop using insulin unless directed to do so by their physicians.

Living with diabetes can be difficult and frustrating. Sometimes, even when you've done everything right, your blood sugar levels may rise. But stick with your diabetes management plan, and you'll likely see a positive difference in your A1C when you visit your doctor. Because good diabetes management can be time-consuming, and sometimes overwhelming, some people find it helps to talk to someone.

Your doctor can probably recommend a mental health professional for you to speak with, or you may want to try a support group. Sharing your frustrations and your triumphs with people who understand what you're going through can be very helpful. And you may find that others have great tips to share about diabetes management. You're likely to start by seeing your primary care doctor if you're having diabetes symptoms. If your child is having diabetes symptoms, you might see your child's pediatrician.

If blood sugar levels are extremely high, you'll likely be sent to the emergency room. If blood sugar levels aren't high enough to put you or your child immediately at risk, you may be referred to a doctor who specializes in diabetes, among other disorders endocrinologist. Soon after diagnosis, you'll also likely meet with a diabetes educator and a dietitian to get more information on managing your diabetes. Preparing a list of questions can help you make the most of your time with your doctor.

For diabetes, some questions to ask include:. Diabetes care at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Diagnosis Symptoms of type 1 diabetes often appear suddenly and are often the reason for checking blood sugar levels.

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Show references Ferri FF. Diabetes mellitus. In: Ferri's Clinical Advisor Philadelphia, Pa. Accessed March 6, Standards of medical care in diabetes — Diabetes Care. Papadakis MA, et al.