If you are going to see your car mechanic...

because your car was making a funny noise; you describe what it sounds like, when it happens etc. The mechanic says 'I have some ideas about what may be wrong. Let me take a look'. You are shocked that he might actually want to look at the car itself to figure out what needs fixing.

Sounds silly, doesn't it? It happens every day at my office. People come in for diabetes care, they tell me what the blood sugars are running but they don't bring in the log book or meter. For some they remember only the highest blood sugars and are surprised that the A1c is so good. Others remember only the good blood sugars and are surprised when the A1c comes back high. Some remember testing frequently when the meter has only 1-2 tests per month.

I like helping people with diabetes. I can't help much if I don't have enough information. If the A1c is above target range and I don't have any home glucose values to guide my treatment decision then I take an educated guess on what will work best.

Some people are fortunate enough to have amazingly stable blood sugars with A1c consistently under 7% without having hypoglycemia. These people don't need to test every day. If you are one of these people, congratulations on doing so well and disregard the next comments. If you are not one of these fortunate people, please consider these recommendations.

Help yourself out the folowing ways:
1. The best data is a log book with space for date, time, glucose values, medication doses and food. One commercial product is called 'my other checkbook'.

2. If you think that level of effort will not provide equivalent benefit, then record the date, time and blood sugars. The manufacturer of your meter will provide/sell such log books that fit nicely in the meter carrying case. Call the toll free number on the back of your meter to order them.

3. If writing down information is not your style, bring in you meter. Please have the correct date and time in it. If the date and time are incorrect, call the toll-free number on the back of the meter to get instructions on correcting the date and time.

4. If you are in to digital data, get a download cord and software to generate some data for your visit. Don't forget to print it and bring the results with you.

If none of this matters to you, ask yourself why you are seeing a specialist for your diabetes.