Keeping a Diabetic Daily Log: Why it Matters and How to Do it

Keeping a Diabetic Daily Log: Why it Matters and How to Do it
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Keeping a diabetic daily log can be an important part of creating an effective treatment plan, and for type 2 diabetics, possibly reversing the diabetes.

What to Include

A daily diabetic log should track the most important things that you and your physician feel need to be monitored closely and regularly. These can include:

  • Blood glucose levels
  • Meals (including food eaten, amounts, fat, calories, carbs, etc)
  • Exercise (what kind and how long)
  • Sleep
  • Diabetes medication (what kind, when taken, how much)
  • Other medications taken (prescription or over-the-counter)
  • Vitamins and herbal supplements taken (these can interact with medications)
  • Stress or other factors
  • Symptoms (foot ulcers, vision changes, sexual dysfunction, etc)
  • Illnesses (what they were, how long they lasted, how they were treated, symptoms)
  • Weight
  • Doctor visits (when, which doctor seen, primary reason)
  • Test results (lab values, etc)

Purpose

The purpose of daily logging is to help you, the patient, your treating physician and your dietician have a clear picture about what foods, medications and activities in your daily routine trigger episodes of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia. The more information that you and your treating physician have, the easier it can be to spot patterns and trends in those things that negatively and positively affect your health. This makes it simpler to make necessary adjustments to your lifestyle, medication and other factors.

It can seem like a hassle to record so much information on a daily basis. However, the more you can record, the better your odds for successfully managing your diabetes.

Resources

There are multiple resources available for help with keeping up and managing a diabetic daily log. Some are free online resources, including printable log pages or software downloads. Others are software or application for mobile devices. The most important factor in choosing a diabetic log is finding one that meets your needs and is simple to use.

Just a few of the free diabetic logs or daily log sheets that are available online are:

Dia-log. A free online log for diabetes management. It offers printable information that can be shared with your physician. This log tracks blood glucose, doctor visits, carbs, insulin and much more.

CareLogger. A free online diabetes log that allows you to list your glucose levels, medication, weight, blood pressure and more.

Free Printable Diabetes Log Books by MandyCat1989. These include covers, in many cases. These logs are free to print and use but may not be sold or otherwise distributed.

Free Printable Log Sheets for Blood Glucose. These sheets offer a variety of tracking organization and may all be printed and used . . .and even modified to suit personal needs.

References

Managing Your Diabetes. WebMD. https://diabetes.webmd.com/managing-diabetes

Diabetes Monitor – Keeping Track of Your Blood Glucose. January 6, 2010. From the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Division of Diabetes Translation. https://www.diabetesmonitor.com/ktrack.htm