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exercised, taken medication, or
experienced stress.
you have eaten recently, the blood
glucose level from a fingerstick can
be up to 70 mg/dL higher than that
of a venous sample (blood drawn
from a vein) used for a laboratory
test.
Therefore it is best to fast for
4
eight hours before doing the com-
parison tests. Factors such as a high
or low hematocrit (amount of red
blood cells in the blood) or severe
dehydration (loss of body fluid)
may also cause a meter result to be
different from a laboratory result.
For more detail, see pages 39–40.
In addition, if
3
Expected Test Results
Your test results will vary somewhat
from test to test. Blood glucose levels
change throughout the day. The types
and amounts of food you eat, your
activity and stress levels, and how
much insulin or other medication
you take affect your blood glucose
levels. If you are controlling your
diabetes well, your test results
should fall within a personal target
range recommended by your health-
care professional. Once you have
established your target range, you
will be able to detect when your
results are high or low and can take
action with advice from your health-
care professional.
36
(Target Range)
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