Typically, when one reads about “medication adherence” it’s in the grand sense. It’s all diseases combined and how many dollars we might save as a country if we all took our medications as prescribed by a physician.

This study, reported by DNS, found that diabetics who test their glucose 1 or more times per day are much more likely to be adherent to their drug regimen and were found to have a lower A1C level.

Now… it’s expensive to buy all that testing paraphernalia. Test meters, test strips, needles to make you bleed a drop… it costs about $1 for each test strip alone, this adds up quickly. I struggle with this myself, but I’ve just now found that the more I test, the more likely I am to eat the right foods, be a little more diligent with my exercise workouts and be adherent with my meds. Why? Because testing makes me more aware of my situation.
A few weeks back I found out that my glucose was elevated because my glucose meter was off kilter and sometimes not working. I was replacing batteries and test strips and eventually realized it was the machine itself. Well, once I got a new, working unit I became hyper-aware that I my glucose was way up and I needed to get my body back in line.

I started exercising, testing more often, eating better… I was bound to get myself in control, motivated by the not-so-great glucose message my meter was giving me. The truth is that when you’re doing one thing diligently, you’re really making yourself more aware of the entire regimen that’s necessary to make your body tick like a dependable clock.  But you have to be committed to keeping the clock working in good health. I have re-doubled my efforts to understanding all of the factors that might cause my glucose to elevate. Out of all of the tools available my own focused awareness is likely the most important. But I will certainly get distracted at some point and will likely need some reminding.

The study, based on an analysis of health insurance data, concluded that patients that test, who are not treated with insulin, at lease once per day had the greatest reductions in their A1C levels, compared to patients that didn’t test. And the more the patients tested the greater the decrease in their A1C levels.

When life gets a little too complicated and you start to focus on other important factors, you might find that you need a little help with your medication management. MedTexter is here for you.