Blood glucose

How to prepare your blood glucose diary for the diabetes visit

October 20266 min read

At the diabetes appointment, for you or for your child, the diary is the working material: it tells the team what happened between one visit and the next. Here you will find what to record and why, when to start, how to bring the data and which questions to prepare.

This guide helps you collect and organise the data, not interpret it. What the values mean, and whether to change anything in the treatment, is decided by the diabetes doctor together with you. If in doubt, or if you or your child are unwell, call your doctor or diabetes team without waiting for the appointment.

Why the diary matters to the diabetes doctor

Readings taken at home at different times and on different days give the doctor important information for deciding whether to keep or change the treatment, the Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità) points out. The CDC adds that monitoring helps the team make decisions about the care plan.

A single value says little. Put in a row, with their context, values show a pattern: Diabetes UK and the Australian NDSS service explain that this is exactly what the team looks for in the diary. For children, the English guidelines (NICE) ask for blood glucose to be read in the context of the child's whole life, social, emotional and physical: this is why your notes matter as much as the numbers.

In Italian paediatric diabetes care pathways, too, reviewing the diary is part of the visit (Italian Society for Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology, Emilia-Romagna Region).

What to record

Every value with date and time, exactly as the device shows it (NIDDK).
The moment: before or after a meal, at bedtime, or another time of day (American Diabetes Association).
The insulin taken and the carbs, if your plan includes them (American Diabetes Association, NIDDK).
Ketones, in blood or urine, when your plan says to check them, for example on sick days (NICE).
Treated hypos and how you treated them (Diabetes UK).
The context: sport, illness, stress, a day that was different from usual (American Diabetes Association, NIDDK, NHS).
Any other medicines taken: the CDC asks you to bring them all to the visit, including over-the-counter ones.

Record every value, even the ones that seem out of place: for Diabetes UK they are all needed, because together they show the pattern. There is no such thing as a "good" or "bad" diary: there is a useful diary.

How long before the visit

There is no number of days that fits everyone. Check-ups are regular: the English guidelines (NICE) encourage young people with type 1 diabetes to attend clinic 4 times a year, and the Emilia-Romagna Region's care pathway for children and young people provides for a check-up every 2 to 4 months, with a review of the diary for the period since the last visit.

The simplest approach, then, is to record continuously between one visit and the next. If you use a sensor, the ISPAD guidelines state that the data profile reviewed by the team should cover at least 14 days.

Which period your team wants to see, ask at the next visit: it is one of the most useful questions you can ask.

How to bring your data

The diary, printed or on your phone: the CDC asks you to bring your blood glucose records to every visit, and the American Diabetes Association explains that this gives the team a clear picture of how your body is responding to the care plan.
The meter: the NHS in Leeds asks you to bring your results and meter to every appointment, and in Italian paediatric care pathways the team can download its data (Emilia-Romagna Region).
The sensor, if you use one: bring the phone or reader with its app, so you can look at the data together (NIDDK). To share it remotely with the clinic, follow your team's instructions.
The list of medicines, including over-the-counter ones (CDC).

The meter keeps the numbers, the diary keeps the context too: that is why it is worth bringing both (NHS Leeds).

How it works with Pediary

Pediary does not measure blood glucose and does not connect to meters or sensors: you log by hand the value you read on your device, in mg/dL or mmol/L, and for each value you can note whether it comes from a finger or a sensor. Next to it you can note the moment of the check, insulin, carbs, ketones in blood or urine and treated hypos. If your plan says to recheck, you choose when to be reminded.

Before the visit you choose the period (7, 14 or 30 days, or dates of your choice) and export the PDF for the diabetes doctor: the day by day table, the blood glucose chart, the averages by time of day, the highest and lowest value, the treated hypos you recorded, ketones, insulin and, if you like, your notes for the diabetes doctor at the end of the document. You can choose the unit and language of the document, or export a CSV to open in a spreadsheet.

Pediary does not colour the values, shows no target ranges and never judges a number: it shows values and averages and leaves the assessment to the diabetes doctor. Out-of-range meter readings (LO and HI) stay in the diary but are left out of the averages.

Questions to prepare

Write your questions down in the days before, as they come to mind: the NIDDK recommends it, and Diabetes UK suggests bringing a notebook to write down the answers too. A few ideas:

When should I check, and in which situations should I recheck? (NDSS)
What do I do if a value does not match how I feel, or how my child seems? (FDA, ISPAD)
When do I check ketones, and in blood or urine? (NICE)
Is our sick day plan up to date? The NICE guidelines provide for written instructions, to be reviewed at least once a year.
Could you watch how I check, or how I check my child? (NICE)
How can I tell whether the treatment is working? (CDC)
I have read about a new sensor or technology: is it right for us? (Diabetes UK)
How are we coping with diabetes, and what help can we get? (Diabetes UK)
When is the next visit, and who do I call if I have a question before then? (CDC, NICE)

What you don't need to do

You don't need to remove from the diary the values that look wrong to you or that you don't like: the team needs to see them all (Diabetes UK). If a value seemed strange, write it in the notes, together with anything that may have affected it (American Diabetes Association). Nor do you need to change the treatment on your own based on the diary: changes are recommended by the diabetes doctor (Istituto Superiore di Sanità). And if between visits you have a question, or you or your child are unwell, there is no need to wait: call your doctor or diabetes team.

The report for the diabetes doctor, ready when you need it

Pediary's blood glucose diary collects the values you log, with insulin, carbs, ketones and treated hypos, and prepares a tidy PDF or a CSV to bring to the visit. No colours and no judgement on the values.

Discover the blood glucose diary

Sources

Every point in this guide comes from these sources, consulted in October 2026.

Download Pediary for free

The health diary for you and your family, with the blood glucose diary from version 3.1.

How to check blood glucose at home with a meter

Hands, finger prick, strips and notes according to ISPAD, FDA, CDC, NHS and Diabetes UK.