Managing diabetes well comes down to knowing your numbers, and a number only helps if you know what it is telling you. Blood glucose test results shift with what you last ate, how active you have been and if you already live with diabetes, so one reading can mean different things for different people. This article explains what a pharmacy reading shows, the ranges health bodies use, what can push a result up or down and when to take it to your GP. At Your Community Pharmacy in Newport, diabetes monitoring is free and walk-in.
Key Takeaways
- A pharmacy finger-prick reading is a screening test: it shows your level at one moment and does not diagnose diabetes.
- Diabetes is diagnosed only with a laboratory blood test ordered by a GP or nurse practitioner.
- General targets for people with diabetes are 4 to 7 mmol/L before meals and 5 to 10 mmol/L two hours after starting a meal.
- Food, activity, stress, illness, alcohol and some medicines, such as steroids, can all move a reading.
- A result outside the range you expect is a reason to talk to your GP.
What a pharmacy blood glucose check measures
A blood glucose check at the pharmacy is a quick screening test, not a diagnostic procedure. A small drop of blood from a finger-prick test goes onto a test strip, and the reading takes about a minute. The pharmacist talks you through the number straight away and gives you a copy of the result to keep, along with information about what it means.
That reading is a snapshot of your blood sugar at that moment. You and your pharmacist can use it as one piece of information alongside how you are feeling, your usual pattern of readings and any advice already given by your GP or diabetes educator.
How to read your blood glucose results
Glucose meters in Australia report in millimoles per litre (mmol/L). For people who already live with diabetes, the National Diabetes Services Scheme gives general targets for blood glucose test results, and stresses that your own doctor sets the targets that apply to you:
- Before meals or fasting: 4 to 7 mmol/L
- Two hours after eating: 5 to 10 mmol/L, measured from the start of the meal
- Below 4 mmol/L: counted as hypoglycaemia, or low blood sugar
- Above 15 mmol/L: counted as hyperglycaemia, or high blood sugar
Those figures are guides for people managing diabetes, not cut-offs for diagnosing it. If you do not have diabetes, a single number on a meter tells you only whether a conversation with your GP is worth having.
Walk in during opening hours for a free blood glucose check and a chat with the pharmacist about your result.
What a reading cannot tell you
Diabetes Australia states plainly that a finger-prick test on a hand-held meter cannot be used to diagnose diabetes. Diagnosis needs a laboratory blood test ordered by a GP or nurse practitioner. On those laboratory tests, Diabetes Australia gives these thresholds:
- Fasting blood glucose: 7.0 mmol/L or more means diabetes is likely, and 6.1 to 6.9 mmol/L is likely prediabetes
- Random blood glucose: 11.1 mmol/L or more indicates diabetes, and 7.8 to 11.0 mmol/L is likely prediabetes
- HbA1c: 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or more means diabetes is likely
The value of a pharmacy check is in catching trends early and staying engaged with your numbers, not in the pharmacy making clinical calls on your behalf. Any change to medication or treatment goes through your prescribing doctor.
A meter reading starts the conversation; a laboratory test ordered by your GP is what settles it.
What can push a reading up or down
The same person can see quite different numbers on the same day. The NDSS lists these influences on a reading:
- Food and drink, and how long ago you ate
- Physical activity or exercise
- Diabetes tablets or insulin
- Emotional stress or excitement
- Hormone changes
- Illness or pain
- Alcohol
- Some other medicines, such as steroids
It helps to note the time of day and what you last ate beside each result. A short written record gives your doctor far more to work with than one number remembered from a week ago.
When to follow up with your GP
Healthdirect’s advice on pharmacy screening is simple: based on your result, the pharmacist may refer you to your doctor, who is the best person to explain what it means for you. Book in with your GP if:
- A reading sits outside the range you would expect, more than once
- You notice possible signs of diabetes, such as being more thirsty than usual, passing more urine, feeling tired or having blurred vision
- You live with diabetes and your levels keep running high even though you take your medicines as prescribed
Some situations are urgent. Call triple zero (000) if someone with diabetes cannot keep food or fluids down, or if their level stays above 15 mmol/L with ketones in the blood or urine. Low blood sugar can also turn serious: feeling shaky, sweaty or dizzy are early signs, and a person who becomes drowsy or unconscious needs an ambulance.
Medication support that works alongside monitoring
Blood glucose checks are only half the picture; staying consistent with medication is the other half. A Webster Pak sets out every tablet by day and dose time in its own sealed blister, and the pharmacy can set one up for you and deliver it weekly. Our guide on getting started covers the steps.
During a medication review, such as a MedsCheck or Home Medicines Review, the pharmacist checks your diabetes medicines against everything else in your cupboard, from supplements to products bought off the shelf. If you also keep an eye on your blood pressure, a free blood pressure check fits easily into the same visit; our article on checking frequency explains how often. The free stroke risk assessment, about 10 minutes long, also looks at lifestyle risk factors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a blood glucose check without a GP referral?
Yes. The check is walk-in, with no referral and no appointment needed.
Should I tell the pharmacist when I last ate?
Yes. Food changes your level, so the time of your last meal helps the pharmacist explain what the number means.
How often should I check my blood glucose?
That depends on your diagnosis, treatment plan and any advice already given by your GP or diabetes educator. Ask them for a checking routine that suits you.
Can I have my diabetes medicines delivered?
Yes, through free local delivery, which has no minimum order and covers scripts as well as other pharmacy items. Ring (02) 9999 1186 first to confirm your street is covered, and see our FAQs for other common questions.
Making sense of your numbers
A single reading is a starting point, not an answer. Read your blood glucose results against the time of day and your last meal, keep a simple record, and take anything unexpected to your GP, who can arrange the laboratory tests that confirm or rule out diabetes. To see the other free checks on offer, browse our health services.
Drop into Your Community Pharmacy on Kalinya St, Newport, for a free blood glucose check.