The First 30 Days™
From first stick to second nature.
A plain-language guide to testing your blood sugar, one week at a time — the owner's manual that should have come with the meter. Written by a Diabetes Care and Education Specialist. No jargon.
It comes free with the Starter Kit. It is not sold separately.
You just got diagnosed.
Maybe it was yesterday. Maybe this morning. Maybe you are still sitting in your car outside the doctor's office wondering — now what?
You were given a meter, a box of strips, some lancets and a few minutes of instructions. Then life kept moving. Nobody showed you which finger to use, whether it hurts, when you are supposed to test, what the numbers mean, or what to do when they are high or low.
Thousands of people leave a doctor's office every day feeling exactly that. This guide is for the first month afterwards — not another diabetes book, and not written in medical language.
“I've never done this before.” → “I've got this.”
Four weeks. One small step at a time.
By the end, testing is just something you do.
Set Up
Learn how to use your meter with confidence.
- What's in the kit
- How to prepare your meter
- Your first fingerstick
- Tips to make testing less painful
When to Test
The two most important times to check your blood sugar.
- Before meals
- After meals
- How food affects your numbers
- Building your testing routine
Understanding Your Numbers
What the numbers are trying to tell you.
- Normal ranges
- High blood sugar
- Low blood sugar
- The 15-15 rule
- When to call your healthcare team
Make It Stick
Turn testing into something you don't have to think about.
- Anchoring the test to something you already do
- Keeping the daily log
- What to do after a missed day
- Twelve days in a row
Written by
John Mwesigwa, DCES
Diabetes Care and Education Specialist
For nearly two decades John has helped people and their families understand diabetes in plain language, on the view that it should be explained in words anyone can act on.
Affordable · Simple · Encouraging · Practical · Life-affirming
More than a book. A roadmap.
Every step builds on the one before it, and you are never expected to work it out alone.
- Someone is diagnosed.
- They find this guide.
- They get the Starter Kit, with the guide inside it.
- They learn to test with confidence over the first month.
- Supplies keep arriving without having to think about it — build a plan.
- The wider programs follow — see what we run.
Start with the kit.
Most people arriving here need more than a book, and the book comes with the kit anyway.
Starter Kit — meter, 50 strips, 100 lancets
- VivaGuard Ino meter
- 50 test strips
- 100 lancets
- Carrying case
- The First 30 Days™ — included, not an extra
- Quick start guide
Order the Starter Kit — $34.44
Open the box, read the guide, take your first test.
Educational content only — not a substitute for medical advice from your healthcare team. HealthViber sells over-the-counter testing supplies and is not a healthcare provider. Anything about your treatment, your testing schedule or your medication is a question for the people looking after you.