How long after eating do you test blood glucose

[blueprudence]

Hello all

I've been occupied with other health issues over the last year or so and have very badly ignored my Type II diabetes. Saw a nice but strict new diabetes nurse yesterday and my HBa1C was 111 up from 96 last time. Was 126 upon diagnosis. She wants me on 48 so I've a long way to go - first thing is getting back onto my meds (metformin and glicazide) which I'd stopped taking - I know very stupid of me . I must get a handle on my blood glucose control or I'm going to suffer the consequences.

Anyway, I'm now back on regular testing, my Contour XL is charging and would like to know how long after finishing or starting eating a meal should I test my blood glucose please?

For anyone interested, it was 11.8 this morning, not fasting but before eating (woke up with migraine and didn't get up until 10:30).

Thank you in advance for your input.

 

[Mike d]

First up, test prior to your meal. Then at 1 hour after your first bite of that meal and at the 2 hour mark. Shows the rise and falls of your blood sugars

 

[blueprudence]

First up, test prior to your meal. Then at 1 hour after your first bite of that meal and at the 2 hour mark. Shows the rise and falls of your blood sugars

Thank you for this advice Mike.

 

[June_C]

First up, test prior to your meal. Then at 1 hour after your first bite of that meal and at the 2 hour mark. Shows the rise and falls of your blood sugars

Hi Mike, Are you saying test 2 hours after the start of the meal or 2 hours after the end? I've never been quite sure.

 

[Sarah69]

I've only ever been asked to test before meals so that's all I do.

 

[KateA]

Hi Mike, Are you saying test 2 hours after the start of the meal or 2 hours after the end? I've never been quite sure.

The book, Blood Sugar 101 says test at 1 hour and 2 hours after you have finished your food.

 

[vintageutopia]

Technically, you should test an hour and then two hours front the ONSET of your meal. The reason being is that meals vary in length, therefore you want to start the countdown when the food enters your system.

 

[carty]

I have always had a problem with this .If for instance you are eating a meal with friends and chatting away then you may have a dessert it could be an hour and you are still eating .So what is your meter .measuring
CAROL

 

[patchworks101]

I was told to test no more than 15 minutes before eating and then 2 hours after finishing the meal (a normal one, not a drawn out one with friends). Seems to work for me.

 

[Mike d]

Hi Mike, Are you saying test 2 hours after the start of the meal or 2 hours after the end? I've never been quite sure.

Hi June C

Didn't express myself all that well did I ? Apologies

You need your BS level recorded just before a meal, then after your first bite (timing it) at 1 hour afterwards and then after another hour (the 2 hour mark) another test. 3 in all. I thank @Bluetit1802 for that advice ...

Best regards

Mike

 

[wd6ecc]

Technically, you should test an hour and then two hours front the ONSET of your meal. The reason being is that meals vary in length, therefore you want to start the countdown when the food enters your system.

is that not the same as testing before the meal

 

[vintageutopia]

is that not the same as testing before the meal

No. Testing before the meal is expected, because it gives you a baseline. I apologize for not being clear. I meant that you should test 1 hour and then 2 hours from the FIRST bite (onset of meal).

 

[hankjam]

I test at 19:00, finish cooking and put meal on table at 19:15 and we tend to finish between 19:45 and 20:00, I test again at between 21:30 and 21:45 when getting ready to bed. Numbers tend to relate to what I eat, numbers are fairly steady, I love eating the food I cook, though some would consider it limited in range... Breakfast and lunch are always the same....

 

[Royfall]

Have found above comments on testing BS. before and after meals very helpful,, thanks everyone. Question, is it advisable to exercise, or engage in some light activity after meal ?, before next BS test? And if so how much? And how soon after Meal?

 

[Alexandra100]

Have found above comments on testing BS. before and after meals very helpful,, thanks everyone. Question, is it advisable to exercise, or engage in some light activity after meal ?, before next BS test? And if so how much? And how soon after Meal?

A few research studies have been done on this. The consensus seems to be that exercise can help reduce insulin resistance. Before a meal helps some, but after much more. How long after? - opinion varies. Some say straight away, others later. There seems to be some agreement that moderate exercise works fine - no need to sprint straight after dinner! As with everything related to diabetes, we have to experiment and find what works best for us. If you Google something like "diabetes exercise lower blood glucose" you can probably find the studies I am citing and more. Good luck!

 

[Alexandra100]

Have found above comments on testing BS. before and after meals very helpful

Here again, you have to find what works for you. I suggest you start with testing before your meal and 1 hour + 2 hours after. If you see eg 5.0 before, 6.0 after 1 hour and then 5.0 again after 2 hours, no need to test more for that meal. However if you don't see a rise at 1 hour you may well get a rise at 2 hours, in which case you could test again at 2 hours 30m and/or at 3 hours, until you do see a further rise or a fall. With experience you will learn the time intervals at which it is worthwhile testing, though they can vary as a eg fatty meal can take longer to digest. Myself, I hardly ever bother testing at 1 hour as my bg has usually not risen by then and may even have fallen. Normally my bg rises by 2 hours. Occasionally I have to wait even 4 hours to see a rise!

I'm not sure if this is clear enough. You are trying to catch the peak your bg rises to, and then see how long it takes to go down again. In my case, once up my bg tends to stay up, so I am very wary of eating too many carbs and causing it to go up too much.

In the case of prolonged meals, you just have to experiment and find out how they affect bg. It can't be said too often (and indeed on this Forum it is often said) we are all different. You are a research project of one! This can be fascinating as well as distressing.