Just picking it up every so often.
Not tested after bread though i did test the other night after my toast and got was it 6.6
Reasonable = acceptable reading sorry should have been more clearer on that one.a reading between say 5 and 9 is normal and acceptable
Johnboy - I don't want to become your complete headacahe, but to get the best out of testing, it makes sense to have a bit of a plan. To be completely honest, the first couple of days I tested, I was a bit afraid to test when I thought I might be high, because I was a bit afraid of what the number would be. but, then I realised that those are exactly the numbers to did need to see, or I was tinkering around the edges of my diabetes and not maximising on the potential learning from testing.
I appreciate your budget isn't limitless. My situation when I started testing was that I was overseas for several months, with no real access to any more strips than I had taken with me, so I had to devise a plan to get the best for my strip based buck.
In the end, I settled on testing three times a day. I had roughly budgeted for 2 pots of strips a month. For me, I decided that was testing every day, on rising, as that helps me understand my background base level. That's not a medical term, but how I justified it to myself. The other two tests I rotated each day around meals. One test before eating, and the other two hours later. On the days I was testing breakfast, I didn't test between my fasting and eating breakfast, so those days in reality I only tested twice a day, but that left another strip for another time. I also kept an accurate food diary on myfitnesspal, so that if necessary, I could go back and see what score I had last time I ate x food.
By adopting this approach, I quickly got a handle on my body's reaction to what I eat. As I routinely only ate a couple of versions of breakfasts and lunches, I quickly learned I could drop testing after breakfast and lunch unless I was eating something different. then, I could focus on testing more around my evening meals - which are usually my most substantial meal of the day - and are usually most varied. It took a little while to really gain insight, but I felt much more confident with the knowledge under my belt.
Have a bit of a think. This is where the recommendation for the Codefree meter and strips comes into its own. Once you have the Codefree meter, you are then talking about £11 a month for all that information - provided you can buy a few pots to get the discount. If you can't get the discount it's £14 a month. 50p a day.
I wish I had strips on prescription, but for me that's not going to be happen; even though I ask every time I go. I feel honour-bound to all T2s to ask each time, but I have a feeling I know what the response will be each time.
Investing 50p a day in my health feels like a bargain to me.