When is best to test?

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gefmayhem

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Currently I test 5 times aday.
First thing in the morning, 3 tests 2hours after each meal and then last thing at night.
However I was reading another topic where someone was testing just before each meal.
So, trying to keep testing down to a minimum, when are the best times to test?

I hadn't been testing for a long time and now I've started again, I don't want my doctor to notice my increase in test strip usage and cut the quantity I get.
Although I've been ok so far.
 
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DiabeticGeek

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It depends why you are testing. If you are simply monitoring your BG control, then a single test in the morning, before eating, will probably suffice. If you want to economize on strips then just do this a few times a week. Keep a record of these figures, and look for trends (don't worry about occasional glitches, it is the long term pattern that is important). Alternatively, if you are at risk of hypos, then testing could give you advance warning (e.g. before you do something risky like driving, or when you haven't eaten for a long time). If you want to see the effect that a new food has upon your BG, then you need to test more. The minimum would be immediately before you eat, and then two hours after. However, you would get a much more complete picture if you test enough to plot a curve on a graph (e.g. at 30 minute intervals when the BG is on the way up, and then hourly until you get back to where you start). I wouldn't suggest that you do that routinely, though, only if you are changing your diet or incorporating an unfamiliar food into it.
 
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moggi10

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Hi, there is no point in testing 2 hours after a meal. What are you going to do if its higher than 7mmol? You cant inject as the insulin injected at the previous mealtime is still active and this would surely bring on a hypo if you injected again.

It's best to test first thing in the morning, just before each meal and last thing before you go to bed to ensure you do not hypo during the night.
 
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l0vaduck

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moggi10 said:
Hi, there is no point in testing 2 hours after a meal. What are you going to do if its higher than 7mmol? You cant inject as the insulin injected at the previous mealtime is still active and this would surely bring on a hypo if you injected again.

It's best to test first thing in the morning, just before each meal and last thing before you go to bed to ensure you do not hypo during the night.
Click to expand...

It is possible to work out how much the remaining insulin in your system will bring your blood sugars down, then inject to correct.

For example if I find that my blood sugar is 13 two hours after injecting 4 units of rapid acting, I know that the remaining 2 units (it lasts 4 hours for me) will bring me down to 7 (having ascertained that one unit of insulin brings me down by 3 mmols). I can therefore safely correct by an additional 1 unit and know that this will bring me down to 4.
 
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Dennis

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Gef,
I see you are a Type-2 on oral meds, but you are testing with the frequency that a Type-1 on insulin would. The difference is that they have to - you don't. As DiabeticGeek said, twice a day, before breakfast and your evening meal is enough, but you could get away with just once a day. You need to see an overall pattern and sometimes you will find it is up and sometimes down. As long as the overall picture is one of a falling BG (with an occasional glitch) then that shows you are doing and eating the right things.
 
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gefmayhem

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Sorry I didn't reply before now, I was enjoying my weekend.

I'm type 2

The main reason I test 2 hours after every meal is to work out what foods are good and what aren't.
I then use this information to decide what I can eat if I get stuck without access to my usual food supplies, and to work on menus by trying favourite foods and seeing what affect they have on my BS.

circassian chicken last night, chicken in a yoghurt spicy sauce with extra yoghurt, peas and a tiny amount of brown riace - lovely and 5.1 2 hours later.
 
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CageG

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moggi10 said:
Hi, there is no point in testing 2 hours after a meal. What are you going to do if its higher than 7mmol? You cant inject as the insulin injected at the previous mealtime is still active and this would surely bring on a hypo if you injected again.

It's best to test first thing in the morning, just before each meal and last thing before you go to bed to ensure you do not hypo during the night.
Click to expand...

Another type one has already mentioned that you can inject extra insulin if you need to come down and have calibrated the effect. Another approach, which I use successfully is to exercise. Because the level of insulin in circulation is relatively high this will quite rapidly bring you blood sugar down, a risk here but one that can easily be addressed, is that too much exercise will push you hypo, but it is easy to calibrate this for your individual sensitivites.

CageG, Type I for 7 years, A1c in the range 4.5 - 5, tested quarterly.
 
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anniep

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But while you may not be able to deal with that particular high reading, if you know that a particular food sent you high then you don't eat it again or eat smaller quantities or adjust you medication next time.

Testing after a meal is worth it because it will inform what you eat and how you deal with it in the future.

It is only not worth it if you are not going to do anything with the information.
 
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