Finger prick BG testing obsession, help please!

[finsit]

Has anyone else got this obsession as well? I have been diagnosed in last Dec and have managed my BG very well thanks to the meter. Last 2 a1c tests within normal range too. My fasting are close to 5 and postprandial peaks are average 7 and i am not doing much experiments with foods either. In spite of all this, I feel insecure and obsessed if i don't check my sugar after 2 hours of food. This is quite a strain and of course adding to my costs as well. Am i being obsessed really? How can i get away with this and just do like a weekly testing? Help please, its making me go insane. I feel so dependant on meter whereas i don't see any surprises at all.

Are you experiencing the same?

 

[ianf0ster]

Sorry, I sympathise, but have never been like that. However it does appear to be quite natural.
Most human beings (and even animals) have tendency to want reassurance and good news.
For example investors check their account (just to check - not to trade) more often when the stock market it high than when it's low - which is probably the reverse of what would be beneficial, hence the saying cut losses short but let profits run.

 

[TriciaWs]

I managed to go to testing weekly once my waking numbers were good, usually on a Sunday I would test first thing (fasting) then 2 hrs after breakfast - if my numbers were good that was it for the week unless I ate something new.
Would it help if you booked this in your diary and packed the kit away?

 

[Ryhia]

2 years down the line and I still test at least twice/three times a day. One for FBG just to see what the day may bring and then maybe before lunch and/or supper, if bloods are ok then I don't feel I need to test post prandial as I have a fair idea what the food effect will be. If I am trialing a new food, then I will test much more frequently.

 

[Dollylolly]

I test 6 times a day the now which will taper off again as I only test if new foods.

can you put the kit away would it help or make you more anxious if the latter I’d continue to test till you feel confident not to

 

[TeddyTottie]

If you a logical type of personality that just needs bit of extra reassurance, how about a food log? Either use an app or a spreadsheet, keep a list of meals with before and after readings. If you have say, three, good outcomes after eating a particular meal or foodstuff, colour it green and accept that you don’t need to test it again. If you feel anxious, just look at the log and take comfort from the green status! You could even schedule in further tests for every 6 months, just so that you can be sure that you would catch the situation if it changed.

 

[finsit]

If you a logical type of personality that just needs bit of extra reassurance, how about a food log? Either use an app or a spreadsheet, keep a list of meals with before and after readings. If you have say, three, good outcomes after eating a particular meal or foodstuff, colour it green and accept that you don’t need to test it again. If you feel anxious, just look at the log and take comfort from the green status! You could even schedule in further tests for every 6 months, just so that you can be sure that you would catch the situation if it changed.

thing is the my guesstimated BG is almost equal to what meter shows, so that is the issue. I understand very well how much a food is going to cause a spike but its just a fear that it might go to 12 or 13, which btw never happened. Its obsession! Also a strange thing that my blood test in NHS last month showed my fasting 9 mmol/l and that is entirely incorrect. I don't go to that number even postprandial. I check fasting every single day its always between 5 and 6. Can there be a data error?

 

[Ronancastled]

I was the same until I wore a CGM & saw the missed spikes & early drops before rises after a mixed meal. Saw how the religious 2 hour thing is really a lottery based on meal, exercise, time of day etc. Think I've only finger pricked once in the 6 weeks since I finished the trial. The 2 hour advice is really only applicable to the OGTT or a simple single course lunch. It doesn't make any sense against a social occasion where you could be grazing 3 courses over 90 mins.

 

[Hertfordshiremum]

Has anyone else got this obsession as well? I have been diagnosed in last Dec and have managed my BG very well thanks to the meter. Last 2 a1c tests within normal range too. My fasting are close to 5 and postprandial peaks are average 7 and i am not doing much experiments with foods either. In spite of all this, I feel insecure and obsessed if i don't check my sugar after 2 hours of food. This is quite a strain and of course adding to my costs as well. Am i being obsessed really? How can i get away with this and just do like a weekly testing? Help please, its making me go insane. I feel so dependant on meter whereas i don't see any surprises at all.

Are you experiencing the same?

Hi

You have done brilliantly, that’s hard work as well so you deserve a lot of credit. Why don’t you cut the testing down slowly. Could you not test today after lunch, as you are getting no surprises? You could test after dinner and fasting tomorrow and just slowly cut this down. Or you could spend £40 on a continuous blood glucose monitor that lasts 2 weeks to really reassure yourself and perhaps this would break the cycle of finger prick testing and then really cut back to maybe just once a day after you have all the data from the cgm? I am type 1 and inject insulin 5 times a day and buy my cgm from Hobbs Pharmacy if there is one near you.

 

[finsit]

I was the same until I wore a CGM & saw the missed spikes & early drops before rises after a mixed meal. Saw how the religious 2 hour thing is really a lottery based on meal, exercise, time of day etc. Think I've only finger pricked once in the 6 weeks since I finished the trial. The 2 hour advice is really only applicable to the OGTT or a simple single course lunch. It doesn't make any sense against a social occasion where you could be grazing 3 courses over 90 mins.

Thanks @Ronancastled . I agree what you had to say, but my 2 hour mark is not based on recommendations, but its based on my peak because i eat low carb protein rich food with lots of veggies so over the past few months, i figured my peak is somewhere betwee 130 to 3 hours depending upon the GI of the food. If i ate simple carbs like fruits or without any extra fats, i will see peak at 1:30 hrs. If i ate heavy protein or fat/veggies, it will be somewhere at 2:30 mark. So my testing at 2 hrs gives me a pretty good idea of what's going on, otherwise i will be testing 3 times postprandial (which i did initially to catch my peaks) and i definitely did this in the night time so i don't think i have missed a peak or lows. CGM is costly and secondly im afraid if i get one, i may get attached to it more than strips that will be a disaster !

 

[finsit]

Hi

You have done brilliantly, that’s hard work as well so you deserve a lot of credit. Why don’t you cut the testing down slowly. Could you not test today after lunch, as you are getting no surprises? You could test after dinner and fasting tomorrow and just slowly cut this down. Or you could spend £40 on a continuous blood glucose monitor that lasts 2 weeks to really reassure yourself and perhaps this would break the cycle of finger prick testing and then really cut back to maybe just once a day after you have all the data from the cgm? I am type 1 and inject insulin 5 times a day and buy my cgm from Hobbs Pharmacy if there is one near you.

easier said than done, but i will try to wean it off. I some times think of throwing the machine and strips and flush down the toilet. Not sure if it will help lol.

 

[In Response]

@zamalik your profile says your diabetes is treated with insulin.
If this is the case, you should not be out of pocket for your testing - your test strips should be available on prescription as you are at risk of hypo.
Likewise, if you are treated with insulin, you MUST test at least 4 times a day as well as whenever you drive, It is not that uncommon for someone with Type 1 diabetes to test 8 or more times a day and it is not considered obsessive; it is considered necessary.

 

[TooSweetForMe]

I am a T2 but on insulin and I test 8x daily - at least, all depending on whatever the Big One upstairs likes to throw my way.

 

[garyclark82]

I completely understand the urge to keep testing. I'm still learning about things so I'm testing six times a day (pre/post each meal) but I'm trying to cut down now. I'm now going to test when I wake up and after any meal I haven't had/don't know the effects of.

 

[bandito22]

What you should realise is that BG levels are not the best test. The issue is actually insulin.
Very high insulin causes more damage in your body than high blood sugar. You may have normal BG levels, but to maintain that level you body could be producing huge amounts of insulin, which is not a good thing. Ask your GP for a HOMA-IR test to see the real picture. Keeping insulin levels low (becoming insulin sensitive) is more important.

 

[Bluetit1802]

@zamalik your profile says your diabetes is treated with insulin.
If this is the case, you should not be out of pocket for your testing - your test strips should be available on prescription as you are at risk of hypo.
Likewise, if you are treated with insulin, you MUST test at least 4 times a day as well as whenever you drive, It is not that uncommon for someone with Type 1 diabetes to test 8 or more times a day and it is not considered obsessive; it is considered necessary.

If you look at his profile page you will see he is diet only.

 

[finsit]

@zamalik your profile says your diabetes is treated with insulin.
If this is the case, you should not be out of pocket for your testing - your test strips should be available on prescription as you are at risk of hypo.
Likewise, if you are treated with insulin, you MUST test at least 4 times a day as well as whenever you drive, It is not that uncommon for someone with Type 1 diabetes to test 8 or more times a day and it is not considered obsessive; it is considered necessary.

@In Response i am not on any meds or insulin. I never knew my profile reads that. I will have a look.

 

[finsit]

What you should realise is that BG levels are not the best test. The issue is actually insulin.
Very high insulin causes more damage in your body than high blood sugar. You may have normal BG levels, but to maintain that level you body could be producing huge amounts of insulin, which is not a good thing. Ask your GP for a HOMA-IR test to see the real picture. Keeping insulin levels low (becoming insulin sensitive) is more important.

@bandito22 exactly, well said. As a matter of fact after 3 months while i was in Egypt i did a HOMA-IR test and my insulin returned back at 3 (fasting) so i am okay on that side. Now i check my sugar just to make sure its not causing insulin to spike as i cant test insulin at home.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I was also obsessed, and a data freak. I recorded all my levels religiously on a spread sheet, every day, and was testing 8 or more times a day. I did this for a long time. I knew it was obsession because my levels never changed much but I still kept going. Then I made a conscious decision to stop. Since then I have tested only 3 times a day - FBG, before evening meal and bedtime. This started when I was on holiday and found continual testing difficult and a chore. If I miss one of my 3 times a day tests, I just shrug and carry on. Perhaps you could try just reducing it. Ignore post meal tests as you are clearly on top of what you eat, so basically you are wasting your time and money.

 

[Ronancastled]

Thanks CGM is costly and secondly im afraid if i get one, i may get attached to it more than strips :) that will be a disaster !

I hear you, I've penciled in November for my next one but I've about 3 stone to lose first otherwise it will be a waste.
They are so so addictive.