Blood monitoring for a newbie

[Lobsang Tsultim]

Hey everyone,
so I was very recently diagnosed with type 2 after high sugar levels turned up in a hospital blood test (73). My GP practice repeated the blood test and again I had high sugars (74). I had a quick meeting with one of the doctors and he's putting me on metformin - one a day for a week, then 2 a day for a couple of weeks and then 3 a day. He also told me he wants to put me on statins in a month or so because my cholesterol was high (99 I think from what I glimpsed on the screen).

Now, down to the meat of my question. I've decided to purchase a monitor to help get a handle on my sugar levels, reaction to foods etc. I typically eat breakfast and then a main meal around lunchtime. In the evening I try not to have more than a stock cube. Unless I need to for medical reasons, I'm not meant to eat solids after that main meal. Can anyone suggest a good routine/method for testing, particularly for someone newly diagnosed and completely unfamiliar with all this?

Thanks!

 

[ThoseRainyDays]

Hey everyone,
so I was very recently diagnosed with type 2 after high sugar levels turned up in a hospital blood test (73). My GP practice repeated the blood test and again I had high sugars (74). I had a quick meeting with one of the doctors and he's putting me on metformin - one a day for a week, then 2 a day for a couple of weeks and then 3 a day. He also told me he wants to put me on statins in a month or so because my cholesterol was high (99 I think from what I glimpsed on the screen).

Now, down to the meat of my question. I've decided to purchase a monitor to help get a handle on my sugar levels, reaction to foods etc. I typically eat breakfast and then a main meal around lunchtime. In the evening I try not to have more than a stock cube. Unless I need to for medical reasons, I'm not meant to eat solids after that main meal. Can anyone suggest a good routine/method for testing, particularly for someone newly diagnosed and completely unfamiliar with all this?

Thanks!

Many Doctors don't recommend that type 2's test their blood sugars (so T2's are unlikely to get them prescribed) but reading through the advice on here and having been monitoring myself since my diagnosis in March, I'd definitely recommend it. Glad to hear you're planning to already, it puts you more in control! Have you got a monitor in mind? There are some lovely helpful people on here who can recommend some and may have discount codes etc. I get on well with the SD Code Free.

I test first thing in the morning, before eating and two hours are the first bite. If your levels rise above 2.0mmol after your meal, it means there were too many carbs in your meal for your body to be able to process. If that's the case, reduce the carbs.

If you're feeling shaky, then test. As my sugars lowered I was getting false hypos. I was getting symptoms of a hypo (shaky, weak, dizzy, faint etc), but upon testing, my bloods were in the 5's, so definitely not a hypo.

I've heard some people manage certain carbs better than others, we're all individual and what works for one, might not for the other. Hence testing is essential to know what effects you.

I know many on here recommend not worrying too much about your first morning (fasting) level as this is the last to reduce but its good to keep track of regardless.

 

[Lobsang Tsultim]

Many Doctors don't recommend that type 2's test their blood sugars (so T2's are unlikely to get them prescribed) but reading through the advice on here and having been monitoring myself since my diagnosis in March, I'd definitely recommend it. Glad to hear you're planning to already, it puts you more in control! Have you got a monitor in mind? There are some lovely helpful people on here who can recommend some and may have discount codes etc. I get on well with the SD Code Free.

I test first thing in the morning, before eating and two hours are the first bite. If your levels rise above 2.0mmol after your meal, it means there were too many carbs in your meal for your body to be able to process. If that's the case, reduce the carbs.

If you're feeling shaky, then test. As my sugars lowered I was getting false hypos. I was getting symptoms of a hypo (shaky, weak, dizzy, faint etc), but upon testing, my bloods were in the 5's, so definitely not a hypo.

I've heard some people manage certain carbs better than others, we're all individual and what works for one, might not for the other. Hence testing is essential to know what effects you.

I know many on here recommend not worrying too much about your first morning (fasting) level as this is the last to reduce but its good to keep track of regardless.

Thank you for your reply. I've sent off for the Gluco Navii and it should arrive next week. So you'd suggest testing first think in the morning before breakfast, then 2 hours later? Or should I next test before the midday meal and then 2 hours later?

 

[MaviesDavies2]

I am a T2 but managed to get a monitor on script. It’s easy to go a bit test-crazy when you first start, and there is nothing wrong with testing whenever you want.

My nurse told me to test first thing in the morning, before you eat anything. Then for a week or two, do it at another random time every day.

The advice on the forum is first thing in the morning, then two hours after eating.

I say: test when you want and keep track of what you have eaten. You’ll start to get a picture.

Try using an app as a tracker, you can download the results and let your medical peeps have the data.

 

[ThoseRainyDays]

Thank you for your reply. I've sent off for the Gluco Navii and it should arrive next week. So you'd suggest testing first think in the morning before breakfast, then 2 hours later? Or should I next test before the midday meal and then 2 hours later?

You'll need to do it for each meal in order to understand how each meal affects your levels.

So if you only eat two meals a day, you'll need to test before breakfast and two hours after first bite and then before lunch and two hours after first bite.

 

[HSSS]

The usual advice in here is to test before a meal and then again 2 hrs later (you can do a 1 and 3hr test for more data if you really want to see how high you go at the highest point and how long it takes you to reach the 2mmol point if it’s longer than 2hrs).

The aim is for the rise to be no more than 2mmol at the 2 hr mark. Less is even better. More means you were not able to handle the amount of carbs (not just sugar) you ate in that meal and you need fewer of them next time. Ideally the 2hr reading will be under 7.8mmol but that might take a bit of time.


Morning fasting readings are ok but don’t teach you much about how to manage your type 2. They more give an overall trend how you’re doing. They are often the last reading of the day to come into line where you want them so don’t be disheartened by that. And if they are high read up on dawn phenomenon.

Testing randomly is pretty much a waste of strips. It tells you little that’s useful. You need to know what’s making it rise and fall. Before, during and after exercise might be another testing situation but that’s not random either.

 

[catinahat]

Welcome @Lobsang Tsultim
Understanding what your meals are doing to your blood sugar levels is the most important aspect of testing for T2's testing just before your meal gives you a base level, another test 2hrs after will show how well you have managed the carbs in your meal. Ideally you would want your sugar levels to return to somewhere around the pre meal level. However things have a habit of not doing exactly as we would like so we allow ourselves a margin of 2mmol. if your post meal reading is 2mmol above your base level then there were too many carbs in your meal for your body to deal with. Next time you have that particular meal you need to find a way to reduce the amount of carbohydrates or even think of dropping that meal altogether and finding an alternative

 

[Lobsang Tsultim]

Thanks, everyone! I feel a lot clearer about what testing I should do. MavieDavies, you mentioned using an app to record the readings; any suggestions on which ones are best?

 

[Rachox]

MavieDavies, you mentioned using an app to record the readings; any suggestions on which ones are best?

The app a lot of us use is called MySugr. It has a silly sugar monster character and noises, but turn the sound off and it’s fine! After you have input enough readings it’ll show a predicted HbA1c which varies in accuracy depending how many readings you take, but it gives a guide as to which direction you are heading.

 

[Resurgam]

@Lobsang Tsultim The meter will keep a record of your readings - probably. I have had several different ones and they did the same, and also gave average readings for the last week two weeks and month.

 

[ThoseRainyDays]

The app a lot of us use is called MySugr. It has a silly sugar monster character and noises, but turn the sound off and it’s fine! After you have input enough readings it’ll show a predicted HbA1c which varies in accuracy depending how many readings you take, but it gives a guide as to which direction you are heading.

I'd recommend Mysugr too. Nice and simple to use with the option to mark readings as pre and post meals so you can look back easily.

 

[bulkbiker]

Thank you for your reply. I've sent off for the Gluco Navii and it should arrive next week. So you'd suggest testing first think in the morning before breakfast, then 2 hours later? Or should I next test before the midday meal and then 2 hours later?

Both for starters and try and vary the amount of carbs in each meal.

Ideally you'll keep a food diary too so you know exactly what you are eating and the macro breakdown (fat, protein, carbs)

Alternatively you could simply cut carbs to a bare minimum and watch your levels go down nicely.

my cholesterol was high

I'd heartily suggest you get a full lipid panel before starting on any medication for "cholesterol".
Ideally you'd want to be tested after 12-14 hours water only fasted and get all the numbers.
If you are happy to share those we can help to analyse the breakdown and maybe point you in the right direction.

If you are in the UK then 99 for cholesterol is highly unlikely.

 

[MaviesDavies2]

Thanks, everyone! I feel a lot clearer about what testing I should do. MavieDavies, you mentioned using an app to record the readings; any suggestions on which ones are best?

Yup I use mySugr too. Very easy to use, and I am finding I can get by with the free version at the moment.

 

[jjraak]

Hi @Lobsang Tsultim

Great info above
I too went with the navii., Btw

It's hard to get your head around how & why to test at first

Perhaps, and not too inaccurate, after DX food is a minefield.

You need to know where the mines are as you step around the food in your kitchen.

Once you start testing, some meals will clearly be good, and some patently bad

And as you whittle away at the bad, you'll find others on here, suggest food You may not have tried before, so that needs testing too .

We are as said, all individuals responding to differing stimulus in our own unique ways.

So lots of testing early on, to find those mines.

And pretty soon You won't need to test so much, because you'll have cleared a safe path through the foods & meals of each day.

The morning ones, are slower to drop .

That is more like getting a suntan
Getting a good one takes time.

So don't worry so much, they do drop over time, usually .

I'd deffo recommend fasting for any blood tests
They are going to be a baseline for improvements over time.

Best to have as close to the same conditions each time as possible, imho.

Good luck on your journey