A little advice on morning testing please

[Bluebell13]

Hi All

Can anyone advise me when doing a fasting test in the morning if it is best to do this as soon as you have woken up or is it better to walk around a little bit first to get glucose moving (if indeed it does)?

Also, I tend to take the fasting reading on rising and then eat breakfast maybe an hour later after having a cup of tea in between. Would leaving having breakfast an hour later make my post prandial reading an incorrect one?

Many thanks for any advice

Bluebell

 

[Squire Fulwood]

You pose a question that needs some research in my opinion. I test when I get out of bed but note that when I have a real fasting test at the surgery it is some hours after the HCP's rise. Perhaps a reading every half an hour or so to find out what is going on might show us all something.

Once you have eaten breakfast of course all bets are off.

I didn't understand your last question. Post prandial means after eating. If you eat breakfast and test two hours after eating how can that be incorrect.

 

[Andy12345]

i stopped testing in the morning as mines always high and it starts the day off on the wrong foot, hehe

 

[Bluebell13]

Sorry I probably haven't explained it very well.

I meant that if I take my fasting reading as my pre prandial reading then in effect I am taking my post prandial reading 3 hours after (allowing for the one hour before I actually have breakfast) - by doing it this way am I getting an accurate figure of how the meal has affected my levels?

Hope this makes sense - getting brain fog I think

 

[Squire Fulwood]

I think that the two hours after eating is always valid and is the guide line anyway. The fact that you took a reading one hour before eating cannot affect that in any way.

If the fasting reading is low it just means that your breakfast will cause a rise in blood sugar from that low point

 

[Ambersilva]

I always test before setting my feet on the floor just in case I don't realise that I am hypo. Having found out that I am not hypo, I am happy to proceed to the standing position in the knowledge that I am not going to crash to the floor.

These actions may seem extreme to others, but I do know two diabetics who had to be blue-lighted to A & E when they fell shortly after getting out of bed.

 

[CathyN]

Hi

I get where you are coming from. But post prandial is officially 2 hours after consuming food and/or drink. Fasting is fasting..... Pre prandial is just before you eat. So, I always test first thing after stepping out of bed. Then I eat a bit later. so if I wanted an accurate PRE PRANDIAL test, I would test again just before I eat. Then 2 hours after.

A post prandial of +3hours will be misleading.

Your blood sugar can definitely change even when you have only had a drink and walked about a bit.

Does that help?

CathyN

 

[Bluebell13]

Hi Cathy

That's exactly what I mean so thank you so much for your reply. This was what I was a little concerned about so now I know how to test properly.

Thanks to all of you for the input - greatly appreciated.

Bluebell

 

[ChrisOT61]

Hi everyone,
I can't see where on the site to add a new thread so though I would join this one if you don't mind My name is Chris and I am 52 years old and just been diagnosed type 2 after two high FBS levels of 8 and 7.8. I have a lot of weight to lose and have started a low carb diet and have already lost 9 lbs!
I bought a blood sugar monitor yesterday and last night before I ate it was 6.8 and then two hours after eating chicken and salad with a little blue cheese followed by sugar free jelly with low fat yoghurt and handful of raspberries and blueberries it was 7.8.
I tested again this morning after waking up and it was 7.6. I thought it would be lower than that having not eaten all night?
I am taking 850mg metformin twice a day.
I am going to test again two hours after breakfast and see what happens.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Hope everyone is keeping cool in this hot weather,
Chris xx


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[mo1905]

Chris, welcome. Google "dawn phenomenon". It's when the liver dumps glucose into your bloodstream prior to waking for anticipated days' activity. Happens to many people.


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[ChrisOT61]

Thank you, I will have a look at this. What can be done about it? I am very new to all this. I feel a little anxious about eating more "fat" food and less carbs as it feels wrong somehow! Years of being told to eat low fat food! I can't believe how many carbs some of this has! I have been looking carefully at the labels in the supermarket and have been quite shocked! But I cannot doubt my scales that show I have lost weight! The main thing I have cut right down on is bread! I have always eaten lots of bread and am now only having two small slices of Danish bread a day which is 9gs of carb per slice. Also pasta and rice is out the window at the moment. Experimenting with different foods to see how they affect me! So pleased I have found a forum with lots of knowledgeable and experienced people happy to share their knowledge to help others! xx


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[ChrisOT61]

I am really confused now! I just took my BS two hours after eating breakfast which was a ham sandwich ( 2 small Danish slices and 2 thin slices of ham) and a cup of tea, milk no sugar. 7.6 before breakfast and now it's 5.8.... Does this sound right? x


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[scot5man]

Your not eating enough. You should not cut down the amount of bread you eat nor stop eating pasts or rice. Take cereals as well.

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[ChrisOT61]

Surely I need to cut down on bread, pasta and rice as these are high in carbs. Cereals are also high in carbs and sugar aren't they? How can I get my blood sugar levels down and lose weight if I am still eating as many carbs as before?
More confused than ever now!!


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[Andy12345]

Your not eating enough. You should not cut down the amount of bread you eat nor stop eating pasts or rice. Take cereals as well.

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lol are you a dsn ?


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[mo1905]

Chris, you're doing exactly the right thing. Cut down on bread, rice, pasta etc. As for your readings, they're OK. Don't get too stressed over a one-off reading that may or may not make sense. There are many factors that can effect your BG levels, apart from carbs. Look for trends/patterns and act accordingly. Also, try to take some regular exercise, even if it is just walking. Good luck ;-)

 

[Andy12345]

hi if you are trying to low carb then you should indeed reduce the levels of bread rice pasta and potatoes in my case i have cut them out altogether but thats personal choice as to how low you want to go or in my case need to go to get my bg to a level im happy with, my lunchtime sandwich was the toughest and last carb to lose for me but my bg went from 7s to 5s after cutting it, eating fat is how your body gets its energy if your arent giving it enough fuel in the way of carbs, its worth reading up on im not brilliant explainer or expert, but after 6 months low carbing and 4 stone gone my brain still has trouble with the eating fat thing lol
good luck


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[Andy12345]

and o totally agree with mo on the exercise the difference it makes to my bg is staggering and feel so terrible for the folks that cant manage to exercise for whatever reason because control must be so much harder


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[Yorksman]

I am really confused now! I just took my BS two hours after eating breakfast which was a ham sandwich ( 2 small Danish slices and 2 thin slices of ham) and a cup of tea, milk no sugar. 7.6 before breakfast and now it's 5.8.... Does this sound right?

What do you mean by danish slices? I often get lower readings after eating rye bread.

 

[Yorksman]

Surely I need to cut down on bread, pasta and rice as these are high in carbs. Cereals are also high in carbs and sugar aren't they? How can I get my blood sugar levels down and lose weight if I am still eating as many carbs as before?

Not all carbs are the same. Even with wholegrain wheat, some parts of the wholegrain are beta carbohydrates. That is, they are cellulose based. You don't produce any enzymes which allow you to digest cellulose or hemicellulose so it passes through you. We call it fibre. But, crucially, it appears as carbohydrate on the label.

In addition, depending on how highly processed it is it will contain varying amounts of different types of alpha carbohydrates, monosaccharides, disacchardaides and poly saccharides. Of the latter oligosacchardies are the most complex and again they are not digested. Unlike the beta carbohydrates however, they are broken down by bacteria in the lower intestine, causing flatulence. Typically beans and pulses contain lots of oligosaccharides so, even though the pack says they contain a lot of carbs, you won't digest them.

Trees contain 60% to 70% carbohydrates but even if you eat a whole one, you won't get a spike in your BG levels. Not all carbs are the same. If you look at a sweetener like Truvia, which is zero cal. you will notice that 100g of Truvia contains 99g carbs. Again, you don't digest them. Typically eating too much of this sort of stuff gives you the trots.