Any words of advice?

[Nicola M]

So on Monday & Tuesday I will be doing an afternoon Basal test running from 12am (midday)-5pm I just want some advice from people who have done it before on how you deal with the hunger ! I'm not a breakfast person at all so I will be not eating until after 5pm. It sucks really but can't wait to get that basal right. I'm a room attendant at a hotel currently and am struggling with low sugars during work so we're trying to get that figured out I'm happy to be doing the basal test as I can't wait to get it fixed but the hunger is something I'm not looking forward to!

Edited to make times clearer

 

[noblehead]

You don't fast for that long when you do a basal check, you just miss one meal at a time Nicola.

 

[buckley8219]

You can break it down into smaller sections and do it over a couple of days, as detailed below.

http://www.salforddiabetescare.co.uk/index2.php?nav_id=1007

I personally find that a chore and do a 24 hour fast, I don't think the hunger pangs experienced during a brief fast are too unbearable. Just drink plenty of water 2-3 litres minimum.

 

[iHs]

My consultant didnt recommend fasting for too long and said no more than 5hrs at a time.
If basal rate testing with fasting is done consecutively for 3 days or more with adjustments being made, then some degree of weight loss will happen and this then will mean less basal is needed and the basal rates adjusted accordingly but, as soon as food is eaten 3 or more times per day, bolus is needed and bodyweight will increase which then means more basal to makes things balance out ok again.
Basal rate testing is a never ending story and they will from time to time, need to be adjusted which is why people test bg and 'tweak' and not fast all the time or if they do fast, they do it for no more than a day and then give themselves a break and have a go at meal staggering the next day to see if the adjustments they made have the right effect on bg.

 

[iHs]

Something fairly good to eat and filling which seems not to affect bg levels is Slim Rice which contains no carb, no fat and only a very very small amount of protein. A bit tasteless but if fried in a tiny bit of left over bacon fat just to flavour it, its ok

 

[donnellysdogs]

Walnuts...

Has basal testing changed?

I was told for afternoon testing to eat breakfast and bolus and then wait until 5 hours after that before starting basal testing for 5 hours??

Evening would be eat and bolys lunchtime... 5 clear hours without bolus or eating and then skip tea for 5 hours and eat before bed.

I effectively basal test all day as I only eat tea time anyway. So if I eat day time uts effectively bolus testing!!

Don't forget if you go low you must treat the low and stop the basal testing...

 

[CarbsRok]

So on Monday & Tuesday I will be doing an afternoon Basal test running from 12am (midday)-5pm I just want some advice from people who have done it before on how you deal with the hunger ! I'm not a breakfast person at all so I will be not eating until after 5pm. It sucks really but can't wait to get that basal right. I'm a room attendant at a hotel currently and am struggling with low sugars during work so we're trying to get that figured out I'm happy to be doing the basal test as I can't wait to get it fixed but the hunger is something I'm not looking forward to!

Edited to make times clearer

Try a sugar free jelly and make sure it's the carb free one if you feel you can't last that long. As you know you are going low at work the simple solution is to lower your basal as better to be a bit higher for your test then you can review the results and decide what needs doing.
As you are already going low and the test has to stop when hypo then for obvious reasons it's a completely wasted exercise if you don't decrease the basal to stop this happening.

 

[noblehead]

To avoid derailing Nicola's thread further a new thread has been started to discuss the correct way in which to do a basal check:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/correct-way-to-do-a-basal-check.82194/