Hello All. I am Type 2 and have been for five years. I take four metformin a day and do a lot of exercise and try to eat healthily. my problem is of late the range of readings I have had when self-testing. I had been a good boy last year and got an overall reading of 6 from the diabetic nurse, who was most pleased. It went up to 8 this time so I have gone on a strict low-carb, low fat diet and will try to step up the exercise and eat more regularly in small amounts ( I am a natural binger). My nurse suggested I do a blitz on monitoring my blood sugar level for a week, and it has been all over the place. I know what it should be at what times etc, but with me it has been the varying readings given at the same time when I have used alternative sites for lancing. I hate doing the fingertip as I find it really hurts even at the lowest setting on the lancet, and usually use my forearm. I know about using the pad of the palm and earlier today did three tests at the same time, using the three areas, The one on my forearm gave 3.9, the one on my palm gave 5.6, and the one on the fingertip gave 6.4! And this within a three minute periodI know about the one on the forearm giving you a reading as to what you sugar level was 25 minutes before the one on the fingertip, but I cannot believe that my levels went up from 3.9 to 6.4 in a 25 minute period when I had had no intake and was swimming. Any comments gratefully accepted.
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- Thread starter Hayling Billy
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Have you put on even a small amount of weight? That can tip the scales to higher numbers because of where the body stores the fat. ( - this is why some people who aren't overweight develop type 2.).
Lots of people - me among them, find our blood sugar jumps (short term) as a result of exercise.
Pricking: try the tip of your finger but to the side of the finger - so to the side of the topmost joint not the tip itself. You have fewer nerve endings there and thus fewer pain receptors the main thing though is to be consistent so that you're comparing like results with like results.
Added on edit for clarity: Try pricking the top of the finger but to the side of the topmost joint fairly close to the cuticle. You have fewer nerve endings there and so fewer pain receptors. Your finger tips have lots and lots of nerve endings for obvious reasons and so lots of pain receptors. Test this for yourself by stroking your fingertips all over and to sides with something small and blunt like a match or a cocktail stick - the places where you really notice it have lots of nerve endings and therefore pain receptors the places where you notice t less have few receptors.
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Thanks for that Gorilla. I did not want to take up too much space but yes, I did know about using the pad of the finger rather than a tip. My query was not actually about any jumps in my readings but simply that I got such different readings from three jabs at the same time but in different places. As I said, it was all done in a three minute period and I was concerned that one should get such wildly varying readings all at the same time and in the same situation, with the only difference being the blood having been taken from a different but nearby part of the body.
ealingr
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I didn't realise different sites are more accurate than others until I read your post (and a subsequent article on the BD site: https://www.bd.com/us/diabetes/blood-glucose-monitoring/how-to-test/alternate-site/ ). Interesting stuff!
Given that your palm and fingertip results were similar, it does look like your blood sugar levels rose. It would be really interesting if you tested all 3 sites once, then tested again 30 minutes later. If your forearm result from the second test is the same as your palm/fingertip results from 30 minutes earlier, then it seems to support the argument that the different site "lag" is causing the difference in results (and your activity/food intake doesn't seem to tally with your expected BG).
I do wonder if starting exercise caused your liver to dump glucose, which caused the rise in BG. Perhaps that is the reason?
Given that your palm and fingertip results were similar, it does look like your blood sugar levels rose. It would be really interesting if you tested all 3 sites once, then tested again 30 minutes later. If your forearm result from the second test is the same as your palm/fingertip results from 30 minutes earlier, then it seems to support the argument that the different site "lag" is causing the difference in results (and your activity/food intake doesn't seem to tally with your expected BG).
I do wonder if starting exercise caused your liver to dump glucose, which caused the rise in BG. Perhaps that is the reason?
Precisely - similar results - well within the MoE in sites close to each other and he exercised on an empty stomach as Hayling Billy said himself:
I had had no intake and was swimming
That sounds like liver dump to me. He exercised on an empty stomach and his liver did what it's supposed to do it pumped the short-term sugar boost he needed into his system to cope with the extra demand. It does seem wildly counter-intuitive and drove me absolutely batty when I first encountered the phenomenon. The good thing is though that it is short term and the exercise greatly promotes insulin efficiency and long-term health.
Thanks everyone. I think you have got it for me, and certainly I have learned something for sure today. I knew about liver dump in the morning but not after exercise on an empty stomach, which I confess I do a lot. A typical example would be a six mile ride to the paper shop and back before breakfast without eating. Another reason I have been multi-testing is that I wanted to check my machine was working okay. I use a Freestyle Freedom Lite which I got four years ago and the extreme readings have made me wonder if it is the machine or me! A good example is that I tested as usual on my forearm several hours after after dinner ( it was two duck eggs and three slices of toast and before I went on the diet) on Tuesday and got a shock to see a reading of 12 plus. I jumped on my bike and cycled for twenty minutes along the prom, and when I got back it was down to 8. It was the big number 12 and the fact that my average level had gone up for 6 to 8 that cause me to go on the diet and start taking things seriously. I just tested again at 8.30 am after nothing since 8 pm last nigh except some water and a bit of fruit at 9pm and then a sip of coffee just now. My forearm was 6.2, my finger pad was 6.3...and my palm was 3.8. I immediately did my pal again to check for error and it came out at 3.5. Thanks for all your help, and this time I am going to make a serious effort to get inline and stay there! Long story fairly short but I seem to have the ability to control my sugar levels by diet alone but am really idle and sloppy. Thirty years ago I was twenty stone at 40 and developed a terrible thirst and would drink literally gallons of soft drinks. My doc di the strip test and said it looked as if I I was diabetic and made me an appointment with a specialist for a month's time. I got scared and for the first time in my life behaved and went on a very strict diet and by the time I went to the specialist he did the tests and said I was fine. All well then until four years or so ago, when at 114kilo I got thirsty again and did a strip test and it went brown. The doctors diagnosed late start diabetes 2 ( I am 70 now) and I have been managing it with metformin and more than usual exercise. But the weight crept on again and last Tuesday I was 108k. After four days of hard diet and increased exercise I have got it down to 103 and will keep going till I am at 85-89. I know I can do it as I have done it all my adult life, and once I get started on something, I always finish it. Anyway, that's mys tory, and a thousand thanks for your interest and help support.
