Best time for testing

[Peter5145]

I have been given a meter, but the diabetes nurse has told me that, as my blood glucose seems to be reasonably under control, I only need to test myself a couple of times a week.

When are the best times to do this to get a representative view - before or after meals?

 

[barriebanana]

Hi that seems crazy
I'm only learning but mostfolks on here test early morning and then before a meal and then 2 to 2 and a half hrs after the meal
Take care
barriebanana

 

[JohnEGreen]

I wonder what reasonably under control is in your case.of course if you are testing only a couple of times a week then you use less strips and cost less to maintain.

but you will have no idea what your blood sugar is like between times. Not good.

Sorry as to your question I test on waking, then before and after every meal normally at 1 and then 2 hours.

Even though self funding.

 

[Rachox]

A couple of times a week seems like something and nothing, but at least you were given a meter. Did you get test strips too? Do you know what your blood results are?

 

[Peter5145]

I wonder what reasonably under control is in your case.of course if you are testing only a couple of times a week then you use less strips and cost less to maintain.

For example, all of my "before breakfast" results over a 3-month period have been between 4.8 and 6.0.

Even ignoring the issue of cost, I see no point in testing myself on a daily basis if I'm confident what the result is going to be.

 

[bulkbiker]

For example, all of my "before breakfast" results over a 3-month period have been between 4.8 and 6.0.

Even ignoring the issue of cost, I see no point in testing myself on a daily basis if I'm confident what the result is going to be.

I am 21 months into this adventure but still usually test at least 3 times a day to make sure I am maintaining good control. If you only test a couple of times a week you have no idea what your blood sugars are doing after breakfast, lunch and dinner. I follow an extremely low carb regime but still like to know my bloods are in the range I want them to be. I could not know that without testing multiple times a day.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Good that you have been given a meter, but bad that you were told to test twice a week. You may be in control, but if you want to stay there, or even lower your levels, you need to use your meter to help you do this. This is the time to ignore your nurse and go your own way.

If you want to know what your food choices are doing to your levels, and which foods are particularly bad for your levels, you need to test immediately before you eat and around 2 hours after first bite. The difference in levels should be as little as possible. If it is more than 2mmol/l there are too many carbs in that meal. Ideally you need to keep any rise below 1.5mmol/l. Keeping a food diary including portion sizes and recording your levels alongside will help enormously.

Initially, you could test first thing in the morning (fasting level)
before and after meals to learn about food choices
Bedtime.

 

[JohnEGreen]

For example, all of my "before breakfast" results over a 3-month period have been between 4.8 and 6.0.

Even ignoring the issue of cost, I see no point in testing myself on a daily basis if I'm confident what the result is going to be.

Very good do you know what they are at subsequent times before and after meal times say.

Theres one thing I have learned especially with diabetes over confidence spells disaster.

I am in remission but I understand things change so I keep an eye on things I am not going to risk my sight my limbs or life on an assumption.

 

[Deleted Account]

For example, all of my "before breakfast" results over a 3-month period have been between 4.8 and 6.0.

Even ignoring the issue of cost, I see no point in testing myself on a daily basis if I'm confident what the result is going to be.

So, you have an idea what your morning BG is but what about other times of the day? Do you know how long it takes for your BG to come down after a meal? Do you know the impact of exercise on your BG? Do you ever get ill and, if so, do you know how that impacts your BG?

 

[ally1]

I have been testing 7 times aday. Testing is a lifeline for me. I sell fund as I wasn,t given a meter
I do this because the meds I am on for bipolar have an impact on bs levels

 

[Freema]

Well initially I measured right when waking up and Then before a meal and 1-2 hours after the meal . But along the Road I have learned How much certain meals spikes me , like if I eat a meal of cottage cheese and half a Lidl protein Roll Then I know it will not spike me more than around 1 mmol , if I only eat eggs and meat for breakfast or avocado it's the same . It all boils down to How many grams of carbs is in one meal and How your specific body reacts to like 10-20 grams of carbs or a bit more .
I will recoment one to use the same bowl and plate for a certain amount of food every morning and if possible the same way in the evening .
And I use the APP "lifesum" on my phone and it has helped me tremendously by showing How much carb is in each food it even can scan the Barcode on the foods from the supermarkedet and in This way instantly show the content of the foods

 

[Peter5145]

Well, "you only need to test two or three times a week" is the professional medical advice I have been given, so I'm asking in that context. Answering "well, I wouldn't start from here" isn't really very helpful, to be honest.

And bear in mind that the majority of people with diabetes aren't given a meter by the NHS at all.

 

[bulkbiker]

And bear in mind that the majority of people with diabetes aren't given a meter by the NHS at all.

Indeed most of us buy and fund our own because we think its a very important part of our toolkit for control of blood sugar levels. Most GP advice concerning Type 2 can be incorrect or sometimes even bad for us.
What we are trying to say is that a lot of us use our meters to test to see which foods cause spikes in blood sugar levels. Testing two or three times a week will not help with this. That is why we suggest that testing before and then 2 hours after a meal to see the effect of the meal on your sugar levels is much more useful information. Your sugar levels can fluctuate a lot depending on what you have eaten so if you are trying to lower and stabilise your blood sugars you need this info. Just becasue the NHS can't afford to fund this doesn't mean it is not good for you.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Well, "you only need to test two or three times a week" is the professional medical advice I have been given, so I'm asking in that context. Answering "well, I wouldn't start from here" isn't really very helpful, to be honest.

And bear in mind that the majority of people with diabetes aren't given a meter by the NHS at all.

You must do as you wish, of course.

Also bear in mind that the majority of people with diabetes, those without meters and those that don't use their meters to the best advantage, are likely to find the condition progressing until eventually they are on mountains of drugs and in danger of serious complications. Using a meter to teach you which foods your body reacts to adversely can prevent this happening.

 

[ringi]

I have been given a meter, but the diabetes nurse has told me that, as my blood glucose seems to be reasonably under control, I only need to test myself a couple of times a week.

This is enough for you to find out if your BG is getting out of control due to for example having Type1 rather then the Type2 they assume you have. It will also show you if you have make a big change that has made your BG worse or better. Therefore testing a few times a week is all you need for self medical monitoring.

But, but, but......

A lot of people have Type2 under very good control by chaining lifestyle etc are from a background (like computer programmer, engineering etc) where we expect to have data, get a quick feed back from our actions, and change our actions based on the data.

When I write software I expect to know quickly if I have broken the system, due to automatic continue measuring systems, so I can take action while I still remember what I did and learn from my errors.

Testing before and a few times after a meal allows me to use the some mindset to learn quickly what food are good for me etc and discover errors I am making, while I still remember the error. It also makes learning and continues improvement fun.

But the NHS has found that people who do lots of testing just write the numbers in a book without learning from them, hence that giving out lots of test script to people with Type2 has no benefit. Just by coming this this website you have proved you are not "most people".