Blood Testing Advice

[Carick]

Hi, I'm a newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetic (about 2 months now) and I've got what feels like a really dumb question.

At the advice of some people on this forum, and a couple of friends of mine who are diabetic, I decided to get myself a blood glucose meter and start testing despite the nhs advice. The main reason was that I was finding the new diet was an absolute crapshoot and I had no idea if what I was eating was the right thing. I've found the meter has been extremely helpful in this regard. Especially since a lot of things that I thought would be ok based on packaging were very much not so.

What I wanted to check though, is how long to test after eating. The advice online isn't super clear. Some say 1hr30, some say 2hrs. None of them say at what point that clock begins. Sometimes it takes me 20-30 minutes to eat a main meal, so is that from the first mouthful or the last? I've done a couple of tests myself where I've tested 1hr, 1hr30 and 2hrs starting from after I've finished eating, and 30 minutes either way makes quite the difference. I'd rather not have to stab myself 4x per meal, so I kind of want to know what the right interval is.

I assume the idea is to measure the peak, right? Not just 'how are you doing after 2 hours'. Or is it a case of, if your blood sugar shot up crazy high, but came down quick enough during the 2 hours then that's ok?

Any advice would be really appreciated!

 

[lovinglife]

I’ve always tested before first bite and 2 hrs after first bite, this is what I was officially told by the diabetes team in hospital.

if I’m testing a very new meal I sometimes test at 1 hour as well but that’s for my own personal information. Others test after they are finished eating and 2 hours later. If it’s a long meal then I would personally test at first bite then 2 hours later. You are looking for a rise of no more than 2 less is better.

As long as you are consistent in your testing times and are using the info to influence what you can eat then do what’s best for you, personally I would stick to the start of a meal and 2 hrs after.

 

[Resurgam]

Two hours after first bite seems to give a good indication of how the meal affects and also how it is coped with - two slightly different things on the way to good results.
I found that once I adjusted my menu so I saw under 8 after meals the same meals affected me less and less, so I dropped below 7, then 6 or even lower. I stopped feeling hungry and went to two meals a day at twelve hour intervals, but these days I am eating even less and often get to this time and realise I have eaten nothing and only drunk a mug of water.

 

[Deleted member 475901]

We are all different in how many carbs we can have, and so many external factors may influence, eg, an extra street or an infection. But I always did from first bite to 2hrs after unless I'd eaten something that would seriously delay the peak (eg alcohol, an extra fatty meal, ..)

My levels are a reasonable match to my HbA1c results.

 

[ianf0ster]

@Carick As @TriciaWs said, we are all different and so our our personal responses to carbohydrates. So 2hrs after 1st bite is a good starting point. We are not looking to catch the peak, we are checking to see what our BG spike higher is at a time when in a non-diabetic, the body would have got back to a fairly even keel from digesting the food.

However if you eat some highly refined or what is (to your body) a high GI carb then the response will be quicker both on the up side and in coming back down again, so 2hrs may be too long and 1 and a half (or even 1hr) may be better. Similarly if a carb is eaten with alcohol or a fair bit of fats, then the response will be delays and so 2 and a half to 3 hrs may be better, But it's a very individual thing!

Similarly if you have a meal with a high carb desert (but you wouldn't do that would you?), then the 1st bite is effectively 1st bite of the desert not 1st bite of the low carb main course!

 

[MrsA2]

@Carick it's virtually impossible to catch every rise at its peak as bg is affected by so many things , so a strategy of before first bite and 2 hours after first bite is easy to remember and good enough. Its not a precise science or measure and its not about sweating about 10ths of a point, but more on trends and an overall view.

It will still be fascinating and informative, if not exact!