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Type 2 CGM v BGM?

D

Deelam

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I have recently been diagnosed T2 which was a shock! However, I decided I would try my best to get my blood sugars under contol by low carbing. I have been using a FreeStyle Libre 2 sensor which is great but, too expensive to buy forever more. My question is, how often and when should I do a finger prick test how long will the reader record your blood sugars for? Any advice appreciated.
 
Before a meal, 2 hours after a meal, and when you first get out of bed.
How many readings are stored will depend on the reader, some allow bluetooth transfer etc. Personally I type the values in a computer so I can look for trends etc.
If you are on blood glucose lowering medication you should also check if you get hypo symptoms and during/following hypo treatment (suggest check blood glucose for hypos even if you have a cgm).
 
What are you using your meter for?
In my mind the frequency of testing is totally down to why you are doing it.
For example, if you are doing it to test your diet, the advice is to test before eating and 2 hours later. But once you know the impact of a certain meal on your levels, do you need to test in the same way next time you eat the same thing?
If you are testing to track your progress, maybe once the same time every day would be enough.

The great thing about a CGM is that you can see if a meal spikes earlier or later than the 2 hours - 2 hours is the "average" time it takes to get a spike but some food takes longer (e.g. heavily fatty meals can take 4 or 5 hours to spike) and some food can spike earlier (as someone treating my diabetes with insulin, I use very fast acting carbs to correct a hypo within 15 minutes).
However, again, once you understand how your body reacts to certain meals, do you need to wear a CGM all the time? Before I was lucky enough to get my Libre funded, I would use one for every 2 weeks out of 6. I would learn in the 2 weeks, use what I had learnt for the next 4 weeks and then check my learning plus try out something new for the next Libre fortnight.
 
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