Check bs 2hrs or 4hrs post meal

samantha13

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Hi all. Is it best for good control to check bs 2hrs or 4hrs post meal?

For example I had a sandwhich for lunch yest. Bg before eating 9.1
2hrs post 14.4
4hrs post 7.9

So shuld I not eat this again as it pushes me up to 14+ or shuld I look at the end result? :-/


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dawnmc

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Quick reply, test after 2 hours, think you can see from your BS that what you ate wasn't doing you any good.
 

fractureman

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The peak of quick acting insulin is 2 hours after taking & lasts about 5 hours in total. Your readings are fine as you can see from your +4 hour test it's fine & back on normal range.
I only test pre meal so always 5 hours after last bolus


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dawnmc

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Is 7.9 a 'normal' reading? If it is then I'm not diabetic. Someone please correct me.
 

hale710

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dawnmc said:
Quick reply, test after 2 hours, think you can see from your BS that what you ate wasn't doing you any good.

The sandwich isn't necessarily the problem in this, the timing if the insulin could be! For a sandwich I would inject 10-15 minutes prior to eating as the bread usually causes a spike
 

samantha13

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Dawnmc as I have not mastered the art of diabetes my bs is slightly higher than "normal" 7.9 is good for me but I am working on getting my levels under better control hence my questions and asking for advice on here.

Thanks hale I will give that a go and see if there is any difference.


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fractureman

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7.9 is fine I'd agree that the 9.1 pre meal is a little on the high side but not way over at all.
If every single reading you have on your meter dawn is under 8 I suggest your not diabetic ;)


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noblehead

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hale710 said:
The sandwich isn't necessarily the problem in this, the timing if the insulin could be! For a sandwich I would inject 10-15 minutes prior to eating as the bread usually causes a spike


Hale is right that the timing of the insulin is important as is the type of bread you eat, a low-gi bread such as Burgen Soya & linseed might produce a different result 2 hours postprandial but if it doesn't then you should perhaps look for an alternative meal.

Keep in mind though that the 2 hour 14+ bg reading was after you were already high preprandial, if you'd eaten and injected the same with a bg reading of 5mmol you would have been hypo by the 4 hour mark, experimenting and frequent testing will get you there in the end.
 

phoenix

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Personally, I think that getting back to a lowish pre meal level is most important. If you have a relatively normal level at 2 hours then you can be low before the next meal. My own doctor suggests as a counsel of perfection that the 2 hour level should not be more than 3mmol/l above the starting level. I have a very good HbA1c but I certainly don't achieve that for all meals/

Lets look at the rise and fall of your glucose levels/

You started at 9.1 and rose to 14.4 with the meal This was a rise of 5.3mmol./l
From 2-4 hours it fell by 6.5mmol/l.

Think what would have happened starting from a lower level
Imagine you started with a level of 5.5mmol/l ,a rise of 5.3mmol would result in 10.8mmol/l at 2 hours.
The fall of 6.5mmol would result in 4.3mmol/l at 4 hours.
( in that case it would be a good ideal to experiment with changing timings/amount of bolus etc)

If it were me then I I would look at my background insulin .(ask your doc/nurse first) It maybe increasing it slightly ( ie 1 unit at a time) and aiming for a bit lower levels between meals. would help (but that depends on overnight levels so it needs looking at carefully)

If you haven't had T1 long or have had higher levels for a while then you will certainly have to make any changes very gradually.