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"Eat to the meter" contemplation

A

Auto E

Well-Known Member
Messages
132
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
I definitely embrace this approach. I like to test specific meals and test at first bite, then at 30 min, 60 min, 90, 120, even up to 3 hours. I notice that most of you just do 2 hours postprandial. That would sure save me a lot of strips but I like the idea of catching my spike, which is often at about 90 min (not 2 hours). Also, and I know this might be atypical, but I often have TWO peaks - one at 90 min and then it goes about 15 points DOWN and then back up again (but not usually as high) at 2 hours. My unique pancreas fingerprint, apparently.

Later this week I've decided to do an every hour test all day - since I don't (yet) have a CGM, it seemed a fun way to graph a whole (typical) day's blood glucose. Has anyone else done that? I eat pretty much the same things every weekday, and have the same exercise and general schedule, so it's a bit of a snapshot. I thought I could average the numbers and get my own daily average. Maybe do this once a month for three months.

What experiments are others of you doing these days?
 

Sorry @Auto E but you're not that unique. The 2 hr rule has been adopted by many people because that's what their doctor told them to do and it's 'probably' based on an age old understanding of the endocrine system.

For those that have the luxury of FGG/CGM they often discover a wealth of information about their blood glucose levels. I myself was missing a spike after breakfast because I was usually back at reasonable levels by the time I got to my desk at work. I was also blissfully unaware that my levels can start to climb at anything up to 5 hrs after eating if I've consumed something like pasta, and especially for the evening meal.
 
Essentially you are raising a question I posed some time ago but the answer both you and I expect(ed) wasn’t forthcoming. So will watch and see what you get back on this.
 

Sounds like a good plan and you will undoubtedly get some interesting and useful data. I strongly would suggest you keep a food diary alongside your blood sugar readings so you can tie in the glucose to what you have eaten.
These days I test usually 3 times a day, FBG then mid afternoon then some time after my dinner.
As I usually only eat one meal per day then I find this is an adequate level of testing for me although in the early days I tested a lot more frequently.
 
My attempts to test hourly through the night failed miserably - i either slept through the alarms, or swatted the alarm across the room and just went back to sleep without testing,

I’m a double peaker too. It is very common. And my peaks are often after the 2 hours, nearer 3 usually.
If you look up 1st and 2nd phase insulin responses they may shed some light.

Later, when I got a Libre, I learned a tremendous amount - nightly patterns, morning bg rises, individual reactions to different foods and different portion sizes.

I definitely think that regular testing is an incredibly valuable tool for a T2.
Since your profile describes you as Pre-Diabetic, I would suggest that you don’t go too overboard on the testing though.
It is the trends that matter, rather than the precise numbers.

Nowadays, i test rarely and most of my experiments are either longish term dietary tweaks or one off food tests (last week it was a Hotel Chocolat 70% hot chocolate while wearing one of my occasional Libres).
 
bulkbiker said:
Sounds like a good plan and you will undoubtedly get some interesting and useful data. I strongly would suggest you keep a food diary alongside your blood sugar readings so you can tie in the glucose to what you have eaten.
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I'm a food-logging addict - write down everything I eat every day. Haha that's how I know pasta is my kyroptonite but for some reason the same number of carbs from dairy don't spike me.


Thank you for this great reply, Brunneria! You are a double-peaker too?! For some reason it makes me feel so much better to know I'm not alone.

All good things to think about. LOL, I am not going to attempt the nighttime hourly check, but I thought throughout the day might be worth the trouble. I have looked up the insulin phase responses in the past but I'm still chewing on ideas about what this means for me strategy-wise.

Have you been able to bring your A1C down more efficiently by using the data you get from your CGM? How much of a difference has it made for your glucose control?

Thanks again for your reply!
 
It is a good plan to know what is happening all day, and also what is happening all night. As you will be using a lot of test strips doing this experiment, would it not be worth your while getting a Libre instead? You only need a couple of them, and they will give you 24/7 data without the need for finger pricking. I learnt a massive amount from wearing them. I am only a part time user of the Libre because of the cost, but nowadays I don't feel the need as much. Nothing much changes.
 

I had been low carbing for years beforehand, but the Libre helped me bring my HbA1c down by about 7 points. From around 42 to around 35 which delighted me, considering my ongoing insulin resistance.
But honestly, that was minor in comparison to the other things it gave me.

I had always had a nagging feeling that I was missing important peaks with my prick testing. There was an ongoing guilt that I should be trying harder, doing better, being stricter... my occasional ‘discrepencies’ were horrific crimes dooming me to failure... you know the kind of head games? All blown out of proportion by an active imagination. Lol.

By getting the Libre, I actually saw what was really going on. I saw that my ‘crimes’ for what they were (occasional glitches of very minor impact overall), and I learned how my personal endocrine and digestive system deal with foods. I spotted the interaction/connection between my occasional wild dream life and my nightly bg fluctuations. And my dawn phenomenon was less dawn than ‘foot on floor’.

Incidentally, I spent some time last week with some other people all eating the same things and same portions as me, and also wearing Libres.
What a revelation!!!
We each had quite different digestive times for the same foods. And we each had different peaks (duration, height of peak)

The Libre was the reason I rarely prick test any more. I would rather spend £200 a year on 4 Libre sensors, and not test the other 10 months, than pay £7 a week on 50 prick tests (£364 a year) using my glucometer.

I get more useful info that way.

Then I spend the other 10 months doing what seems to work.
 
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That’s amazing as that is exactly what I suspected would be the case.
 
Partly its becouse neatly everyone who is recently diagnosed with type2 can keep the increase to under 2 at 2hr, hence it enables people to learn about carbs while also giving them motivation. People then tend to keep the carbs low even if due to weightlose etc, their 2hr level is lower. Keeping it simple is often better then binging "more correct".

(My A1c has gone from 88 to 36, with very little testing as I looked at the science of low carb and have kept to very low carb.)
 

You've convinced me! I need to meet with my doctor to get the prescription, and as soon as I have that I am going to get a few of those sensors! I actually called Libre this morning to find out a little more about how the pricing works, etc.
 

I'm convinced! I'm going to work with my doctor to get the prescription, then let the data glut begin!
 

That makes a lot of sense, especially for people that are just starting out and maybe overwhelmed by all the information and expectations. And I guess for many people that is all the info they need in order to get their glucose measurements to come way down.
 
Auto E said:
I'm convinced! I'm going to work with my doctor to get the prescription, then let the data glut begin!
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Depending on where you are located... in the UK you stand absolutely zero chance of getting a libre on prescription as a pre diabetic.
 
bulkbiker said:
Depending on where you are located... in the UK you stand absolutely zero chance of getting a libre on prescription as a pre diabetic.
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I am in the U.S. I know that insurance won't cover it, but if I can get a prescription I can pay out of pocket.
 
In the USA it is not legal to sell the Libre to anyone unless a doctor has approved them having it.
 
In Canada I got my first Libre without a prescription and then the same pharmacy gave me the form for completion by my doctor to convince my health insurance company that they should cover the cost (70%) because 10+ strip tests a day with them paying the strip costs is less than the Libre cost. As others have said the benefits of the Libre are priceless. I am still trying to figure out a breakfast that doesn't sometimes put me over a reading of 8.5. Sometimes I get get high dawn phenomenon perhaps caused by higher carbs the previous day and a breakfast of only 2 gms of carbs will put me outside my range. I find the range settings (I have 5.0 to 8.5) very useful as a measure of my success and the downloaded information gives me an estimate of my A1c so I can track my progress without having to wait 3 months. It may take a few weeks (3 or 4 sensors) but you will be able to get good information on how you can control your condition.
 
Auto E said:
You've convinced me! I need to meet with my doctor to get the prescription, and as soon as I have that I am going to get a few of those sensors! I actually called Libre this morning to find out a little more about how the pricing works, etc.
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I was contemplating one of those. They are great devices. Advice was that it would be overkill for those with Prediabetes but I definitely saw the merit in using one. However I am out of the prediabetes range now so not so much the need now.
 
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I've never use test strips for continuous testing, but I have varied when I test, or done additional tests, at times when I've wanted more/extra information, and not just for food - things like medications, steroid jabs, stress, illness, (and even hot baths!), etc, all can have an impact on glucose levels too, so are worth being aware of.

But a sensor is IMO is essential for finding our more about whats going on continuously over longer periods, so has been my tool of choice.

Regarding double spikes I've seen double "bumps" when I've eaten something that's both heavy in carbs and fats. From Libre logs:



Robbity
 
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