Hello Lea. Sometimes you are asked to fast before a blood test that your doctor or nurse will take, in which case they'll tell you how long to fast (probably 8 to 12 hours). However, we tend to refer to our first-thing-in-morning test at home as a fasting test: it just means that we do it not long after getting up, and before we have anything to eat or drink (apart from water); most of us don't bother restricting what we eat the night before, just because we're going to test ourselves the following morning. In fact, based on the results, you might want to adjust what you eat in the evenings.
I test every morning, but that's just me: I like to check the effects of the food & drink I have had the previous day. You sometimes get odd results, but shouldn't worry about an odd one.
One thing that you might see is the dawn phenomenon (DP): this is when your liver decides that it should get you ready for the day ahead by producing more blood glucose and - because you're diabetic - your body can't use it up quickly (a bit of a simplification). The result is that you can find your morning BG is higher than it was when you went to bed the previous evening; I find this a very irritating habit of my liver! I manage it by having some breakfast (with minimal carbs) as soon as I practically can. Once again, that's just me: we all react differently.
The fasting test is interesting, but it's probably more important to do some tests before and 2 hours after you eat: that way you can gauge the effects of different foods, and make adjustments accordingly.
Good luck, and keep coming back here to chat.
Sent from the
Diabetes Forum App