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Finger prick BG testing obsession, help please!

In Response said:
@zamalik your profile says your diabetes is treated with insulin.
If this is the case, you should not be out of pocket for your testing - your test strips should be available on prescription as you are at risk of hypo.
Likewise, if you are treated with insulin, you MUST test at least 4 times a day as well as whenever you drive, It is not that uncommon for someone with Type 1 diabetes to test 8 or more times a day and it is not considered obsessive; it is considered necessary.
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zamalik said:
@In Response i am not on any meds or insulin. I never knew my profile reads that. I will have a look.
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I’m not seeing any mention of insulin on @zamalik ’s profile either, @In Response could you please clarify where you’ve seen this it maybe a forum glitch.
 
I check my blood glucose about 20 times a day, courtesy of the Freestyle Libre. I justify it by equating my obsession to looking for the time on my watch!!
 
zamalik said:
Also a strange thing that my blood test in NHS last month showed my fasting 9 mmol/l and that is entirely incorrect.
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I suppose you usually check your fasting upon waking up, not after an extended fast plus extra stress because of the blood test.
Many people find their BG's rise after waking up, even when fasting.

Not wanting to give you even more reasons to test, but I usually test my BG right when I have a blood draw so I can compare my meter to a lab test.
 
Obsessed is what the lazy call the motivated :)

If you wanna test 50times a day and it keeps you on track, go right ahead, it don’t matter what works for you, just that it works for you.

you are doing great.
 
I was diagnosed in September and test quite a lot throughout the day. Apart from the cost, I don't think it's a bad thing as it keeps me motivated and I will spot potential problems with blood sugars before it gets too out of control. I'm pregnant at the moment so having to test 1 hour post meals to catch my spikes. I do test at 2 hours as well sometimes to make sure it has returned which it usually does.
 
Antje77 said:
I suppose you usually check your fasting upon waking up, not after an extended fast plus extra stress because of the blood test.
Many people find their BG's rise after waking up, even when fasting.

Not wanting to give you even more reasons to test, but I usually test my BG right when I have a blood draw so I can compare my meter to a lab test.
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@Antje77 thanks. No, i absolutely checked with the withdraw and secondly, I do long fasts and check my BGs at 12 hours too. There is no way on earth i can touch 9 during the fasting, i have no insulin resistance, and my liver doesn't dump sugar. The maximum i go between 8hrs to 12 hour fasting is from 5 to 5.7. Interestingly, a pharmacist spoke to me from NHS today and I told her that probably the sample was compromised somehow so now i doubt all other results too. I know if you leave sample for long, the sugar further breaks down and skew the reading.
 
Fenn said:
Obsessed is what the lazy call the motivated :)

If you wanna test 50times a day and it keeps you on track, go right ahead, it don’t matter what works for you, just that it works for you.

you are doing great.
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@Fenn thanks for the kind and motivational words. I do agree what you had to say and I don't mind checking 3-4 times a day however it makes me feel i am "diabetic" psychologically. Even though i know I AM a diabetic but every time i check it confirms that feeling :). couple of weeks back i went for camping with friends and didn't take my meter with me for couple of days as we were walking 10s of miles every day in Peak Dist so thought no need for testing. That gave me the sense of normality and i was not afraid of my BG shooting up even though i ate what i usually eat. So its more of coming back to normality of life like the Covid new normal. I hope you understand what i mean. For argument's sake, even if i get myself tested once or twice a week to make sure things are on track would it hurt? Can diabetes be out of control within a week? I dont think so. I am not sure even who I am convincing here lol...
 
zamalik said:
@Fenn thanks for the kind and motivational words. I do agree what you had to say and I don't mind checking 3-4 times a day however it makes me feel i am "diabetic" psychologically. Even though i know I AM a diabetic but every time i check it confirms that feeling :). couple of weeks back i went for camping with friends and didn't take my meter with me for couple of days as we were walking 10s of miles every day in Peak Dist so thought no need for testing. That gave me the sense of normality and i was not afraid of my BG shooting up even though i ate what i usually eat. So its more of coming back to normality of life like the Covid new normal. I hope you understand what i mean. For argument's sake, even if i get myself tested once or twice a week to make sure things are on track would it hurt? Can diabetes be out of control within a week? I dont think so. I am not sure even who I am convincing here lol...
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Maybe then it’s an addiction rather than obsession? In which case, one day at a time! :)

Hands up who wants zamaliks problems lol
 
Fenn said:
Maybe then it’s an addiction rather than obsession? In which case, one day at a time! :)

Hands up who wants zamaliks problems lol
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Gosh, i never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be spending this much time managing my health in this age ! For God's sake, i had two years of high sugar (above 15 mmol) and i have been enjoying cakes and pastries and eating every couple of hours and i was feeling fantastic lol. Now if BG goes above 7 im as worried as a toad. Ignorance is blessing some times !
 
I test for my fasting bgl, then before and after my three meals so about six times a day, and as a member of the NDSS I get subsidised strips ($1.20 for 100 strips).

I am trying to keep a tight grip on my T2 so I can stay of medication and the only way I can do it is to test, so no, I am not obsessed with it.
 
zamalik said:
Has anyone else got this obsession as well? I have been diagnosed in last Dec and have managed my BG very well thanks to the meter. Last 2 a1c tests within normal range too. My fasting are close to 5 and postprandial peaks are average 7 and i am not doing much experiments with foods either. In spite of all this, I feel insecure and obsessed if i don't check my sugar after 2 hours of food. This is quite a strain and of course adding to my costs as well. Am i being obsessed really? How can i get away with this and just do like a weekly testing? Help please, its making me go insane. I feel so dependant on meter whereas i don't see any surprises at all.

Are you experiencing the same?
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I did. I was testing 4-5 times a day, sometimes only because I hadn't tested for a while. Nothing was happening, no unusual results. And then I forgot about it, and realized I hadn't tested for three days. That seemed to break the cycle. Unless it's a new food, or food combination, or something odd, I'm not testing anywhere near as much as I used to. The results are entirely predictable., it's taken all the fun out of it.
 
zamalik said:
@bandito22 exactly, well said. As a matter of fact after 3 months while i was in Egypt i did a HOMA-IR test and my insulin returned back at 3 (fasting) so i am okay on that side. Now i check my sugar just to make sure its not causing insulin to spike as i cant test insulin at home.
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Testing your BG will not show any insulin spikes. You may have raised BG levels but a perfectly safe insulin level which means you are doing well. However, you may have a low BG but your body is pumping huge amounts of insulin to keep it there. So, in short.. your finger prick test is not really telling you much.
 
bandito22 said:
Testing your BG will not show any insulin spikes. You may have raised BG levels but a perfectly safe insulin level which means you are doing well. However, you may have a low BG but your body is pumping huge amounts of insulin to keep it there. So, in short.. your finger prick test is not really telling you much.
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High levels of BG are known to cause damage, peripheral neuropathy and diabetic retinopathy for example. So you cannot say that you are doing ok with raised BG levels but safe insulin levels. Frequent finger prick tests that do not provide any useful information are pointless. However, that doesn't mean that that they are not valuable if used correctly.
You mention insulin "spikes" do you have a reference that shows that they exist and are harmful? I am sure that would be of concern to those injecting insulin.
 
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