Finger pricking - How many times do you do?

[Member496333]

I think the 15% tolerance is an upper limit on regulatory standards. A standard of deviation that must be met or exceeded. Personally I think most of the reputable systems are a lot more accurate than this.

 

[OrsonKartt]

After 3 years I still test most days, first thing. 3 years ago it was maybe 10 times a day to figure out what did what and when , food wise, activity wise, sleep wise etc. now I feel I'm fine tuning and hopefully the testing keeps my feet on the ground.

 

[PenguinMum]

After 15 months I test FBG then before lunch to see if DP is still a problem. Lunch is always something small and safe (ie tested many times) and then I test around 5pm. If I am having a “safe” (as above) dinner then I dont test but if something new I do the test when about to eat and two hours after. Thats must what I do so you must find your own best practice. In the first six months I tested a lot more. Best wishes to you @Shas3.

 

[JAT1]

I was diagnosed 8 months ago, type 1. I used to test about every 2 hours. Now that my life has settled into a routine wherein I eat nearly the same every day, I noticed that my readings fell into a routine most of the time as well, so I only test once a day now around 9:00 pm to ensure I have enough on board to get through the night without a hypo.

 

[Deleted member 308541]

Am just curious - How many times do you measure each day?

I test around six times a day before and after meals which include the fasting bgl.

Secondly, i am also curious if “30 day / 90 day average BG level” etc. are any useful?

I like to see the ninety day average is, as it give me and idea what my hba1c is going to be like.

Here's a pix from awhile ago which sort of matched my current hba1c of 5.3% or 34 mmol/mol.

Edit: Resized pix.

 

[michita]

Right after diagnosis there was a period I was testing every 30 minutes!!! I just wanted to know how food and insulin are affecting in detail. I bought 2nd meter and test strips for that. To me that was normal and I just wanted to check as often as I wanted. I got told off by doctors and nurses for that. They thought I was having a burn out but I wasn’t.
Now after 3 years I test 3 or 4 times a day unless I’m eating out.

 

[Freema]

New foods I understand bit i am lost on how one reads into insulin resistance/gluconeoSomethingSis (ignorant me.... something to do with protein to glucose??) using strip???

And 10-15%???? I didn’t realize meters have such an error range... i use ehat is called AccuCheck Active... should I assume they have errors (and do what??? Check more times???)

just focus on not to get too many carbs in a day in total maybe try only eating 50 grams in total in a day, if your numbers are not normal then go lower

type 2 diabetics do usually not get hypos ... (when they don't take insulin stimulating drugs or inject insulin)
type 1 and type 2 are two totally different diseases.

how much insulin resistance one has is different in everybody, and of cause it is good to use one's muscles every day and get fit then, but not all get rid of diabetes that way anyway.
the easiest way to get a fine control is to count ones daily level of carbs and share these carbs maybe leveled out on the 3 meals or two meals, like 50 grams of carbs with maybe 10 grams in the morning meal, 20 at lunch and then 20 grams for dinner

 

[Shas3]

Thanks everyone. So it does look like my frequency of measurements is not terribly high for recent starters. I am unlikely to have hypos with my current medication. So my focus is really on FBG, meal spikes and trends.

This morning was better than recent days with 6.6 as against 7.Xx in past week.

 

[Shas3]

just focus on not to get too many carbs in a day in total maybe try only eating 50 grams in total in a day, if your numbers are not normal then go lower

type 2 diabetics do usually not get hypos ... (when they don't take insulin stimulating drugs or inject insulin)
type 1 and type 2 are two totally different diseases.

how much insulin resistance one has is different in everybody, and of cause it is good to use one's muscles every day and get fit then, but not all get rid of diabetes that way anyway.
the easiest way to get a fine control is to count ones daily level of carbs and share these carbs maybe leveled out on the 3 meals or two meals, like 50 grams of carbs with maybe 10 grams in the morning meal, 20 at lunch and then 20 grams for dinner

Thanks I really want to get to a low carb. At least 75-80. But it has been a bit of challenge to make up energy levels. I know upping protein a bit and a lot of fat seems to be the way. Too much fat, while in a tropical country on equator sounds like not suitable... and sometimes makes me nauseous. I need to check with doctor/dietitian. I am upping eggs, cheese and fish. Hopefully i get there soon

 

[Deleted member 308541]

Too much fat, while in a tropical country on equator sounds like not suitable...

I live 380 klms south of the Tropic of Capricorn here in Australia, I eat fats included in cheese, butter, yoghurt, meat and bacon fat etc. with no problems.

 

[Shas3]

I live 380 klms south of the Tropic of Capricorn here in Australia, I eat fats included in cheese, butter, yoghurt, meat and bacon fat etc. with no problems.

I understand @Tipetoo... I guess i just need to get out of old mental barriers. Even with the slight increase in fat that i have done, I already keep wondering if it is ok or not... is it too much... ???

Then i read the daily food diaries of some members here and realize my fat intake must be significantly low in comparison. And Doctors’ advice as we all know scares us away from almost all fat

I guess taking that leap of faith is what i need...

 

[Tophat1900]

I understand @Tipetoo... I guess i just need to get out of old mental barriers. Even with the slight increase in fat that i have done, I already keep wondering if it is ok or not... is it too much... ???

Then i read the daily food diaries of some members here and realize my fat intake must be significantly low in comparison. And Doctors’ advice as we all know scares us away from almost all fat

I guess taking that leap of faith is what i need...

To be honest I would never ask a doctor for diet advice, not bashing doctors, but diet seems to get very little focus in med school and gets over looked. There are of course some who really know their craft....

Edit... forgot to mention. I test a lot, some insulin use and being a transplant recipient I take prednesalone every single day and have done for the last 21 years as part of the treatment for lung transplants. This drug makes life very difficult, apart from inducing diabetes it also plays havoc with bg control and as a result has to be monitored as it it is constantly wanting to push the level up. I don't even know how many times a day I test. Anyway, still maintain a hba1c below 6, usually around 5.8, sometimes as low 5.5. It's just a lot of work to keep it that low. If I didn't have to take prednesalone, life would be so much easier, I hate the frequent testing, but I prefer living.

 

[Shas3]

To be honest I would never ask a doctor for diet advice, not bashing doctors, but diet seems to get very little focus in med school and gets over looked. There are of course some who really know their craft....

Edit... forgot to mention. I test a lot, some insulin use and being a transplant recipient I take prednesalone every single day and have done for the last 21 years as part of the treatment for lung transplants. This drug makes life very difficult, apart from inducing diabetes it also plays havoc with bg control and as a result has to be monitored as it it is constantly wanting to push the level up. I don't even know how many times a day I test. Anyway, still maintain a hba1c below 6, usually around 5.8, sometimes as low 5.5. It's just a lot of work to keep it that low. If I didn't have to take prednesalone, life would be so much easier, I hate the frequent testing, but I prefer living.

Thanks... i agree diet is hardly seen as part of the overall care package... it is mentioned just in passing..”eat good food.. avoid bad stuff “!!! And it is very frustrating at times. I sometimes wonder if quite often many doctors are just focused on numbers and refuse to listen to actual symptoms, listen to the body... it is almost like “your numbers are ok, so all fine”...

Sorry about the rant!

All the best with your recovery