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How many times to test (daily)?

EliseC65_

EliseC65_

Active Member
Messages
28
Location
West Midlands
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Bearing in mind the strips aren’t cheap, when are the best times to test, as I don’t really want to test up to 7 times a day?
Obviously first thing in the morning, then before every meal? After? Bedtime!

I’m actually missing breakfast atm, as I don’t actually feel hungry, just coffee with cream, so I’m not testing until lunchtime now.

Thanks.
 
I test first up in the morning, then before and after meals of which I have three a day.

So seven times a day, or one tub of strips per week.
 
I no longer take a fasting blood glucose reading due to poor sleep. I take readings before and after my two meals per day and I do not snack so that's just four tests per day for me.
 
A few consideration
1) are you on any meds that can cause hypos? If so before bed is an important time to test
2) have you found any meals that have a minimal impact on your sugars? If so testing before and after those meals isnt so important
3) testing before and after meals / foods that have an unknown effect is a vital part of finding out what foods your body can tolerate and drawing up sustainable menus
4) Fasting BM is useful to start with in terms of getting to know how much there is a dawn phenomenon effect going on and if it continues to raise your sugars. Once you know your pattern, testing it every day is not co important as periodic testing to see if the pattern is changing
 
I test when I get up, before lunch, before dinner (evening meal, sometimes that's when I leave work around 4:30 pm), and bedtime. That's 4 times pretty much every day. And if I have any question about being low (or not), like when I get off the golf course. I don't test 1-2 hrs after meals like some here do. The reason is I probably wouldn't do anything different based on the result except maybe take more/less insulin the next time I had that to eat. I pay 15 cents/strip. So about $20/ month which is cheap.
 
How long have you been diabetic and how well controlled is it? Aside from the meds questions!

I found once I had my blood sugars under control and knew what kind of things I could eat without spiking them, I could drastically reduce my frequency of testing. But I am taking no drugs.

I don't think fasting levels are important and it is not critical to test before meals if you are generally well controlled. Now, after 6 years of low carbing and good control I only test after meals sporadically. Or if I eat something very different or feel I might be high (e.g. feel tired or thirsty).
 
Boo1979 said:
A few consideration
1) are you on any meds that can cause hypos? If so before bed is an important time to test
2) have you found any meals that have a minimal impact on your sugars? If so testing before and after those meals isnt so important
3) testing before and after meals / foods that have an unknown effect is a vital part of finding out what foods your body can tolerate and drawing up sustainable menus
4) Fasting BM is useful to start with in terms of getting to know how much there is a dawn phenomenon effect going on and if it continues to raise your sugars. Once you know your pattern, testing it every day is not co important as periodic testing to see if the pattern is changing
Click to expand...
1) On metformin
2 ) Only been testing since Friday but not had any major surges 2 hours later yet.
4) The last 3 mornings have been 13. So dawn thing is happening . Just need to use up all my glucose I guess.

I think I’ll test less often once I get my bs down. I started at 13.8 on Friday night. Tonight was 9.7 before dinner and I’ve lost 2.5kg since diagnosis on 30/11, although I think some of that is due to Met tummy :/
 
In the beginning I tested 8 times a day. Getting up, before and after my three meals and at bedtime. I soon dropped the pre breakfast as I quickly learnt that my liver dumps when I get up and my blood sugars rise til I eat so now I test when I wake and then have breakfast straight away before showering or getting dressed. As time went by I dropped the bedtime reading. I now test before and after breakfast and dinner only as my lunches are usually the same meals in rotation.
 
The fasting test in a morning isn't necessary until you have sorted out a suitable diet for yourself, which means testing before you eat and 2 hours after first bite to see how your body has reacted to that meal. The pre and post meal levels are far more important for a T2 on diet only or Metformin.

Also, you need to keep a food diary that includes all the ingredients and portion sizes. Then you can record your levels alongside and watch for patterns over a few meals. This will give you the opportunity to tweak those meals, reduce portion sizes of the carbs or eliminate some. If the rise from before to after is more than 2mmol/l. there were too many carbs in that meal, so you need to analyse this and if it continues with the same meals, take some action. 2 mmol/l is the maximum desirable. Preferably less than that.

This is called eating to your meter.

Morning fasting levels can wait for a while. They tell you very little at the moment. You need to be able to learn from your testing or you are wasting your time and strips.
 
Thanks. I’m using MyFitnessPal for a food diary to work out my carbs to enter onto DiaConnect for bf, bp , pulse and weight. Getting a nice set of stats going.
Just wish my stomach would settle :(
 
So it is early days for you on this journey.... agree with the other advice to use testing to figure out what makes them go too high so you can learn from this. Eating to your meter indeed!
 
Make sure that you test each meal at least twice, there are so many different factors that can affect the way that your body reacts, exercise ,stress level, etc. So until you know what is going on from the stats that you are collecting keep on testing.
 
I test fasting, before each meal ( 5 small meals a day) and before bed. Also if I’m feeling weird or testing a new food. I also test an hour after bf as I need a small bolus to stop the morning rise.
All depend on where I’m at bg wise so I need to test and take insulin accordingly. All mornings are different. I could probably not test before both afternoon meals and dinner as it’s alwsy the same bolus. Just habit and safety.
 
I just test once a day...its a reassurance thing. also if I have been eating something potentially risky. there are only so many readings in a close range to be worthwhile.

btw testing twice in quick succession can read a bit differently... dont be fooled by the 1/10 increments. not sure they are really that reliable
 
EliseC65_ said:
Thanks. I’m using MyFitnessPal for a food diary to work out my carbs to enter onto DiaConnect for bf, bp , pulse and weight. Getting a nice set of stats going.
Just wish my stomach would settle :(
Click to expand...

Hi,
I had to stop Metformin because of severe diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea and terrible indigestion.
Are you taking with meals, it settles for some people.
Hope you feel better very soon.
Take care
 
Yup. I don’t take it until I start eating. I thought it was getting better, but I’ve had the runs since 3pm, to the point that I daren’t go to bed. Seeing gp tomorrow to discuss slow release.
 
Watch out for any other symptoms - I started Metformin and statins mid November '16 and had the usual consequences plus aches and pains, itching all over, my taste buds went strange but the worst one was the memory loss - I went out and did the Christmas shop twice, left the first lot in the car, and I kept losing the car - could not remember where I had parked it. I gave them up just before Christmas, best present I ever had was a squit free Christmas day. I just wish I could actually remember it - I have read about it in my diary but a lot of that time just never got laid down as memories.
 
Must admit I do not test first thing in the morning now as that seems pretty steady 5.4 to 5.6 I quite often only have one meal a day and on those days I test within two hours after a meal. If I do have lunch I test after I have eaten. So once or twice now, sometimes before just before bed. I do not really go out of the circle of what I eat and have tested those things, and no sugar spike. If I go out for a meal I will test after that,or if I were to have anything different I would test after that also. One thing that I have learned and that is not to test straight after doing housework say within a minute of sitting down because it will always be higher. When I sit down for even just 5 mins it can be 4 points lower. Even three mins of sitting first
 
I'm on insulin so wise to test like I do.
7 times at least more when nearing hypo numbers and reducing insulin.
When I was on metformin only I was getting free strips, 2002. I know now changed. :(
I only tested after 3hrs after 2 meals rotated and fasting. I did shift work then.
 
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