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I don't understand

copey399

Well-Known Member
Messages
374
Location
West Sussex
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I had a morning BS of 6.3. Ate half a Lidl's High Protein roll with peanut butter and 2 hours later it was 7.3 Does that mean that one or other of them is off limits to me?

I have my first blood test next Monday since starting LC/HF and I so want it to be reduced enough to impress the DN.
 
a difference of 1mmol falls well within the tolerances of most testing meters on the market today..........

so I wouldn't really make any conclusions from that single test...........

maybe try again tomorrow morning....
 
novorapidboi26 said:
a difference of 1mmol falls well within the tolerances of most testing meters on the market today..........

so I wouldn't really make any conclusions from that single test...........

maybe try again tomorrow morning....
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Oh, right. Thanks x I know I've read about different tolerances but I tend to regard my meter as god and never think that it could possibly be wrong .. lol. I'll try not to panic in future
 
well, its not wrong, its just in the real world they aren't that accurate......

as I say 1 mmol increase can be acknowledged as an increase, but it would certainly need to be accompanied by a few more reading for you to make the decision that the roll, the butter, or the combination of the two didn't go well with you.......

my money is on its fine............
 
It's not just the 2hr test you have to look at but the rise from where you started, as you were 6.3 before eating a rise of 1 is pretty good, if you had started lower say 5.3 your 2hr test would probably have been lower -

Personally if I had tested a 1 point rise I would be happy but maybe wouldn't have eaten that combo with a start of 6.3. But you are early in your journey and you are doing great! Don't beat yourself up about one number you are doing everything right and it's not a competition- keep up the good work and good luck with the test
 
Your blood test monitors blood glucose over the last 3 months so that one result won't make any difference to your results really/ Think about the result.....you started at 6.3 and only went up one number to 7.3...that's nothing Its just you started at a higher number makes it look worse than it is. I would be very happy with a rise of just one number
 
It's up to you copey399, we all have to set our own goal/limits, you were only 1mmol higher in 2hrs so its not too bad. But was your 6•3 test done just before you had the roll or was it a fasting test first thing this morning ? And was your 7•3 test on its way down or still going up at 2hrs. To truly test the roll I would test at 1hr & 2hr and then every 30 min until my levels had returned to the pre meal reading. That way you know how high the spike was & how long it takes to return to normal
 
Aahh! Thanks guys xx So much to learn and so much to take in. I appreciate the advice and support, I really do.
 

It was my fasting test first thing. I just haven't managed to get it down any lower apart from one 5.4 Weight loss is stagnant too - just 13 lbs in 3 months. I'll test again and see what I get now.
Edit: 6.9
 
OK so if that 6•3 was your fasting test and not a preprandial test that means that we really have no idea what your lidl roll did to your sugar levels because by the time you had your roll you could have been lower than 6•3, or if your friendly liver decided that you needed a quick shot of glucose to help you along you could have possibly been higher.
I'm sorry copey399 but it looks like you've been sticking pins in your fingers and the only thing you've got out of it is sore fingers
 
catinahat said:
I'm sorry copey399 but it looks like you've been sticking pins in your fingers and the only thing you've got out of it is sore fingers
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Not necessarily - if Copey eats pretty soon after waking up then the fasting could equally serve as pre-prandrial, could it not? That's what I do. I test when I get up and brekkie is 15 minutes later.
 
That is also what I do. It isn't reasonable to test fasting and then pre-breakfast if there is only 10 minutes difference. All I would be doing is wasting strips.
 

Oh don't say that I do mornings on waking, 2 hours after meals and before bed. I really would have sore fingers if I did as you say I don't get enough test strips to do more.

GeoffersTaylor said:
Not necessarily - if Copey eats pretty soon after waking up then the fasting could equally serve as pre-prandrial, could it not? That's what I do. I test when I get up and brekkie is 15 minutes later.
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I don't actually eat breakfast right away. It usually ends up as Brunch as I can't often face food early on. I feel like I'm doing it all wrong now. Oh well, my impending blood test will see if I've got anything right.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
That is also what I do. It isn't reasonable to test fasting and then pre-breakfast if there is only 10 minutes difference. All I would be doing is wasting strips.
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I agree that in the great scheme of things 10 or 15 min will not make much difference to the test but how about 1 or 2hrs ? If all you want is to check on how your levels are doing through the day then 3 or 4 random tests is fine but if you are trying to discover how a particular food /meal affects you then a test first thing in the morning and another at 11am after your lidl roll is not going to give you any useful information.
 
@copey399 Keep in mind too that peanut butters vary in their carb content so if you are not happy with the result today, it may not be off the menu yet.
 

I agree, but at the time you made your post the OP hadn't admitted that there was a big gap between testing and eating, which is why I replied as I did. Now she has admitted that she doesn't do any pre-meal tests, it is a different story.

@copey399

You are wasting your time I'm afraid. In order to test out food you must test immediately before you eat. It is the actual rise from before to after that is important in deciding whether that food suits you or not, and if it happens to be a big rise, then you have to keep testing until it returns to near enough where you started before you ate. Just testing once at 2 hours tells you nothing because you have no idea how high you spiked, and the spike could have been earlier than 2 hours, or later than 2 hours, or high but flat for a long time. There are so many variables.

If you are short on strips, then pick one meal a day to do the tests on, or consider buying your own meter and strips (Codefree being the cheapest)
 
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Yes, some peanut butters have added sugar - I had something of a battle with my husband over this when I first started low carbing - he insisted on buying a brand not of my choice because it was on a 2 for 1 offer and therefore a bargain - but not so when I refused to eat it...

Regarding levels - use the NICE recommended BS levels as a guide to what you're aiming for, definitely test before and after meals, and aim for spikes of less than 2. As @Bluetit1802 has said it's the spiking that counts - single figures on their own can't tell you much about your reactions to food.

Remember to think about why you're testing, and how the results can tell you what you want to know - don't just look at results in isolation! Once you are comfortable with your knowledge, then you can if you so wish, decide on your own particular targets.

Robbity
 

Well bearing in mind that just keeping an eye on how my levels were through the day is basically all I set out to do and I must have read somewhere that testing 2 hours after meals was the most revealing because that's what I have believed and that's what I've been doing. I didn't set out to test the effect of what I had eaten but was just surprised to see a 7 when my recent after meals tests were between the 5s and 6s so I over-reacted I guess.

I understand that if I do want to test a specific food then I must do as you say and test before and several times after to see where the real spikes are. Maybe I am just wasting my blood and strips and should just wait and see what my blood test reveals. I am a bit disheartened because I did feel that I had got a bit of a grip on things but now I don't feel that I have

I'll carry on Low Carbing and just hope for a good result. x
 
Please don't be disheartened. You are doing very well, honestly.

There are 2 reasons why we test.

One is to keep an eye over general levels, ie fasting and bedtime, maybe before evening meal. This is mainly for those who have previously tested their food and are generally happy with what they are eating.

The other is to test food ie testing before and after. This way you will learn how to improve your diet.

or you could do both. I do.
 
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