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Type 2 I have been told to test only twice a week - when should I test ?

B

bamba

Well-Known Member
Messages
319
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I was originally on glycazide and metformin, - when, after a few weeks of testing AM, Before Meals, 2 Hours after - and at Bedtime I cam down from teh stating point of 21mmol /l to around 7-8, I was on metformin only with instructions to take half of one of my remaining glycazide tablets if I went sky high.

I have now been told to "Test Twice a Week" .

What is the best use of these limited tests ?

Repeated Fasting Glucose tests ? or after meal checks ?
 
I would, personally, test as much or as little as you feel comfortable with. With any change in medication I think it is important to see what effects those changes have made to your bg. The statement to use the drug only if you go sky high is a little redundant if you are only testing twice a week, how will you know if you are going sky high on days you are not testing? Seems a tad silly to me but ultimately it is your decision. Good luck, and well done on your progress.
 
bamba said:
I was originally on glycazide and metformin, - when, after a few weeks of testing AM, Before Meals, 2 Hours after - and at Bedtime I cam down from teh stating point of 21mmol /l to around 7-8, I was on metformin only with instructions to take half of one of my remaining glycazide tablets if I went sky high.

I have now been told to "Test Twice a Week" .

What is the best use of these limited tests ?

Repeated Fasting Glucose tests ? or after meal checks ?
Click to expand...

If I was on glicizide, I would be testing quite a lot.
Your levels seem to becoming near normal and the likelihood of you having a low blood glucose level (hypo) can happen.
How can you know if you are too high or too low without testing at fasting levels as you get up, pre breakfast, post breakfast at two hours and so on with every meal?
What you need is a food diary, where you can detail every meal, every reading you do.
And you will discover which foods are the ones that are spiking you too high.

This will help with dosage and the food that you may have to reduce in portion size.
It will help your GP, to see that you are serious about tackling and controlling your condition.

If you have to limit your tests, fasting in the morning is probably your best choice, but it is better to test more often.
 
bamba said:
I was originally on glycazide and metformin, - when, after a few weeks of testing AM, Before Meals, 2 Hours after - and at Bedtime I cam down from teh stating point of 21mmol /l to around 7-8, I was on metformin only with instructions to take half of one of my remaining glycazide tablets if I went sky high.

I have now been told to "Test Twice a Week" .

What is the best use of these limited tests ?

Repeated Fasting Glucose tests ? or after meal checks ?
Click to expand...

I would test every morning right after waking up. and if the number is higher than 6 mmol I would also count all my carbs in total on a day and stay under 150 grams, if that doesn´t get morning numbers lower I would go under 100 grams of carbs in a day in total......... and then I would also measure 1-2 hours after a meal and try to eat so that my level never gets over 8 mmol in spiking after a carb rich meal..

don´t listen to their advice of only measuring twice a week... twice a week doesn´t give any true picture and no control really there you need to measure much more , especially initially when in the process of learning which foods to eat and which to avoid and also in what amount it will be low enough in the spikes.
 
I go against the tide. I believe morning fasting levels are too unpredictable, affected by several factors over which we have no control whilst we are still struggling for control. If I could only test once a day I would definitely test immediately before my evening meal. Once we are in full control, then yes, a fasting test may be the best.

How often you test is entirely up to you and how you feel about it. Your nurse is wrong to limit you to twice a week. Until you have full control you need to test every day. However, you do need to be organised about it. You need to chose the same times each day, such as before and after your meals, but not necessarily every meal if you know that meal is OK for you because you have tested it several times in the past. Try not to fall into the trap of any old random test as you won't learn anything from it. The object of testing is to learn something from that test.
 
bamba said:
I was originally on glycazide and metformin, - when, after a few weeks of testing AM, Before Meals, 2 Hours after - and at Bedtime I cam down from teh stating point of 21mmol /l to around 7-8, I was on metformin only with instructions to take half of one of my remaining glycazide tablets if I went sky high.

I have now been told to "Test Twice a Week" .

What is the best use of these limited tests ?

Repeated Fasting Glucose tests ? or after meal checks ?
Click to expand...
Hi bamba like Guzzler said how would you know if your BG was high apart from going into hypo. If this was me I would be back at my doctors and insist on access to more test strips, so you can regulate your BG without the need to go hypo first he's a moron. K
 
I would test before and after a few meals each week, choose meals that.
  • I know may give me problems
  • Or that I have not had before
 
If you are confident that you know what to eat then there is no point in testing - once I got down to under 7 mmol/l after meals I stopped testing except for days when I was not quite sure if I should eat dessert or not. If I got over 8 already, I did not, if under I adjusted what I ate according to just how far under.
I would always keep in mind that by staying in control there would be no need for medication to force down BG levels and so be needing to test for that. I find it is a great incentive to put off eating slightly higher foods in any quantity - I never knew I had such will power until I wanted to be absolutely certain I never needed medication again.
 
I would test regular until you are satisfied your numbers are what you are happy with.
 
Even 2 tests a DAY never mind a week on gliclizide (which increases insulin production) wouldn't prevent a hypo.
If your prescription hasnt been reduced test at least 4 times a day on gliclizide. After 20mins after treating a hypo test additionally. Also at times you feel you are in hypo territory.
Is this not negligence to stop you testing regularly on gliclizide? Maybe you need this twice a week advice in written proof form before considering it!!!! I would.
 
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