I have just done my first blood meter reading and it is at 7.9mmol/L, this is just before breakfast so understand I need to do one in 2hrs but is this reading ok as I have had a coffee earlier so would this affect it on anyway.
Also what sort of spike should I be looking at safely
Thanks in advance
Coffee is a stimulant and could trigger a bit of a glucose dump from the liver.
It doesn't have to, it doesn't for some, but others notice a bit of a rise after caffeine. On top of that, in the morning you might experience Dawn Phenomenon, when the liver dumps glucose just to give you energy to start the day. Forgive it, it thinks it's being helpful.
So for someone just starting out, 7,9 mmol in the a.m. and after coffee sounds not too dramatic. Morning glucose is the last to come down, after all. You'll test again 2 hours after the first bite, and you're looking for a rise of no more than 2.0 mmol/l. Preferably less of course. If it's over that, the meal contained more carbs than you could process, and needs rethinking/tweaking. If you remained at or under 2.0 mmol/l, it's a meal that's safe to repeat.