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Question about BG testing and stuff

SueJB

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,336
Location
Heaven
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
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cold weather
Hi everyone. I'm still learning, diagnosed with T1D in Aug this year and would appreciate some insight / help base don experience you've all had. How often should one test BG?
I do it 1st thing before basal insulin and then before a meal but not afterwards. There's something lurking in the recesses of my brain along the lines of "hey Sue, you should be testing 90mins after a meal too" Is this correct? and if so why?
Next question, how do you work out / know, how long to do a bolus dose before a meal? I just do it 15mins and that'sit.
Sorry, just though of another Q, do I have to have a dose of bolus if I fancy a snack like an apple?

FinalQ, honest. Has anyone read the book Sugar surfing? is it any use?
Many thanks and hope you had a good day yesterday
 
Hi Sue. I think testing when you are curently doing is good. Add tests after meals (2 hours) to see if your bolus to carbs dosing is correct. If a snack is less than 20g you may not need a bolus but this will become evident at your next pre meal test. Other times to test are when you feel unwell or hypo/hyperglyceamic plus before driving or exercise.
Haven't read Sugar Surfing - sorry x
 
Great stuff. You mention testing 2hrs after a meaal to see if does is correct. What am I looking for if it's correct?
the same figure before the meal and the same after or what?
 
SueJB said:
Great stuff. You mention testing 2hrs after a meaal to see if does is correct. What am I looking for if it's correct?
the same figure before the meal and the same after or what?
Click to expand...
Most food is digested after 2 hours so it's worth checking to see where you are after eating. You don't need to be right on target because insulin tends to work for up to 4 hours (at least Novorapid does which I'm on) but you want to be within your target range after eating.

You may find you've spiked which is normal but I aim to be within my target range of 4-10 after eating. If you've spiked really high then you may need to look at pre-bolusing even earlier than 15 minutes like you are at the moment.

Remember that different foods can digest quicker or slower than others.

Hope that makes sense!
 
Regarding pre-meal bolus, this depends.
Different food is digested at different rates in different people.
So, for you, one food may result in a BG peak 20 minutes after eating and another food may not have an impact for 2 hours.
Some people run tests with different foods and adjust their timing of pre-meal insulin accordingly. Something like. CGM or Libre makes this much easier.
Some argue they don’t know how much insulin they need until they know how much food they have eaten (what if you go back for seconds?) so inject after the meal.

15 minutes prior to eating is the usual advice and a good compromise.
But I would say that because it is what I try to do
 
I think no more than 7 after 2 hours. DiabetesUk give guidelines. If you are taking correct basal dose your bg should be 4-7 before the meal assuming you did not snack on Mars bars and are not ill Its somewhat tri8al and error and as you will maybe see on the forum its not entirely predictable so best advice is to test but tweak 1 factor at a time so that you know what is or isn't working. It is early days and you will be okay with a few highs in the short term but will want to avoid lows. Good luck
 
Really really helpful Thanks. I'm on Novorapid too but it would be so so nice if I could know what the doses are. I hate guess work and it could kill me. Depressed!
 
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I know how to avoid the lows,..... I think but it's all just guess work for not letting BGs go too high and I don't see a pattern and don't seem to be able to feel in control
 
SueJB said:
Really really helpful Thanks. I'm on Novorapid too but it would be so so nice if I could know what the doses are. I hate guess work and it could kill me. Depressed!
Click to expand...

Are you carb counting at all? I know you've only just been diagnosed but it may be the next thing to look at if you're not already. There should be a DAFNE course near you and it'd be worth asking your specialist or GP about it. I only did it recently over the Summer after 17 years since my diagnosis and it takes out all the guesswork with your doses. You'll have a carb-to-insulin ratio and you can work out how much insulin you need to give yourself based on how many carbohydrates are in your meal. I've seen a drastic change in my own glucose levels since I've been doing it.

Of course, if you already are carb counting then you can just ignore everything I've said. I just figured I'd mention it as I, and many others, have found it incredibly helpful.
 
Thanks, when I asked the diabetes specialist nurse about carb to insulin ratio when I was first diagnosed, she said it wasn't something to worry about. That was 4 months ago and I'm still worrying. I do count carbs and try and kep them low but haven't been given any information about how to gauge bolus for this so for me, I just guess. Not nice, still feeling in limbo
 
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