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Self testing

M

Marzeater

Well-Known Member
Messages
94
Why is it everything I read says to test 2 hours after eating?

I normally have breakfast around 6.30am, lunch 12ish and dinner around 6.00pm it is rare for me to eat anything between dinner and bed. At sometime between dinner and bed I will have a 2.5 mile walk.
I usually test 30 mins before meals and before bed. I gather I'm doing it at the wrong times.
Today I tested at 5.6 at 11.30. Is that good or bad?
Or if I tested 2 hours after breakfast would I be panicing about tooo high a reading?
 
Hi Marzeater, the whole point of testing two hours after is to see just how well you have tolerated what you have eaten and how quickly your body has processed that meal.If your blood sugar levels are still high after two hours then a review of that meal and its contents may lead you to modifying that meal thus bringing your blood sugar levels down.
 
The theory is that, on average, any rise in blood sugar will peak at around 1 hour after eating and BS levels should have returned to somewhere near where they started after 2 hours. The big problem is that it is an average. If you are on a low GI diet, or your meal had a fairly high fat content, then your peak may occur at nearer to 2 hours than 1 hour.

My personal view is that testing 2 hours after eating is only of value provided you know firstly what your BS was before you ate and secondly what was the GI and fat composition of your meal. For example, you do a 2 hour test and it says 9mmol. That sounds high, but if you were 9mmol before you ate then 9mmol after 2 hours it shows that your insulin level was spot on for that meal. If you were 7mmol before your meal then what does 9mmol after 2 hours actually mean? It could mean you haven't produced (or injected) enough insulin to cover that meal, or it could mean that the BS peak was delayed. In either case you would really need to test again after 3 hours to see if anything has changed. I strongly believe that testing after 2 hours is a waste of a test strip unless you have a pre-meal reading to compare against.
 
Dennis said:
I strongly believe that testing after 2 hours is a waste of a test strip unless you have a pre-meal reading to compare against.
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Absolutely right.

A guide I use is to aim for the 2 hour post-meal reading being no more than 2 mmol/l higher than the pre-meal reading. Than at least I know I have bolused correctly for that meal. Low GI foods can extend this period significantly, but the principle's the same - trying to stay as flat as possible. Basal level is a separate matter and a different test. But of course I have external insulin to help balance the whole mix...
 
OK. Tonights results.

4.8 before dinner.
13.1 - 2 hours after dinner. Chicken pie and a few oven chips followed by an apple and an orange.
5.4 after a 2.5 miles walk about 4 hours after dinner, no snacks or coffee since dinner.

If I can get to 5.4 more often I will be happy.
 
I don't think a Bg of 13.1 is something you want to be getting and as for your meal....that would send my Bg levels soaring. I really think you need to take a long hard look at your diet ?

Ken.
 
Hi Marzeater,

Your pre-meal and 4 hour readings are very good. Your big problem is the astronomic jump to 13.1 after 2 hours - and even that probably wasn't the peak - in view of what you ate the peak was probably at somewhere between 1 hour and 1½ hours. Your meal is amost totally carbohydrate and sugar, so such a huge rise is hardly surprising. Have a read round the food forum for some ideas on healthier foods. If you get stuck then just tell us the kind of things you like to eat (and what you hate) and we'll try to advise on how to improve that diet.
 
sugarless sue said:
ShyGirl said:
I did a test this morning and ate something i'd never usually eat , an hour later I was 12,1 :shock:
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OK so what did you eat then!?
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I was 5.1 before so seeing a reading in to double figures for the first time in aggees shocked me.
 
I had a very similar experience lately eating a bowl of my partner's totally worthy-looking, wholefood-shop-bought granola. Must have been full of sugar. Won't do that again, even if there is nothing else in the house (which is why I ate the granola in the first place)... still, by our mistakes we learn, and all that. :)
 
Tonight chili con carne brown rice pitta breads, followed by 2.5 mile walk.
4.8 2 hours after dinner.

It looks like exercise might be the key to my own problems.
 
sugarless sue said:
Frosties!! :shock: OMG!!! Well now you know how they affect you ,you won't be doing that again will you!! :D
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I wouldn't anyway! I was feeling in a silly mood and spotted them in the cupboard :lol:
 
Marzeater said:
Tonight chili con carne brown rice pitta breads, followed by 2.5 mile walk.
4.8 2 hours after dinner.

It looks like exercise might be the key to my own problems.
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Nothing wrong with exercise, but also take a look at what you had to eat. Brown rice has a fairly low GI (for me anyway), so may take longer to raise blood sugar. Personally I find rice can take between 2-4 hours to peak bg, pasta maybe 4-5. It's worth testing at the 4 hour stage too, once you have it nailed you probably won't need to repeat for that food type.
 
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