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Testing at home

suzie_girl

suzie_girl

Active Member
Excuse me if I'm replicating something elsewhere, I couldn't see that I was.

I got a test machine so if I feel dodgy I can see if I'm too high or too low, and thus learn to get the hang of reading my own body. So I feel mildly iffy on the way home yesterday, do a test, and find it says 9.2.

I took that as a bad thing, that 6 hours after lunch I could be high, but now I realise I really don't know the full guidelines here. There are guidelines for what it should be in he morning, what it should be 2 hours after food.

My question is, with type 2, at what reading point should you say, Whups, that's too low and eat something.

At what point is it too high, like what's too high Whups don't eat that again, and what's too high, PANIC point when you should see a doctor?

Also, if its too high, my boyfriend asked me.... What do you do? I didn't know the answer to that, I *presume* you just wait it out.

Or is the answer to all this, only measure fasting, 2 hours after a meal, and eat.... I dunno every 6 hours or so without fail.

I'm not clear what I did wrong.
 
Hi
I am a type 1 on insulin 4 times aday. I think all diabetics should be a round 4.5 - 7mmols. Ok to some 9.2 is a little high. One think you could try by lowering your sugar if you think it's getting high write down what you had eaten. there is a page to low and high carbohydrate counts.
You can even do a twenty min walk which i find helps my levels come down a bit.
With insulin you can adjust your amount of insulin, but not sure what type2's can do.
Hope this helps.
This is my own experience, i recommend if you do exercise you test before and after.
Take care
tracey
 
Thanks Tracy, exercise is a great idea :-) I do have a stepper machine and a trampoline, I'll definately try a little shot on there if that happens again. I didn't think of that, but it seems obvious now you say it!

The only thing I can think I could have done wrong was eat some banana on oatcakes after my lunch, on the grounds of the NHS advice that we do general healthy eating, but I've never been a big fruit eater I'm more of a veg addict, so perhaps they slightly knobbled me there. I'll stick with my trusty veg, broccoli doesn't want me dead lol

Thanks, I thought that reading was high but then wasn't dead sure you don't get random harmless spikes sometimes.

That would make a good tshirt 'bananas want me dead' or maybe a band name
 
Hi there

My nurse has given me numbers as 6-8 fasting and 8 - 10 2 hours after food. Since taking the tablets I don't seem to get major highs any more I do sometimes drop quite low 3.9 thats when I pick up the chocolate or similar sweet thing. If I did get a high I would just do some exercise to try and bring it down.

I take 4 metformin 500mg per day and 2 gliclazide per day. this along with healthier eating keeps my numbers under control.

There does seem alot of difference to the numbers people are given as being in the acceptable level.
 
Hi Suzie! Most people find bananas are about the worst fruit you can eat for sugar levels. Berries like strawberries or raspberries are better. Oatcakes not great for a snack either. If I want just a snack, then some nuts, or a hard boiled egg work well. No sugar rises and satisfying (Well, a bit!)
In terms of lows, it depends what medication you're on. People on insulin and other major sugar-lowering meds have to watch out for hypos. If you're on diet only, or metformin, then you don't need to worry about hypos. We can all (non-diabetics included) get low sugar levels, but not dangerously so as with insulin etc. So keep your testing to see what makes you go high. Test before you eat, then 2 hours after to see the DIFFERENCE. A big diff means you've eaten something not good for sugar levels. You don't need to test all the time, (UNLESS you're on these serious meds) just enough to find out what various food types do to you. If you go high, a long walk or ten to fifteen minutes hard work on an exercise machine is usually enough for me to bring it down a bit.
My initial target was to get all levels below 8.5 two hours after eating. As I improved my diet and got in control, I reduced that target to 7.5. Now I'm dissapointed if it's higher than 7. It takes a while, but keep at it!
 
Thanks guys, I feel much much clearer about understanding the machine and what to do.

I feel a bit of a div about the banana, I only ate the flipping thing cos of the general NHS advice for type 2's. I should know better then that they're hopeless on dietary advice! Never mind I only really love berries anyways, so that's a plus side, but if I do eat any at some point I'll test the right way this time :-) hee hee
 
Hi susie
I was always told to have a small banana when i first became diabetic, but things do change. Banana's are full of carbs, i was also told to have digestive biscuits.
Snacks are try and error as some say and i hadn't thought of was nuts.
I hope all goes well
tracey
 
I'm Type 2(from 2007) and take metformin 500 X2 each day. I started testing about 4 months ago buying my own strips so that I know what affects my body and when. This site has been invaluable.
For a Type 2
The recommended readings from NICE were less than 7 before meals and lower than 8.5 2hrs post meals.
The American site I visited yesterday goes for Fasting less than 5.5
One hour post meal less than 7.8
Two hour post less than 6.6
The lower figures are aiming to protect us from complications later on.
I am still striving for any lower numbers I can get- mine can be as high as 9.3 on the odd occasion.
I find my early morning ones are higher than recommended despite lower readings the night before.

I can't comment except from my own experience but there seems to be very little reason to be worried if your readings are as you say. I've learnt not to eat fruit as freely as I was before. If I do have a piece of fruit I have a lump of protein such as cheese as well. If I need to snack I eat a few nuts. I'm learning how to lower carb to get my numbers lower. There are some fantastic recipes on this site. I aim for about 70g carb. a day.
I can recommend this site if you're still worried or just want to feel more comfortable. Ask away and you will get loads of support.
Your 3 month check up and HbA1c blood test will also help you .
Good Luck.
 
Thanks guys for your support :-) I strongly suspect as it was my first use of the meter on my own I didn't do a good job and may have contaminated it a bit. I actually really had to squish the blood out it wasn't very skillful.....

Anyways I managed to get a repeat prescription for the strips and that, and I just took a reading and it was much better I got a decent bit of blood out (lol) and I am dead happy with my 5.3 :-) I think much depends on the skill of taking it calmly and properly.

I went out for Sushi last night and had some white rice and even half a little icecream and choccy desert, and I've had croissants this morning, and I feel great and am on 5.3. I think you were right I need to just keep eating well and measure before and after anything naughty, or measure if I feel wibbly so I can just get used to knowing if I'm high or low.

The meters are really good but the nurse is right, there's a danger of getting addicted to it and I think I've been worrying far too much :-)
 
Mmm blueberrys are my favorite :-) I tried the cinamon trick too, had a yummy breakfast the other day of Greek yogurt, honey, Orange and cinamom it was really lovely.

Just bravely tried toast to see if I can tolerate wholmeal bread. I went from 5.8 to 6.9, so that's really helpful info, tells me bread = ok a few times a week with caution, bit that's fine because that's all I have it anyways :-)

I think I'm getting the knack. I'll stick with testing from my 'lucky thumb' I don't bleed much and I can't get a lot out of my fingers!
 
suzie_girl said:
Thanks Tracy, exercise is a great idea :-) I do have a stepper machine and a trampoline, I'll definately try a little shot on there if that happens again. I didn't think of that, but it seems obvious now you say it!
Click to expand...

Hi Susie, you might find as many others do that any hard physical exercise will actually raise your bg levels where as more gentle exercise like walking will help them drop. With heavy exercise your body will require high levels of energy (glucose) to power it, as soon as the glucose stored in your muscles is used up your liver will release glucose into your blood stream to keep up with the extra workload, by keeping exercise gentle you will just use the glucose all ready in your blood :wink:

I have always found that a half mile or a mile walk will bring my levels down nicely when ever I have over done the carbs, the last time being a cream tea with two scones :crazy: when I was away on holiday, I wont eat them again :lol:
 
One thing nobody's mentioned yet - six hours after lunch.

If you go too long between meals your body can react to lack of food by dumping glycogen from your liver into your blood.

So sometimes small snacks help to keep the BS down, and long fasts push the BS level up.

One problem some newbies have with testing is that they see a high reading and are afraid to eat. The more they starve themselves the more high readings they get.
Body is in panic mode trying to keep energy levels up with no food.
It is counter intuitive to eat something to bring the BS down again, but this generally seems to work.

Cheers

LGC
 
Thanks guys, this is so so helpful its all good stuff :-)

LGC you are so right, I generally eat 3 times a day only, I don't snack. If I'm left to myself I will in fact forget or neglect to eat, I've been known to get through to 4pm on an empty tummy....

This is definately my battle, I came at this a bit hard, I was already on what the NHS advise you to eat like for diabetes, because its in my family and also its in my boyfriend's family so I keep him away from sugary **** too. But in spite of that I threw the baby put with the bathwater and I've not been eating enough, especially with the exercise I do. Today I've just eaten the kind of stuff I normally do and I'm on a 5 after my lovely boyfriends black pea stew or something with lashings of soda bread, so honestly I need to stop being so obsessive.

My next bit of testing is working out what the heck to do about my body pump class at 7.30am. I've been getting sweaty and a bit wobbly in there and running out of energy before my muscles tire, yes, I've been doing it on an empty tummy. Think I need to try a couple of oatcakes or a cereal bar before to get me rocking and test...... I can't be puffing out I have a gun show to build :-D
 
Sid Bonkers said:
Hi Susie, you might find as many others do that any hard physical exercise will actually raise your bg levels where as more gentle exercise like walking will help them drop. With heavy exercise your body will require high levels of energy (glucose) to power it, as soon as the glucose stored in your muscles is used up your liver will release glucose into your blood stream to keep up with the extra workload, by keeping exercise gentle you will just use the glucose all ready in your blood :wink:

I have always found that a half mile or a mile walk will bring my levels down nicely when ever I have over done the carbs, the last time being a cream tea with two scones :crazy: when I was away on holiday, I wont eat them again :lol:
Click to expand...

It's funny, all the old biddie remedies are based in solid logic aren't they, a little stroll after a big dinner, a little glass of wine on a night, they had it all sussed didn't they. Speaking of body pump I better get some kip
 
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