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Testing Q Please

TracyC

TracyC

Well-Known Member
Messages
143
Location
Scotland
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Meat ( yeah...protein in general ..I'm screwed ) but I am eating it now. Mornings, studying, crowds, Phobias a-plenty including vomiting, flying, travel in general actual, crowds, the outside (lol)
Well was given my BG monitor today by the DN here and have just used it for the first time. I didn't have time to set it up before lunch but took a reading immediately after ( I know this is wrong ) ...anyway the reading came in at 9.3, would that be explained by the fact I had just eaten though? Kind of disappointed because up until now I have been using the Diastix to test and they have been registering no trace at all. My lowest blood test previously has been 11.1 and highest recently has been 18.7, so I suppose its down on those figures but I have cut out carbs from my diet this week since being diagnosed and I honestly thought I had cracked it. Disappointed :(
 
We all experience setbacks at some time or another, so there is really nothing to be overly disappointed about. You obviously have a good understanding of what you are doing and where you are 'so to speak' going wrong in your testing.
The Diastix system will never show the same degree of accuracy in results that your B/G monitor will but to get the best from it you need to use it before eating and again 2 hours later so that you can measure the change that occurred in that time period from what you had eaten and/or drunk. Over time you will get to know what foods/drinks to avoid that produce 'Spikes' IE rises above 2.0 mmol/L
Sometime it's also worth measuring you B/G level upon waking first thing in the morning (Fasting Blood Glucose FBG level). Over a period of several days/weeks a picture will gradually emerge and you can adjust your diet accordingly for the best results. Many of us Type 2 diabetics follow the LCHF diet and find that for us it works particularly well.
Don't expect things to suddenly change overnight. It might take several weeks before you get it right. Remember it's the long term change that you are particularly interested in reducing as well as the short term changes.
 
The number you recorded means nothing as you do not know what your reading was before the meal and the one you took immediately afterwards would probably be no different for a non diabetic.
Urine testing wont really pick up anything under 10mmol as thats the threshold where the kidneys start dumping sugar into urine.
 
Thanks guys, Im going to test again at 3.30 which will be 2 hours after I ate. I am following the LCHF diet, have only been on it a week though, could have kicked myself a moment ago, my daughter (she's 7 and non-verbal autistic) occasionally has these god awful sweets called Nerds, I try and restrict her sugar intake because she's so absolutely fussy about food as it is and if she had her way would eat nothing BUT sugar, but occasionally I give her a small amount as a treat, and i did that about 10 mins ago and as I was going to pop them into her room i popped one in my mouth without even thinking lol...the first naughty thing I have done this week and was completely habitual! ugh..
 
Thanks for quick reply. You need to be careful in giving too much sugar to any young child as it's pretty addictive to them at such a young age. hide all the things she shouldn't have and then both your daughter (and yourself) can't be tempted. That way you can control the amount of sweets that she eats and use them as 'special' occasional treats.
Something that flashed into my mind is to also be careful in handing sweets as this can leave small sugar deposits on the fingers, which if your testing and lancing the fingers, will interfere with the readings that you would otherwise obtain on your B/G testing.
Clean you hands thoroughly in warm soapy water to remove any sugar deposits that might still be present from handling the sweets. Good luck in all your future testing, you seem to be very aware of what you're doing and have your own and daughters interests at heart. Please let us know how you get on in the future and what the reading is at 3:30 pm today.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Lazybones said:
Thanks for quick reply. You need to be careful in giving too much sugar to any young child as it's pretty addictive to them at such a young age. hide all the things she shouldn't have and then both your daughter (and yourself) can't be tempted. That way you can control the amount of sweets that she eats and use them as 'special' occasional treats.
Something that flashed into my mind is to also be careful in handing sweets as this can leave small sugar deposits on the fingers, which if your testing and lancing the fingers, will interfere with the readings that you would otherwise obtain on your B/G testing.
Clean you hands thoroughly in warm soapy water to remove any sugar deposits that might still be present from handling the sweets. Good luck in all your future testing, you seem to be very aware of what you're doing and have your own and daughters interests at heart. Please let us know how you get on in the future and what the reading is at 3:30 pm today.
Click to expand...

Yes your thoughts on sugar with my daughter are identical to mine, I'm trying hard now so she only has small amounts occasionally. I did my 3.30 test and pleased to say it came in at 7.9 ... happy!! Now just to stick to it, I know people would say thats still a bit too high, the DN said between 4 and 7 is ideal so I know I still have some work to do. This forum though, and you guys are such a massive help and motivator with that. Thank you!
 
Don't forget that those "people" are dealing with their own diabetes not yours. We can point you to recommended targets to aim for (see below) but not everyone has a well enough body or other issues which may affect attempts to achieve them.

Read the recommendations for target levels here on our main diabetes.co.uk website, and aim for them but don't necessarily expect to achieve them immediately. Just remember that Rome wasn't built in a day, and my favourite - it's a marathon not a sprint :p. When I first got my meter, I found that I could use it to set and modify my own targets and to record how well I was doing in meeting them, and this gave me the confidence to know I could achieve them. And when I did and could keep to them, I raised the goal posts a little and tried the next step. I wasn't afraid to lower them either if it appeared I'd been too ambitious.

Robbity

PS There are lots of lovely low carb treats that you can make or bake using nut or seed flours and safe alternative sweeteners like stevia, erythritol, or xylitol, so maybe investigating these options could be used to provide treats for your daughter?
 
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