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Testing times type 1

M

mattrbailey

Member
Messages
7
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi,

So I was diagnosed as type 1 just over a month ago. I have been testing before and 2 hours after for different foods. However I was wondering about say 1 hour after or even less.

The thinking behind this is. It takes 2 hours for your body to give a reading of how it copes. However is a high spike just as bad. I.e. Should I test 1 hour after as well and if there's a raise of say 5 points, but after 2 hours it's only 1 or 2. Does it mean the tested food should be avoided?

Hope that makes sense!!
 
mattrbailey said:
Hi,

So I was diagnosed as type 1 just over a month ago. I have been testing before and 2 hours after for different foods. However I was wondering about say 1 hour after or even less.

The thinking behind this is. It takes 2 hours for your body to give a reading of how it copes. However is a high spike just as bad. I.e. Should I test 1 hour after as well and if there's a raise of say 5 points, but after 2 hours it's only 1 or 2. Does it mean the tested food should be avoided?

Hope that makes sense!!
Click to expand...

Hi @mattrbailey ,

There's no straightforward answer. When you experience the glucose spike will depend on your metabolism and the type of food you're eating. Fatty foods and complex carbs (pizza with cheese topping) take longer to digest than starchy carbs (white rice).

Some people will test at 1.5hrs, you could vary your testing to see how things work out.
 
@mattrbailey If you're Type 1, you don't really need to avoid any foods apart from super sweet ones that are best kept for hypo treatments eg Lucozade and sweets, etc. it's not like diet only Type 2. You have more flexibility. Usually moderate portions and careful use of insulin will control your blood sugar (eg advance bolusing and split bolusing) for most foods, and a spike after a certain food can very often be got rid of or improved a lot.

You can test at one hour too if you like, or at 90 mins. It will depend on what you've eaten and if you're anticipating something being off (eg if you're eating out and think you underestimated the carbs and are going high).

If you don't already have it, I recommend the book Think Like A Pancreas.

Also, bear in mind your sugars may be more erratic as you're in the honeymoon period and may be still making a little insulin of your own.

And no, it doesn't necessarily mean a food should be avoided if you spike. For example, I ate cereal and spiked to 11. However, I now eat exactly the same cereal and only spike to 6. That's wholly down to the fact that I moved my bolus earlier and so the insulin has time to,work. So a spike is more likely to be due to the insulin usage rather than the food if you're eating moderately.
 
Hi Matt, I was always recently diagnosed, 1 month ago exactly today! I've been put on the same system as you have it sounds like. I've been testing myself more regularly though just out of interest. I've been noticing that my sugar levels are a little lower after one hour, but go up a little bit after 2 hours. Not sure why this is but I find it strange!
 
Hi, I'm still working out what is and isn't good for me. I know type 1 isn't all about diet, but if I can go without something that makes me spikes, why not just avoid it. I'll start testing 1 hour after and let you know. Last week I had my second appointment with the nurse at the hospital. She suggested increasing the lantus by 2 to try and stop the morning spikes after breakfast. These seem to have gone, but now I'm having higher readings after dinner. Bit more tweaking I think will be needed.
 
mattrbailey said:
Hi, I'm still working out what is and isn't good for me. I know type 1 isn't all about diet, but if I can go without something that makes me spikes, why not just avoid it. I'll start testing 1 hour after and let you know. Last week I had my second appointment with the nurse at the hospital. She suggested increasing the lantus by 2 to try and stop the morning spikes after breakfast. These seem to have gone, but now I'm having higher readings after dinner. Bit more tweaking I think will be needed.
Click to expand...

Lantus can be a pain and wear off before your next one is due which may explain your higher readings in the evening. Around 18 hours I saw my levels shoot up when I was on it.
 
As a type 1 I like the Bernstein solution book. Lower carb = Lower spikes= lower insulin = lower error = lower hypos or hypers. I had so many scary lows I just preferred to lower my carbs and lower my errors either way. It's not the way for everyone but it works wonderfully for me.

I don't eat foods that spike me and I don't take doses that hypo me. All good for me.

And lantus (2 units at night) does not last 24 hours for me. . I use novolog during the day. Actually works better not figuring out which insulin is working and when.
 
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