Testing

Hi crowsond
The drs will tell you that as a T2 you don't need to but the majority of us find it an invaluable tool to find out what foods affect us the most.
When I was first diagnosed my meter became my best friend.

You probably need to test regularly in the first three months whilst you get a feel for how your body reacts to different foods, medication, lifestyle changes, weight changes etc.

After that you might be able to relax a bit, and run testing campaigns where you test a lot for a week then take a few weeks off.
This assume that your diet and medication has stabilised.

It is always good to be able to test because if you only get HbA1c tests every six months to a year you could have major BG control problems and not find out for ages.

It is also a very personal thing - some people feel the need to test every day to maintain tight control.

Others may only feed the need to test every now and then.

Whatever, you should have a meter and strips available because if you suddenly start feeling a bit off and wonder if it is your diabetes playing up then you needs to be able to check.

Cheers

LGC

Hi crowsond

I've just been diagnosed recently too, and have found that testing is a very useful guide to what's going on. I started 3 times daily for the 1st week - before each meal at breakfast, lunch and tea - before changing to a twice daily routine before breakfast and tea. It's interesting how the levels shift overnight and during the day, something which I'd never really taken much account of before. Probably explains a few things in the past, with feelings of wooziness, nausea, blurred vision, etc.

My diagnosis came to a head with symptoms all happening at the same time - dry mouth, thirst, frequent weeing, blurred vision, and bit of weight loss. Luckily I saw the doc in time.....

Dave

Hello David, welcome
I was diagnosed T2 in January, I took the advice of the the people on here and purchased a meter. I have been testing before every meal and again two hours later. You soon start to see which food you can eat and what you need to restrict or avoid.

I was told not to test, but on the advice given here I do. If you want to be able to better manage your diabetes and to know what foods are best suited to keeping your glucose levels down at a safe level then you definitely need some method of checking on a regular basis. So i believe a meter is an essential weapon in your war against diabetes in spite of what you may be advised to the contrary.

Basically, it's most useful to test just before a meal and then two hours afterwards so that you can see how your glucose levels are affected by particular meals/foods. In general, the lower the spike/difference between the two readings, the better your body's managing that food. And the more your learn the better you should be able to manage.

Robbity