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Timing Of Testing

Crocodile said:
@Shireoaks
Not all porridges are equal. It also depends a lot on the portion size. Traditional rolled oats are way better than the instant oats. I'm lucky that I can tolerate porridge but only a 40g serve of Lowan low GI rolled oats. It takes a good 20 minutes to cook but it tastes good. With this amount of porridge and the small dose of milk it is only 25g of carbs.

You probably need to lose the sandwich and macaroni. It's hard for a vege as all those vegetables, pulses and plants might be lowish in carbs with small portions but in significant quantities it all adds up.
Have fun,
Glenn
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Quick question when I tested before breakfast the reading was 7.2 after 2 hours it was 7.6. When I test before lunch 2 hours later it was 8.7 my question is why?
Breakfast was 2 boiled medium eggs and 1 slice of bread and butter.
 
Shireoaks said:
Quick question when I tested before breakfast the reading was 7.2 after 2 hours it was 7.6. When I test before lunch 2 hours later it was 8.7 my question is why?
Breakfast was 2 boiled medium eggs and 1 slice of bread and butter.
Click to expand...

I imagine it was your liver dumping stored glucose. Were you exercising during this 4 hours?
 
Yes I was chopping logs, is it best only to test at the beginning and end of the day?
Also I have been told to have a snack before going to bed, is this correct?
 
Shireoaks said:
Quick question when I tested before breakfast the reading was 7.2 after 2 hours it was 7.6. When I test before lunch 2 hours later it was 8.7 my question is why?
Breakfast was 2 boiled medium eggs and 1 slice of bread and butter.
Click to expand...
What did you eat for lunch?
 
Shireoaks said:
Yes I was chopping logs, is it best only to test at the beginning and end of the day?
Also I have been told to have a snack before going to bed, is this correct?
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You need to test several times a day. You need to see how food is impacting your blood glucose.

I test on waking. Then I test immediately before I eat and then two hours later. Do this for every meal. I then test before I go to bed.

I enter the data into mySugr app. It is really helpful and after about a week gives you an estimated HbA1c number
 
Bluetit1802 said:
I imagine it was your liver dumping stored glucose. Were you exercising during this 4 hours?
Click to expand...

Shireoaks said:
Yes I was chopping logs, is it best only to test at the beginning and end of the day?
Also I have been told to have a snack before going to bed, is this correct?
Click to expand...

The chopping logs explains that rise at 4 hours. Hard exercise raises blood glucose levels. Even moderate housework can raise mine. You see the benefit of the exercise later on. This is why.

No, it isn't best to test at the beginning and end of the day, although you can do this as optional extras if you wish, but you really need to test before and 2 hours after every meal initially, alongside a food diary. Once you know for sure which your danger foods are, and which are safe for you, you can relax this a little.

As for a snack before bed, I personally think this is unwise and unnecessary, particularly if carbs are involved.
 
Shireoaks said:
Biscuits and cheese *3
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What sort of biscuits? I can have two small Carr's water biscuits at 2 carbs each. I find if I have three biscuits I get a spike. We are all different, that is why it is important we all test to to see how we are affected as individuals.

It's very confusing at first. That's why it is useful to record your readings with a food diary.

It does get easier.
 
Shireoaks said:
Also I have been told to have a snack before going to bed, is this correct?
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I think that probably a majority of T2s on this Forum find that fasting brings / keeps their bg levels down. However there are some of us who find fasting can cause a rise in bg and that a small snack or even just a cup of tea with cream added avoids that rise. I often consume eg 50g very low carb cheese before bed in the hopes of a lower bg next morning. I'm not sure yet if this is helpful / necessary for me, I am still experimenting. You can experiment too.
 
Shireoaks said:
Quick question when I tested before breakfast the reading was 7.2 after 2 hours it was 7.6. When I test before lunch 2 hours later it was 8.7 my question is why?
Breakfast was 2 boiled medium eggs and 1 slice of bread and butter.
Click to expand...

Raised sugar levels first thing in the morning is pretty common. It is a natural reaction to waking up while the ol' body wakes from slumber to prepare fore the day ahead.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawn_phenomenon
 
Bluetit1802 said:
On what basis do you believe this?
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Hello, @Bluetit1802, you do right to ask for documentation. I do almost always give my sources. In this case, as you may have guessed, it was Dr Bernstein who said this, but unfortunately I have not been able to find it in his book. I have heard him say it more than once in his monthly Teleseminars. Short of listening to them all again, I can't tell you which were the ones. In his book he does mention gastroparesis as one cause of high morning fasting bg. It also seems to me logical that if a person eats a large meal at eg 10pm and goes to bed at 10.30pm digestion will be delayed by their horizontal position and by sleep, so that the sugar from the meal might not arrive in their blood til hours later.
 
Alexandra100 said:
Hello, @Bluetit1802, you do right to ask for documentation. I do almost always give my sources. In this case, as you may have guessed, it was Dr Bernstein who said this, but unfortunately I have not been able to find it in his book. I have heard him say it more than once in his monthly Teleseminars. Short of listening to them all again, I can't tell you which were the ones. In his book he does mention gastroparesis as one cause of high morning fasting bg. It also seems to me logical that if a person eats a large meal at eg 10pm and goes to bed at 10.30pm digestion will be delayed by their horizontal position and by sleep, so that the sugar from the meal might not arrive in their blood til hours later.
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Thanks. Sorry, I wasn't asking for links or anything, just why you believe this. I still believe it is insulin resistance that causes it in T2s.
 
Alexandra100 said:
I don't understand why. Could you explain?
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Very basically, every human being experiences a morning liver dump. A natural phenomenon to stop us from dying of a hypo. This is all regulated by various hormones. ( growth hormone, cortisol, glucagon and adrenalin. ) The liver dumps its stored glucose and simultaneously the pancreas secretes insulin which goes to work on pushing this dumped glucose into the cells for energy. The insulin then triggers the liver to stop dumping, and all is well. In non diabetics there will be a small rise that quickly lowers, and is therefore not noticed. In T2 diabetes the whole system breaks down because when the pancreas secretes the insulin it cannot do its job due to the resistance in the cells and the liver. Hence much of the dumped glucose stays in the blood stream and the liver continues to dump.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/the-dawn-phenomenon
 
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