Snapsy
Well-Known Member
A GP at my practice once said, when I told her how much I was testing, 'TWELVE times a day? Well you CAN test that often if you like, but only do it on one day a week.' Hmmmmm. And be completely clueless for the remaining six days?!
That was about the time I stopped taking her advice on my (excellent) diabetes control. I have several more decades of experience and expertise in my own condition and its treatment then she does, because my diabetes is mine.
Now I have a Freestyle Libre for all my 'reassurance' testing in between times, I will do a fingerprick test:
On waking
Before taking any insulin, be it for a meal or a snack
Before driving
If I don't feel 'right'
Before exercising
After exercising
20 mins after a hypo as a matter of course
Absolute minimum 3 times a day, often 10. And on top of this I scan my sensor an average of 16 times a day (down from 88 times a day when I first got the Libre!).
We're all different, but the main thing to remember is that testing is an excellent self-management tool, with the emphasis on self. In the old days when I was diagnosed (1980s) there was no such thing as being able (allowed, in my case!) to tweak doses of insulin according to blood glucose measurements. The numbers that I religiously logged on a daily basis seemed therefore pointless and futile.
These days, having done a DAFNE course and additionally educated myself as much as possible about diabetes management, I can tweak to my heart's content. But I'm only able to do this effectively when - and because - I test often.
That was about the time I stopped taking her advice on my (excellent) diabetes control. I have several more decades of experience and expertise in my own condition and its treatment then she does, because my diabetes is mine.
Now I have a Freestyle Libre for all my 'reassurance' testing in between times, I will do a fingerprick test:
On waking
Before taking any insulin, be it for a meal or a snack
Before driving
If I don't feel 'right'
Before exercising
After exercising
20 mins after a hypo as a matter of course
Absolute minimum 3 times a day, often 10. And on top of this I scan my sensor an average of 16 times a day (down from 88 times a day when I first got the Libre!).
We're all different, but the main thing to remember is that testing is an excellent self-management tool, with the emphasis on self. In the old days when I was diagnosed (1980s) there was no such thing as being able (allowed, in my case!) to tweak doses of insulin according to blood glucose measurements. The numbers that I religiously logged on a daily basis seemed therefore pointless and futile.
These days, having done a DAFNE course and additionally educated myself as much as possible about diabetes management, I can tweak to my heart's content. But I'm only able to do this effectively when - and because - I test often.