When are the best times to take measurements

[hazel1010]

I’m borderline type two and I’m trying to correct with diet but I’d like to know what the best times to test blood is so I can monitor occasionally just to see if I’m getting a handle on this and find most advice very confusing so any straight forward help would be appreciated

 

[Deleted member 527103]

If you just want to check you are “getting a handle on this”, a fasting test is often suggested.
However, this gives you no information to act upon if you are not getting a handle on it. It does not tell you which foods or activities are causing your levels to be higher than you want and stubbornly nit wanting to budge.
Common advice is to test whether your body can tolerate a specific meal by testing just before you start to eat and 2 hours later. If your BG has risen by more than 2 mmol/l, your body cannot tolerate that meal. This way, you can learn to adjust your meals such as replacing rice with cauliflower rice or reducing the number of potatoes.
This may seem like a lot of testing but once you have learnt what your body can and cannot tolerate, you can reduce your testing.

 

[Pipp]

I’m borderline type two and I’m trying to correct with diet but I’d like to know what the best times to test blood is so I can monitor occasionally just to see if I’m getting a handle on this and find most advice very confusing so any straight forward help would be appreciated

Hello and welcome @hazel1010

Best use of blood glucose meter

immediately on waking, before getting out of bed.
Then:
immediately before each meal, and two hours after first mouthful of each meal.

If you record what you have eaten, and the blood glucose measurement you will soon be able to see how different food and drink affects those levels.

As a new member, you might benefit from reading the information in my signature. Just scroll to the bottom of this post for that.

Best wishes, Pipp

 

[hazel1010]

Brilliant that’s an excellent plan , thankyou

 

[SueO246]

Hello and welcome @hazel1010

Best use of blood glucose meter

immediately on waking, before getting out of bed.
Then:
immediately before each meal, and two hours after first mouthful of each meal.

If you record what you have eaten, and the blood glucose measurement you will soon be able to see how different food and drink affects those levels.

As a new member, you might benefit from reading the information in my signature. Just scroll to the bottom of this post for that.

Best wishes, Pipp

 

[Resurgam]

I’m borderline type two and I’m trying to correct with diet but I’d like to know what the best times to test blood is so I can monitor occasionally just to see if I’m getting a handle on this and find most advice very confusing so any straight forward help would be appreciated

Two hours after starting to eat seems to be the time when changes due to improvements in metabolism show themselves. By changing what I ate I got my after meal numbers down to consistently under 8mmol/l and then stuck to the same meals. Over the next few months I saw the numbers drifting down little by little.

 

[Tony 1711]

I know there has been a few years since this topic, but I have just read a nhs guide to testing that states " just before a meal, then two hours after" this implies two hrs after completion of the meal rather than two hrs after the first mouthfull. This seems to be a better way, as two hours after eating a sandwich at lunch or a large salad at tea would still give the full two hrs to digest as opposed to the first bite. There so so much conflicting information out there that it is hard to know which way to go.

 

[catinahat]

There so so much conflicting information out there that it is hard to know which way to go.

The 2hr is not set in stone, it's just a rule of thumb. Someone who is not diabetic will usually see their blood sugar return to pre meal levels within 2hrs, obviously it depends on their meal but generally the 2hrs is a good benchmark.
We use the 2hrs as an indication of how our bodies have managed the carbs in our meals. The ideal would be to see our levels returning to pre meal values within the 2hrs.
Because the glucose testing methods available to us are not that accurate we allow ourselves a 2mmol buffer. So as long as our levels are no more than 2mmol higher than the pre meal result, we can take it that the carbs in that meal have been dealt with. Any more than 2mmol means that maybe there were too many carbs and that particular meal needs a rethink.
As I said the 2hrs is not set in stone, you could use 90min if you prefer, the main thing is that you are consistent. The reason we test before the first bite is we need to know what our level is before we eat, that gives us a baseline. Then the post meal test be it at 2hr, 90min or some other time you decide on , shows the effect of that meal on your levels

 

[Tony 1711]

I agree consistancy is the key, I just wish all the different organisations would get on the same page when it comes to testing guidelines and I suppose the clue is in the term guideline, a guide only and not a rule.