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When does the two hours start?

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Harebrain

Well-Known Member
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47
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
This may seem a silly question and has probably already been answered. Having just done my post breakfast BG it has prompted me to ask. Talk is of testing two hours after eating. However when does the two hours start?

Some meals take longer than others so when should I start the time?
 
Harebrain said:
What would you call special circumstances?
Click to expand...

Well, something like a buffet where you were nibbling for hours, or, say, a restaurant meal where you have a tiny non-carb starter at 1pm but then your main meal at 1.45pm. But mainly I put that because they'll always be an exception to the rule, so I was more covering every eventuality.

But those are rare exceptions - the rule is two hours from the start of your meal So start your evening meal at 6pm, test at 8pm, as an example
 
Pretty much the reason why I avoid the classic Roman style orgy..
I never know where I am with the BS levels..?!






...The feasting goes on all night.
 
I test 2 hours after from when I start eating
 
I allow 2hrs 30mins from when I have my bolus injection, this is due to novo rapid taking 20 mins to start working and peaking for 2hrs.
 
When should you test when the meal goes on for almost 2 hours? On holiday recently it was often about an hour and a half and one day I was very high for me after the meal but back down to what I was expecting a little bit later. I had had something sweet (not normal) only probably half an hour before testing.so was sure that was what had influenced my numbers.
 
I don't think the human body has an inbuilt clock that records time.

The exactness of the timing will vary widely between different individuals, as we know everyone is different and everyone reacts differently.

You can only really find out by trial and error.

The good old "Two hours after the first bite" advice always cracks me up
 
Jaylee said:
Pretty much the reason why I avoid the classic Roman style orgy..
I never know where I am with the BS levels..?!



...The feasting goes on all night.
Click to expand...

And when's the next one? Orgy not test!
 
I'm only 2 weeks diagnosed, the quote is from this site (other sites say different times) It doesn't say at 1st bite, if you mean at 1st bite then the page should be updated. (still on the learning curve)
 
As I see it, you take blood sugar readings to build up your own knowledge and understanding, not anybody else's. Therefore the only thing that is really important is that you are reasonably consistent, or, if circumstances prevent consistency on an odd occasion, make a note of it. If you've been to a long, drawn out dinner, perhaps test as soon as you get home to frighten/reassure yourself, or, because it's exceptional, don't bother to test, you won't learn anything. (this obviously doesn't apply if you need to calculate insulin)
By approximately two hours after the start of a normal meal you should be back to fairly close to where you started, if not, perhaps that meal was not right for you.
In the end, all this testing is just about convincing yourself and proving to anyone around you who it affects, that carbs and sugars just don't suit you. Once you've worked out what a carb/sugar is and where they lurk, job done, just stick with it.
Sally
 
oopsie said:
View attachment 20091I'm only 2 weeks diagnosed, the quote is from this site (other sites say different times) It doesn't say at 1st bite, if you mean at 1st bite then the page should be updated. (still on the learning curve)
Click to expand...

Yes, many sentences like that, here and elsewhere, are confusing. It confused me when I was first diagnosed so I checked with my consultant and DSN too.

It's two hours after the start of the meal as the "first bite" starts a chain of metabolic events.

You can test at other times too eg after one hour (one hour after the start of the meal) and also continue to test at three hours, etc, to see what your blood sugar is doing, but the commonly read "test two hours after eating" refers to testing two hours after the first bite
 

I wouldn't disagree with you. As an insulin user. I tend to use the "two hour" mark after I have tested & bolused for the meal..?
 
@Jaylee I am lucky that I am still a Diet/Exercise controlled diabetic.

Anything I say is from that context, I have no idea how people who need to take Insulin manage their levels and in comparison I am a toddler just learning to walk.
 

My doc got me timing 2 hours from the start of my meal, so never done it any other way
 
I tested a LOT for a few years to figure it out. I am VLC (20 or less) and I am always highest at 2 hours. However when I ate carbs I could drop and spike within an hour. Rollercoaster. So I kept testing meals at many times to see where it was. Now I eat basically the same meals and very few surprises.

As a type 2 you always have the option to walk / exercise it back down
 
i have always thought that testing 2 hours after eating means 2 hours after eating so if a meal takes 1/2 an hour then I test 2 hours after eating, if that makes sense.

Let me explain, if you are testing 2 hours after you start then you are actually testing 1 1/2 hours after eating if your meal takes 1/2 an hour or 1 1/4 hours after eating if your meal takes 1/4 of an hour.

Why say 2 hours after eating if it means 2 hours after beginning a meal?
 
@Sid Bonkers I think it's because it's a lazy translation of 'post-prandial' ie after eating. A 'two hour post prandial blood test' is a specific medical phrase, but is clumsily translated into 'two hours after eating', which does, I agree, give the wrong impression.

When an endo asks what your two hour result is, they're asking what your result is two hours after the start of the meal. If you do something different at home in your testing regime, you can just make that clear to them.
 
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