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When should I take my blood glucose levels?

T

Talya2022

Well-Known Member
Messages
92
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
I’m fairly new to diabetes diagnosis and nobody has told me when to take readings so I’ve got no idea. I have a libre.
 
Talya2022 said:
I’m fairly new to diabetes diagnosis and nobody has told me when to take readings so I’ve got no idea. I have a libre.
Click to expand...
You’ll learn most from blood glucose numbers just before you start a meal and then two hours later. The post-meal reading should be no more than 2 mmol/l higher than the first and not higher than 8 mmol/l. If that's the case, your body dealt with the arrival of glucose in your bloodstream and cleared it relatively quickly.

If you can achieve that consistently (by reducing your carb intake where necessary), your FBG levels first thing in the morning should gradually fall, but those are often the last to come down.
 
Talya2022 said:
I’m fairly new to diabetes diagnosis and nobody has told me when to take readings so I’ve got no idea. I have a libre.
Click to expand...
If you have a Libre, you will get you blood sugars at all times. You don’t “take a reading”.
It is definitely worth noting your levels before you eat but my understanding is that the “two hours later” is an approximation when your body should have responded to the peak in glucose absorption of your food but in reality, that varies according to what you eat.

Hopefully some one with type 2 with experience of using a CGM will be along soon.
You should be looking for foods which do not cause a long or high spike in your Libre graphs. These spikes my be at two hours but may be earlier or later.
 
LivingLightly said:
You’ll learn most from blood glucose numbers just before you start a meal and then two hours later. The post-meal reading should be no more than 2 mmol/l higher than the first and not higher than 8 mmol/l. If that's the case, your body dealt with the arrival of glucose in your bloodstream and cleared it relatively quickly.

If you can achieve that consistently (by reducing your carb intake where necessary), your FBG levels first thing in the morning should gradually fall, but those are often the last to come down.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for your reply. You explain very clearly. So I’ll measure before eating and two hours later!
 
In Response said:
If you have a Libre, you will get you blood sugars at all times. You don’t “take a reading”.
It is definitely worth noting your levels before you eat but my understanding is that the “two hours later” is an approximation when your body should have responded to the peak in glucose absorption of your food but in reality, that varies according to what you eat.

Hopefully some one with type 2 with experience of using a CGM will be along soon.
You should be looking for foods which do not cause a long or high spike in your Libre graphs. These spikes my be at two hours but may be earlier or later
Click to expand...
I wonder if the OP @Talya2022 means a Libre test kit (finger prick and strips) rather than the Libre2 continuous glucose monitor.

In which case your advice to do the pre- and post-eating 2 hour tests is good advice for a Type 2.
 
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