When should I test

[Luf]

Newly diagnosed with type 2 which was a serious wake up call. I have since changed diet and exercising more. New tester arrived today but when is best to test do I do fasting test am or just when eating

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi @Luf and wecome.

I will tag @daisy1 to give you some basic information.
When you start testing it is a good idea to test on waking, before meals and 2 hours after meals.
Keep a food diary so that you can see if a meal is lowering or raising your blood sugars. If the after result is higher then you may have to reduce the portion of carbs in that meal or even exclude that particular food from your diet.

 

[ally1]

I test first thing in the morning and then before meals and 2 hours after eating. When I was first diagnosed. It was helpful with post meal readings to work out what foods spiked me

 

[Liam1955]

@Luf - Hello and Welcome to the Forum. Always make sure you wash your hands before testing, otherwise you will get an incorrect result. Have a good read of the information provided by daisy1 and if you have any questions? Just ask - someone will come along and answer.

 

[daisy1]

@Luf

Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to help. Good advice so far.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

 

[Luf]

Thank you all

 

[Mal1978]

@Luf I am newly diagnosed type 1 myself and I'm testing as and when I feel I need to so my advice is if you feel like you have dropped or spiked then test and keep doing the before and after meal tests to try and gauge what foods raise your levels. I also tend to disagree with @catherinecherub if a food puts my BS up then I will alter my insulin dosage to suit what I've ate, if you stopped eating everything that gave you a spike then you'd end up wasting away.

 

[azure]

It depends on the type of diabetes and how it's treated @Mal1978

Some people with Type 2 are able to control it with diet only so in their case watching what foods spike them makes sense as they can't cover carbs with insulin like a Type 1 can.

 

[catherinecherub]

@Luf I am newly diagnosed type 1 myself and I'm testing as and when I feel I need to so my advice is if you feel like you have dropped or spiked then test and keep doing the before and after meal tests to try and gauge what foods raise your levels. I also tend to disagree with @catherinecherub if a food puts my BS up then I will alter my insulin dosage to suit what I've ate, if you stopped eating everything that gave you a spike then you'd end up wasting away.

@Luf is a Type2 and is not on insulin. He is new to the forum and has been given advice that Type2s use. He cannot keep eating carbohydrates that that raises his blood sugars. He will get the hang of it and compensate using more of other food groups.

 

[Mal1978]

My mistake I missed the bit about being type 2 sorry

 

[Liam1955]

@Mal1978 - I have to disagree. It is far more sensible to test b.s. before and after meals (I totally agree completely with catherinecherub). Never increase or decrease medication unless it has been agreed by your GP and/or Diabetic Consultant and Nurse.
I would much prefer to lower my daily insulin and take more tablets to be honest. There's lots of people on this forum who will give you sensible advice, I don't know all there is to know about Diabetes - I have had Type 2 16 years AND I am still learning more every day.

 

[Mal1978]

@liam1955 I also stated he should check before and after meals as well as if he feels he has spiked or dropped which is the sensible thing to do for a newbie? As for insulin dosages you should be informed by your diabetic nurse with the first week or so how to administer a correction dosage to bring your BS into the normal range as well as how to carb count if you so wish which also means being able to eat those 'problem' foods, me personally I'd rather pump myself full of insulin and be able to enjoy the foods I've always loved rather than give them up. I guess it is all down to people's preferences and how they prefer to handle it.

 

[Liam1955]

@Mal1978 - I understand what you are saying. This Forum allows us all to give our own opinions. Enjoy the rest of your day.

 

[zacthedog]

First thing in the morning, do not be surprised to see a rise of your BS like a few my liver dumps sugar in the morning ''to help me get going'' so far all morning tests have been higher than my last test at night.
But as said before get testing after eating also, it will help you work out what you can and can't eat, i am now finding things that have a lowering effect on my BS, allowing to slightly eat the bad foods.