when to check?

[stevie]

when is it best to check my blood sugar, ive been diabetic since 1998 and never worked it out

sometimes i go mad and test 5 times a day (but that can indicate whats good or bad for me) and sometimes (when im cheesed off with it) i dont test for a few weeks

so, 1st thing before brekky (like a fasting test) or just before bed, or ......?

 

[IanD]

I always test first thing in the morning. When I have problems, that average is normally above 7. Otherwise it is below 6.8. Since starting on reduced carb, its dropped to around 6.0.

 

[fergus]

Hi stevie,

I think it largely depends on whether you're type 1 or 2. I'm t1, so I test before each meal and before bed, sometimes a couple of hours after a meal too, if I'm uncertain about the food I've eaten or exercise I've taken. 3 to 5 times a day in other words. T2's might typically test less often, to see the effects of particular foods on blood sugars.

All the best,

fergus

 

[stevie]

im type 2 (tablets only)

 

[sugarless sue]

I usually check first thing in the morning before eating.If my levels are below 7 that's fine,usually they are in the 6. somethings.If they are over 7 then I might check just before lunch or just before dinner to see that the levels are OK.

 

[Tattoo azz]

I test before each meal and sometimes 2 hrs after so, i can sometimes check up to 10 times in a day or more if i'm feeling bad. But usually its around 6 times.

 

[stevie]

My test strips come 30 in a tub, my doctor refused to let me have 2 tubs a month, can i appeal?

 

[lauren_gee_x]

in relation to stevies comment about hiis doctor only giiviin 2 boxes a month !!

my test striips come iin tubes of 50 and ii can only get 1 box every 2 months :| iis there a way to appeal agaiinst thiis :-?? x

as iit iis very annoyiin as ii have more than one machiine whiich means ii have to spliit boxes of stiiicks so that ii dont run oot iin college or my friiends house :| x

xxlaurenxx

 

[stevie]

I once went on holiday to spain and looked to be running out, so i asked at the chemist....£35 :shock:

 

[stevie]

didnt realise mine were 50 to a box but the surgery said they would get it up to 2 boxes a month

sorted.

 

[SilverAndEbony]

Could everyone who says how many times a day they test let us know whether they're type 1 or type 2?
As I understand it, it makes a big difference!

Also, it would be interesting to know what people were advised to do.

I have type 2.
I test 2 or 3 times a week. I was advised to test 2 times a week but I aim for 3 on the basis I'll probably remember to do it twice a week.

I test 1st thing after I get up.
2-3 hours after a meal to make sure it's 7-8 or lower.
Before a meal when it should be above 4.

I try to vary which meal I take my BG before or after each week. I work on the basis that if I test at roughly the same time relative to the same meals I'll be easier if there are any changes that I need to worry about. Unless the reading is very low in which case I'll really start to worry as I've only ever had a reading below 4 about once!

 

[totsy]

hya,type 1 here and test 4 times a day unless i feel hypo then i test again..
amanda

 

[Marz Barr]

are hospital told us to test once a day say day 1before brakfast day 2 before lunch day 3 before tea and on the forth day before supper and so on i am a type 1 and at the time they saId my husband was but a few years later they changed there minds :? and now he is a type 2

 

[DiabeticGeek]

I think it really depends upon why you are testing. If you are on insulin or drugs that make you potentially vulnerable to hypos, then you are testing to make sure that BG doesn't go dangerously low - in which case it is going to have to be several times per day (probably before meals, but since this doesn't apply to me I haven't thought about that much). If you are a T2 monitoring to make sure that your control is OK, then a single test in the morning (before breakfast) will probably suffice - and even then you probably don't need to do it every day. At the moment I am using testing as a tool to work out what I can and can't eat and how exercise effects me. To do this I carry out "experiments" - eating a particular meal or following a particular meal with a particular exercise pattern. What I then do is test every 30-40 minutes - to plot a curve, continuing this until the BG is close to where it started. I repeat each experiment until I am confident that I can see a consistent pattern. I am a recently diagnosed T2, so I haven't been doing this for long, but I am hoping to be able to work out a diet and exercise regime that works well for me. Once I have done that I intend to give up the intensive testing and switch to occasional monitoring.

 

[DiabeticGeek]

BTW - those of you who have to ration tests because they have a limited number of strips on prescription should think themselves lucky! My GP has made it quite clear that he considers testing unnecessary for diet controlled T2s, and so if I want to test at all then I have to pay for it entirely myself. Fortunately there are occasional bargains to be had on e-bay (I suspect from people with more accommodating GPs flogging off their surplus strips!). Ho hum...

If anyone has had any success in leveraging strip prescriptions out of a reluctant GP then I would be interested to know how they did it. It's not so much the cost, it is the principle of the thing - it is a sorry state when healthcare is dependent upon e-bay.

 

[sugarless sue]

In my case I bought a monitor myself and the test strips.I then collated everything on the computer,most monitors have a website you can download from.I then presented it to the doctor along with food diary and cross reference to things that sent my BS up and,in my case showed that I had got my BS down quite markedly by testing and avoiding some foods.Explaining all this rationally to the doctor got me my prescription for my test strips!

 

[markymark2406]

I test once a day before breakfast i graph it using a word doc and if i get a bad result i record what i have eaten the day before.

 

[stevie]

BTW - those of you who have to ration tests because they have a limited number of strips on prescription should think themselves lucky! My GP has made it quite clear that he considers testing unnecessary for diet controlled T2s, and so if I want to test at all then I have to pay for it entirely myself. Fortunately there are occasional bargains to be had on e-bay (I suspect from people with more accommodating GPs flogging off their surplus strips!). Ho hum...

If anyone has had any success in leveraging strip prescriptions out of a reluctant GP then I would be interested to know how they did it. It's not so much the cost, it is the principle of the thing - it is a sorry state when healthcare is dependent upon e-bay.

thats outrageous

consider changing your GP, ive had what i want off mine, upon asking, if it was me id also take it further, write to the practice manager for the complaint procedure

 

[TROUBR]

HI
I was about to ask the same thing. I am a newly diagnosed type 1 (well since 17/4 but still feel a bit clueless). I put in a repeat presciption the other day and had a note from the doctor saying "try not to test so often! I called him the next day and explained that I was testing as intructed by the hospital nurse (4 times a day and before driving to / from work) I have just gone back to work and drive at least 1 hr each way and my numbers have gone a bit wonky with the changes. Also when I go back to the gym I have been told to test.I have yet to have a hypo, which I a dreading but that is another story.

After I spoke to the doctor he said he was just worried about my fingers but was ok to give me more. Pretty glad he agreed as I was already to go into how they should be trying to help me given that they missed my signs twice which resulted in me being DKA at around 34 and in the HDU for 4 days and off work for a month because my eyes were so bad.

I assume that the number of times will drop when I am in more of a routine and know what I am doing but going by what fergus has put it will still be 4 times a day.
Louise

 

[stevie]

ive got 8 fingers to test from, and then i could use my ear lobes, how the hell can we assess what affects us day by day/meal by meal without testing?

no wonder the NHS costs so much, it seems they never hear "prevention is better than cure"