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Permalink Reply by Jan on October 22, 2007 at 10:38pm

I do not know how often Type 2s test. But once a day can't give an accurate picture. I would test fasting blood sugar before breakfast. Then check before lunch, before dinner and before bedtime. If blood sugars are high before eating your next meal, you can adjust your treatment plan. And if you can stand it, throw in a few more checks and check two hours after eating every meal. That would be 4 to 7 times a day. At the very least, try four times.

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Permalink Reply by Chrissie in Belgium on October 23, 2007 at 1:33am

Well I am a type 1? I have CRAP (ie Catastropic Ruthless Attack on the Pancreas); I LOVE that new name for type one diabetes! I have had diabetes for 45 years so I do not feel my hypos. I test before every meal, 1.5hrs after every meal, always when I will drive the car, and always before I leave the house because I must check if perhaps I will have a hypo. But I am a type 1, so probably you do not have to check this much! I also do a test 1-2 times in the middle of the night......

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Permalink Reply by Daena on October 23, 2007 at 5:19am

What Jan suggested is a good idea. I also test 2 hours after meals to see how what I eat affects me. It shows me what makes me spike and what I can have without seeing a blood sugar spike later. Bear in mind that testing 2 hours after a meal is testing 2 hours after your first bite. It's good to be under 140mg/dl, and much better if you can be under 120mg/dl then. Also test before and after any strenuous activity because that can make you go low.

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Permalink Reply by Doris D on October 23, 2007 at 8:53am

I can only tell you what I do as a Type 1 and that is I check mine 4 times a day....The fasting first thing in the morning, then before lunch then, again before supper, then again at night before I go to bed. I also do one 2 hours after I eat my largest meal of the day three times a week to see if the amount of insulin I take will cover the carbs I ate at that time of the day (which is usually supper at night).

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Permalink Reply by Rob on October 23, 2007 at 1:39pm

My doctor told me I should be checking before meals, but I read on sugarstats.com that you should check 1 hour after and 2 hours after? There is so much information out there how do we know what is correct?

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Permalink Reply by Ken Winters on October 23, 2007 at 2:41pm

Often the confusion is caused by differences in T1 & T2. Since T1's rely 100% on injected insulin for their BG control, we have to test before every meal in order to calculate how much insulin to take. In addition to that, it's very helpful (I do 95% of the time) to also test between 1.5 & 2 hours later to see if the insulin is matching the meal properly. If not, we may need an additional insulin injection to prevent going into Diabetic ketoacidosis.
For a T2 (not on insulin), post meal testing can help determine the affect of various meals, but the information serves a different purpose than for a T1 (which needs it for immediate treatment decisions).

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Permalink Reply by Jenny on October 23, 2007 at 3:03pm

Testing is meaningless unless you know WHAT you are looking for. And unless you take steps to change test results that aren't good.

If you are trying to understand which foods raise your blood sugar, you will want to test 1 and 2 hours after eating, as that is when blood sugars rise the most.

If you are trying to lower your A1c, lowering your post-meal blood sugars is the #1 way to do it. Nothing works better.

If you are using a basal insulin, testing your fasting blood sugar will tell you if you have your dose set right. Otherwise it isn't all that useful. Because it is very tough to lower your fasting blood sugar if you don't understand that it is the CARBS IN THE FOOD you eat that raises the fasting blood sugar.

Doctors rarely explain any of this to people with Type 2.

If you test your meals and see which ones give you blood sugars in the healthy range, and eliminate those that don't, you should see your fasting bg drop.

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Permalink Reply by Angela Marie Rowe-Guenther on October 23, 2007 at 4:48pm

When I first found out that I had diabetes my doctor had me test twice a day, morning, to see what my fasting blood sugar was and before I went to bed, to see what effect the food had on my blood sugar during the day. Your night time blood sugars should tell you if you are eating the right amount of carbohydrates or to much,

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Permalink Reply by Beatriz D. on October 24, 2007 at 7:45am

You should test at least twice a day before meals or bedtime unless you're on insulin, or told otherwise by your doctor. Test extra if you feel bad, different or sick.

What I do goes like this:
Day 1 - Before breakfast and before dinner.
Day 2 - Before lunch and bedtime
Day 3 - After breakfast and after lunch
Then I repeat.

I'm Type 2. I keep my levels within the goals given by my doctor and educators.

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