Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by picklebird on May 14, 2012 at 4:20pm

I think it is great that your endo wants you to test often at first. That's what you need to see where your blood sugar patterns are going. Once you got a good handle on the diet and exercise, you won't need to test that often. If you are always at a good number first thing in the morning but tend to screw up at lunch, then you just test at lunch. I started testing a lot and now tend to just test once a day, if it is off, more for that day.

Permalink Reply by ahaney on May 14, 2012 at 4:52pm

The hardest thing to deal with is the diet.m I was already vegan before the diagnosis, now trying to add enough protein in each meal,is hard. I take 1000 mg os metformin a day and really focus hard on the carb counts. My worst time of the day so far is the afternoon. I get so sleepy and my sugar is higher then. I teach high school and being sleepy is not an option. I am a runner and have been for a couple years so as far as exercise goes I don't know that I can exercise anymore unless i ride a stationary bike for like six hours a day. Then imwillmhave to eat a bunch more food.

Permalink Reply by Jeff Simms on May 14, 2012 at 5:36pm

I usually test in the morning and then before each meal. Testing 2 hours after a meal is a good idea, but I don't know why you would need to do that all the time.

Permalink Reply by BadMoonT2 on May 14, 2012 at 5:55pm

The reason to test after every meal is that it allows you to see if you are experiencing dangerous spiking after meals. There is evidence that time spent over 140 is what causes deterioration in T2's. T2's can use this data to eliminate or reduce quantities of the types of foods that are causing the trouble. I would rather eliminate the before meal testing as opposed to after meal testing if I had to choose.

Permalink Reply by ahaney on May 14, 2012 at 6:09pm

This is good information. My dr stated that I had to learn to find what works for me. I am starving at lunch and try to keep them meal small but filling. Being a vegan can make things harder. I am learning what makes me spike and what doesn't. Keep the comments coming! This is very helpful!

Permalink Reply by BadMoonT2 on May 14, 2012 at 6:32pm

Being a vegan can indeed make it tough to avoid foods that cause spikes. That's why frequent testing especially at the beginning is so important. Luckily I like meat and veggies neither of which spike me.

Permalink Reply by Steven on May 14, 2012 at 9:54pm

Believe that there is too much "noise on the data" to trust fingerprick results anyway.

My benchmarks instead are my A1c percentages, blood pressure and weight, which I have monitored at the health centre.

Plus, I also think the assessment of the whole clinical picture: A1c, lipids, kidney function, etc does take some interpretation, which I am happy for my physician to do.

In any case, the cost of testing strips is prohibitively expensive.

Permalink Reply by BadMoonT2 on May 15, 2012 at 3:52am

Before going in to see my Dr. I download my meter readings and print out data for him to look over. One of the stats is the overall average. I then convert the average to A1C. It has always matched almost exactly. Interestingly the average of the last 30 days has proven to be the best predictor, despite A1C supposedly being an average of the last 3 months. I think if you test often enough the "noise" averages out. I find the positive reinforcement of good tests are a powerful motivator to keep on my diet and not cheat.

Strips are expensive, and my insurance doesn't pay for them. I use Wavesense meters which have reasonable prices on strips and order them over the internet. My last strips cost 28 cents, which helps.

I tested quite a bit early on so I could fine tune my diet. Since my diet is now pretty much set and my D is stable, my average number of tests/day has fallen from nearly 8 to less than 4.

Permalink Reply by Joe_h on May 15, 2012 at 8:04am

sorry about the diagnosis. I was diagnosed at 24 when I was running 5ks in 20 minutes. it sucks.

to answer your question i test when I wake up, mid-morning, pre-lunch, 2hrs post lunch, maybe before dinner, and before bed if I remember and more if I go for a run or something so around 6 times a day

Permalink Reply by ahaney on May 15, 2012 at 9:37am

It is the hardest to remember to test when i run. My spikes often occure during long runs and then later, sometimes the next day, I am low. I am also finding it harder to run at the same speed and intestity as I am adjusting to the meds. This is a bummer. I really like to live an active lifestyle and this is slowing me down. I feel like I lost control of my life after diagnoses and now am trying to take control of an untamable beast. Some day the beast is happy others not so much, and heaven forbid you feed the beast!

Permalink Reply by TiaAJ on May 15, 2012 at 8:52am

Hi - I test several times a day, even though my doc tells me "you really only have to test in the morning." If I only tested in the morning, I'd be a lot more frustrated and depressed than I already am, given that my blood sugar is ALWAYS highest in the morning when I wake up. I test when I wake up, before lunch, try to test two hours after lunch, and before dinner/insulin in the evening. My doc 'indulges' me (lol) by writing my prescriptions for 100 test strips per month. I haven't yet seen an endo, but it's something I may consider...

Permalink Reply by ahaney on May 15, 2012 at 9:39am

I am looking to the future about how often I will test and I am leaning more toward, Out of bed, mid morning/pre lunch, after lunch as this is when I spike, and before bed. Also pre exercise and post exercise. I feel like this may be a manageable day of testing. My endo states " this is not a science experimant, don't treat yourself that way." Although I kind of like the whole science experimant idea. I like knowing what is going on in my body.

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