A newbie with a testing question?

[aymes]

thanks Steff thats great support.. just another question if i wanna start a new subject do i start a new thread?

yep, just start one, proabably best to use the general message board or one of the others if that applies as you'll probably get more responses.

 

[mikep1979]

i test at least 4x daily. some days i can test up to 12 x depending on how my levels aredoing and how much exercise etc i am doing. im also on novorapid and lantus hich i have found is the best solution for me at the min 🙂

 

[ali]

Hi im a type 1 diabetic have been for nine years. Testing is really down to your control what alot of people do is test twice a day and alternate it e.g. before breakfast and before dinner then the next day befor lunch and before bed then back to befor breakfast and befor dinner that way you build up a good picture of how your levels are doing. If you are well controlled for a long time it can be reduced to once a day alternated. You shouldn't really need to test more than 4 times a day unless you feel unwell. You will get used to it there are far worse things to have. you are also on the same insulin as me!

 

[Northerner]

Hi im a type 1 diabetic have been for nine years. Testing is really down to your control what alot of people do is test twice a day and alternate it e.g. before breakfast and before dinner then the next day befor lunch and before bed then back to befor breakfast and befor dinner that way you build up a good picture of how your levels are doing. If you are well controlled for a long time it can be reduced to once a day alternated. You shouldn't really need to test more than 4 times a day unless you feel unwell. You will get used to it there are far worse things to have. you are also on the same insulin as me!

Not quite sure if I would agree with you there ali. I suppose if you are happy with your control and the HBA1c is looking good, then maybe you can get away with fewer tests, but I don't see how you can keep really tight control if you're not adjusting your insulin to reflect what your meter is telling you befor meals and bed. Likewise, if you drive you need to test frequently, for everyone's safety, and also before (maybe during) and after exercise. My actual overall insulin requirements don't change much day-to-day, but I do adjust by 10-30% so my control would be much poorer if I wasn't watching my meter.

 

[ali]

i disagree with testing too frequently as it can desensitise the nerve endings in your fingers. As long as your control is good there is no need to over test

 

[aymes]

Not quite sure if I would agree with you there ali. I suppose if you are happy with your control and the HBA1c is looking good, then maybe you can get away with fewer tests, but I don't see how you can keep really tight control if you're not adjusting your insulin to reflect what your meter is telling you befor meals and bed. Likewise, if you drive you need to test frequently, for everyone's safety, and also before (maybe during) and after exercise. My actual overall insulin requirements don't change much day-to-day, but I do adjust by 10-30% so my control would be much poorer if I wasn't watching my meter.

I agree, if you can 'get away' with good control with few tests then that's great but I know that I, and I think a lot of people, would struggle with good control if I didn't test as often as I do. As I think we've all discovered, nothing about diabetes is an exact science (if only!) so I need to respond to what my meter tells me when calculating doses or doing exercise etc.