Basal Testing - how low is too low?

[newbs]

Have started testing my basal - just wondering how low is too low during the night? I went to bed on a 6.7, tested at 2am - 4.4, tested at 4am - 8.2, 8.8 on waking at 7am. Should I have treated the 4.4 even though it is not a hypo but had obviously dropped? 8.8 quite good for me on waking but clearly quite a bit higher than my BG before bed.

 

[Northerner]

I think that 3 am is normally considered the lowest point of the night i.e. the time when the liver's activity is the lowest in releasing glucose. You do also need to consider the action profile of your insulin of course. Personally, I wouldn't treat a 4.4, but then I'm weird and pretty stable overnight.

 

[Ellie Jones]

When I'm basal testing I tend to do an hour by hour testing rather than opting to taking just a test overnight.. Sometimes I cheat with doing the test over two nights...

With the pump you do really need to be able to plot hour by hour to so that you can make your adjustments for your basal settings..

The 3am is only an average time for most people... At an individual levels the lowest point would be based on if you stayed up all night at what time you get your second wind! It's the point just before this would be your lowest ebb...

 

[trophywench]

OTOH the times when I do stay up into the wee small hours, I don't experience a dip - usually have a crashing one about the time I would otherwise have got up, so i think more than one 'randon test is the thing to do.

A change of more than 2.0 up or down overnight indicates your basal is wrong. Yours isn't to any huge degree but then you don't really want 8.8 to wake up to.

Try 3am and 5 am another night and see what you get. Then say 1am and 4am again another night. I usually leave a day in between these tests. Yes it is a PITA. But unless you can actually establish your 'normal' peaks and troughs .......

 

[newbs]

Try 3am and 5 am another night and see what you get. Then say 1am and 4am again another night. I usually leave a day in between these tests.

I think this is good advice and the way to go. I didn't test overnight last night as hypo before bed but also woke up at 2.7 and have had 3 hypos today so think I may give tonight a miss too. Hopefully tomorrow will be more stable and I'll test at 3 and 5am tomorrow night - 5am should be easy to wake because DH goes to the gym then 😱.