Basal testing

[Doddy]

Today I have my gallbladder scan. I have to fast for 6 hrs, so I thought today might be a good idea to do a test on my basal to see if it's at the right level.

Am I right in thinking, if my basal is correct, I will stay roughly where I woke? Do I need to test every so often?

 

[Doc_Brown]

Hello,

Yes, that's the theory. An excellent full guide is here.

If you're at all anxious about the scan, though, I'd be careful, as unusual stress can skew the results of the basal test.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

There's a more MDI-friendly write-up here too: http://www.diabetes-support.org.uk/info/?page_id=120

But yes, in simple terms you would hope to stay within 1-2mmol/L overnight. I simple basal test might only involve waking at 3am, but for a more thorough picture I tend to test at 10pm, 12 midnight, 2am, 4am and 6am (because I have the luxury of making fine adjustments to a basal profile on the pump).

Worth pointing out too that it is usually worth testing more than once to make sure that what you are seeing is a 'pattern' rather than a one-off.