Fasting

[Amberzak]

When you do fasting to check that your basal rate is correct, do you literally eat nothing or do you eat non carb food like eggs?

Yesterday I did a morning fast and it was due to go on until 3pm, but by 1pm I felt so ill. I'm excepted to not eat for 12 hours (four hours to go into it, and then 8 hours of readings) but I'm thinking maybe I should do it for 10 hours instead (four leading in and 6 for recording results). Maybe the afternoon and evening one will be easier. But I was trying to teach (I'm a tutor) and I couldn't concentrate. I felt cold. It was horrid. (I always have breakfast usually)

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I eat nothing and would start at least 4 hours after my last food/injection (which would not have been tricky/fatty/pasta etc). There's a really useful sticky which links to a post by Gary Scheiner.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

This link is at the top of the forum page http://diatribe.org/issues/26/thinking-like-a-pancreas

 

[Sally71]

Best to eat nothing at all if you can. We've only ever really done overnight basal tests; on only one occasion did the doctor request daytime ones. Expecting a young child to eat nothing at all for 8 hours in the day is pretty tough so they gave us a list of permitted foods - but it was very tiny portions, e.g. ONE rasher of bacon and ONE egg, or two small frankfurters, or a sugar free jelly. We stuck strictly to the list and got through the day with the promise of a slap up feast at KFC if she didn't complain too much. Interestingly, even with only tiny portions of pure protein (and SF jelly has nothing at all in it really), every time she ate something her BG went up a bit!
Which could be a coincidence I suppose, but I'm not so sure...

 

[trophywench]

I was taught to do 6 hour stints - that way you can get up and start immediately.

Another day get up a bit earlier and have brekkie and do the lunchtime slot. Another day - an early lunch and do the dinner slot. Another day have your main meal at lunchtime-ish and do the evening.

You can do it whatever way fits in with your life! As long as you cover the full 24 hours, and leave the appropriate time after eating & last bolus - who cares how?

 

[Simbul]

I prefer not to eat anything. The idea of basal rate testing is to reduce the number of variables as much as possible: I'd rather not have to deal with doubts about the effect that even non-carb food may or may not have had 🙂

That said, I've heard from doctors more than once that proteins are generally fine. So an egg or a green salad should be ok if the alternative is not being able to run the test at all.

I can relate, as I'm really struggling with basal rate testing in the morning: I have a feeling I'll pass out on my desk if I skip breakfast and go to work as normal