Finger pricking

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Martin62

Martin62

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi All, hope you are having a nice Bank Holiday Monday.
I usually finger prick before each meal to work out my bolus, then 2 hours after each meal to see how it went. Add In my waking and bedtime tests , that is eight times a day.
Am I testing too much, as I read on some people's posts that they only finger prick for bolus.
What are your thoughts ?
Martin
 
No, you’re not testing too much at all @Martin62 I test between 8-14 times a day. You test as much as you need and want to 🙂 Obviously if you were testing 40 times a day that would be unusual and a little concerning, but the amount you’re testing is very sensible and well within the normal range.
 
I'm a week into using a basal/bolus insulin regime. Right now, I test before and after meals, and a bedtime. It looks like it's going to be a long, slow process to get my sugars down to normal. 7 U Humalog before meals, and 20 U Lantus at bedtime.
 
@Martin62 when considering when to test, I ask myself why I am testing and what am I going to do if I don’t get the numbers I want. whilst there is a bit of reassurance, I am usually testing in order to make a correction or to dose for meals or because I need to in order to drive.
I found the two hours after eating was not good for me. This advice is for someone with t2 to check whether certain food is suitable. I found it unnecessary for me with T1 as injecting insulin does not work as fast as human insulin.
Too much testing for me did the opposite of reassuring : it made me more anxious.
 
Hi @Martin62 I'm having a nice bank holiday and I hope you are too.
I finger prick for bolus before breakfast, before lunch, before tea, I do waking and bedtime so 5 times a day. I also re test if I'm hypo before a meal or waking or bedtime.
I don't test 2 hours after meals because for me my DSN said it makes it simple because I get anxious like @helli does. Also a other member @Sally71 very kindly mentioned that all testing 2 hours after a meal does is tell you that you've gone higher after eating. One more thing is that finger pricking 2 hours after meals is more for type 2 diabetics to see if certain food is ok for them.

Wow @Inka up to 14 times a day. Please can you share what the other times are.
 
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Before we got sensors we were told to test before meals (to work out bolus) and then at bedtime, and only in between if you suspect you might be high or low. I’ve never been told to test 2 hours after eating and can’t see the point, @mum2westiesGill has remembered my reasoning perfectly!
However, it all depends what you are doing with the information. If you are testing just because you think you should, but aren’t actually doing anything with the information, then it’s a waste of time and strips. However if you find the information useful or reassuring then carry on as you are. For example if you want to see how high you go after eating with a view to adjusting your injection timing to try to make the spike smaller, then that would be a useful thing to do.

I should add that if you drive the law requires you to test before you set off and then every 2 hours afterwards if it’s a long journey, to make sure you are in range and safe to drive (my daughter isn’t old enough to drive so we don’t have to think about that yet!)
 
Thank you all for your replies, very much appreciated.
I do get stressed sometimes with my results 2 hours after testing, especially when they are OK again when I do my next bolus test. I'm sure the extra stress actually raises my glucose levels !!
Will have a go at just testing before meals and waking / bedtime. Also will test if feeling hypo of course.
Martin
 
I used to do the same as you currently do but I used the 2 hour post meal test to adjust the timing of my bolus to lessen the spike which worked well for me, I've also lost hypo awareness on a few occasions so would possibly pick up on a hypo then too, if you use the post meal test to adjust your timing then you could leave that out after you've established your "sweet spot" but if you aren't going to use the information and just get stressed by the result then maybe leave it out xx
 
I set my alarm to make sure that I test my blood glucose level and still I forget to do it my alarm is set out for the week I have missed testing at lunchtime and I have just realised I didn't have lunch today as I was doing something else I was looking for a camera filter for my new camera. My memory is getting worse I hate to think what my meter reading will be at tea time I bet it's on the low side.
 
I think it also depends on how regular your routine is, how much you can plan ahead, and how much you drive, exercise, etc etc.

@mum2westiesGill 14 times a day would be rare eg when I was ill, or in similar unusual circumstances eg cannula issues that persist in causing highs. That kind of thing.
 
Other than the obvious logistics, do people feel there a difference between finger prick BG tests and Libre scans as I think most people with Libre scan a lot more times than just 5 or even 8 times in a day. I average about 30 and I don't think that is uncommon. I find it reassuring rather than stressful and I learn lots from than info, mostly how my body responds at different times of day and to different circumstances. I believe there was a study which showed that the more times you scan the better your management will be. I think there is likely an optimum to that but I know that when I increased my finger pricks to between 12-16 times a day (before I got Libre), that enabled me to improve my management a lot and improve my HbA1c significantly. As mentioned, timing bolus with food can be significantly improved and adjusting basal insulin more effectively is all made possible by more frequent testing.
I appreciate it very much depends on the mentality of the individual, but Libre has actually made my diabetes management more like a game or a challenge (particularly the TIR facility) than a chore or a vital health issue and encourages me to strive for improvement so that I can keep pushing to get a new personal best.
 
To me managing diabetes is a balance.
I could test a lot. I could analyse different meals and the appropirate bolus time. I could limit my diet to food which doesn’t cause major spikes. I could do the same exercise each day because I know how it affects my levels. I could minimise stress at work.
But I have to balance this against living the rest of my life which enjoys trying different food, doing different exercise, having variety at work (which can involve stress).
So, I keep an eye on levels and tweak my basal when I see a pattern on my Libre graphs but still enjoy the variety and don’t let diabetes change what I do, eat, etc.and don’t scan my Libre 30 times a day because reacting to it would stop me doing everything else I want to do.
 
I missed my lunch today because I was looking for a filter I checked my glucose level at teatime and I was amazed it was sitting at 7.1 the last time I missed my lunch I took a hypo I must be getting something right for a change. There is one thing I don't do and that's exercise due to my bad knee I have to use a walking stick if I go to the wheelie bin or the chemist I live about 2 minutes away from my chemist but it takes me about 8 minutes to get there with my walking.
 
I have minimal hypo awareness - and I'm sensitive to insulin and have a LOT of hypos - so I got a Libre on prescription on the basis that I was having to test at least 8 times a day (often a lot more than that, though I never tested specifically 2 hours after meals - I tested before meals, before bed, and whenever I thought I might be hypo). The Libre means fewer tests, but I often still test 8 times in a day if the Libre is showing I'm hypo or hyper. Being able to scan 25-30 times a day means I've been able to iron out some of the spikes I hadn't realised I was having, and also head off a few of the hypos. Having the Libre doesn't make me anxious, but I do find it makes me over-treat low blood sugar a bit, because the readings are 15 minutes behind the meter (and at bedtime I've eaten a couple of biscuits and I look at the Libre and think my blood sugar's still 5 so I need to eat another one, when actually it's 7 and I could have gone without). If I have a day without a Libre sensor, that makes me anxious - I have to keep doing extra tests to make sure I'm not hypo!
 
Inka said:
@mum2westiesGill 14 times a day would be rare eg when I was ill, or in similar unusual circumstances eg cannula issues that persist in causing highs. That kind of thing.
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Is it more like I do which is 5 times - waking, bef breakfast, bef lunch, bef tea and bedtime?
 
Martin62 said:
Thank you all for your replies, very much appreciated.
I do get stressed sometimes with my results 2 hours after testing, especially when they are OK again when I do my next bolus test. I'm sure the extra stress actually raises my glucose levels !!
Will have a go at just testing before meals and waking / bedtime. Also will test if feeling hypo of course.
Martin
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Hi @Martin62, did you go ahead with just testing before meals, waking and bedtime and if you did how are you going on with it?
 
mum2westiesGill said:
Hi @Martin62, did you go ahead with just testing before meals, waking and bedtime and if you did how are you going on with it?
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Hi Gill
Hope you are well and thank you for asking.
Yes I did scrap the testing 2 hours after eating and just doing the waking and before meals and bedtime ones.
My before meal ones are fine , so it seems to be going OK and my finger tips are appreciating less finger prick tests.
I am also less stressed about it as well, which can only be a good thing.
Martin
 
Martin62 said:
Hi Gill
Hope you are well and thank you for asking.
Yes I did scrap the testing 2 hours after eating and just doing the waking and before meals and bedtime ones.
My before meal ones are fine , so it seems to be going OK and my finger tips are appreciating less finger prick tests.
I am also less stressed about it as well, which can only be a good thing.
Martin
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Hi @Martin62 thanks for replying. I'm well hope you are too.

I'm glad you're finding it ok doing less finger pricks - apart from doing extra when hypo.

I'm also glad that you are less stressed.

Gill 🙂
 
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