First morning blood sugar

[Toonpig]

My readings jump all the time some mornings it will be 5.4 then at tea time it can be as high as 16.7. Next day they will be 5.6 both morning and afternoon. But more often than not it will be double digits in the afternoon even if i have not eaten anything inbetween readings

 

[Jan_tr]

My readings jump all the time some mornings it will be 5.4 then at tea time it can be as high as 16.7. Next day they will be 5.6 both morning and afternoon. But more often than not it will be double digits in the afternoon even if i have not eaten anything inbetween readings

Ah, that sounds really hard to control. Hope it evens out (and lowers!) for you in the long run.

 

[Ralph-YK]

Finger prick test of 6 isn't particularly bad. And allows a bit of room for after eating readings.
I suggest keeping a record of your levels, along a food diary. Look at after a couple of weeks, and see if there are any patters.

 

[Jan_tr]

Finger prick test of 6 isn't particularly bad. And allows a bit of room for after eating readings.
I suggest keeping a record of your levels, along a food diary. Look at after a couple of weeks, and see if there are any

Will do, thanks.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I suspect it’s dawn phenomenon putting a spanner in the works in your mornings @Jan_tr

This is a brief write-up from a clinic in the US

The dawn phenomenon: What can you do?

Take steps to prevent this early-morning increase in blood sugar.

www.mayoclinic.org

The proposed solutions aren’t much help I would guess... but some on the forum have found a late low carb / protein+fat snack can sometimes keep the liver happy overnight.

 

[Jan_tr]

I suspect it’s dawn phenomenon putting a spanner in the works in your mornings @Jan_tr

This is a brief write-up from a clinic in the US

The dawn phenomenon: What can you do?

Take steps to prevent this early-morning increase in blood sugar.

www.mayoclinic.org

The proposed solutions aren’t much help I would guess... but some on the forum have found a late low carb / protein+fat snack can sometimes keep the liver happy overnight.

Thanks for that. I've now learnt something new.

 

[Annette&Bert]

It certainly must be true that we are all different because I am completely baffled by my readings as there are days I don’t even have 100gms of carb, yet plus 2 hours I’m above 10 even after 2 boiled eggs for breakfast on their own!

 

[Jan_tr]

It certainly must be true that we are all different because I am completely baffled by my readings as there are days I don’t even have 100gms of carb, yet plus 2 hours I’m above 10 even after 2 boiled eggs for breakfast on their own!

I'm just as baffled. My bg is higher when I don't eat. At least it gives me an excuse to eat 🙂 obviously my body doesn't have a clue what it is doing...

 

[Annette&Bert]

I'm just as baffled. My bg is higher when I don't eat. At least it gives me an excuse to eat 🙂 obviously my body doesn't have a clue what it is doing...

Jan here’s a thing, believe it or not I just discovered today I have not been pricking correctly. Apparently you click the side of your finger, the middle and ring fingers being those recmmended. I hav been pricking the middle of any finger. Well who knewmif you are never told.

2 hours after lunch 6.9.

 

[Leadinglights]

Jan here’s a thing, believe it or not I just discovered today I have not been pricking correctly. Apparently you click the side of your finger, the middle and ring fingers being those recmmended. I hav been pricking the middle of any finger. Well who knewmif you are never told.

2 hours after lunch 6.9.

That makes no sense whatsoever, I would love to hear an explanation of why that should make one iota of difference to the blood glucose level. I can see it might be harder to penetrate the skin but surely a drop of blood is the same no matter where it comes from.

 

[Annette&Bert]

well that’s what I thought too, I can’t now recall the reason but I think it was along the lines of a more accurate one.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

That makes no sense whatsoever, I would love to hear an explanation of why that should make one iota of difference to the blood glucose level.

I don't think it does. Similarly, the blood from your index finger is just the same. The recommendations are because the pad of our fingers are sensitive and we use them a lot (in particular the index finger). The sides of our fingers are less critical, so repeatedly getting drops of blood out of them isn't so annoying.

 

[Annette&Bert]

I don't think it does. Similarly, the blood from your index finger is just the same. The recommendations are because the pad of our fingers are sensitive and we use them a lot (in particular the index finger). The sides of our fingers are less critical, so repeatedly getting drops of blood out of them isn't so annoying.

Ah now Bruce that makes a lot of sense!

 

[Jan_tr]

Jan here’s a thing, believe it or not I just discovered today I have not been pricking correctly. Apparently you click the side of your finger, the middle and ring fingers being those recmmended. I hav been pricking the middle of any finger. Well who knewmif you are never told.

2 hours after lunch 6.9.

You'll have to experiment on each finger and see what happens 🙂. Not me though, I still have to build up my courage for the one prick 🙂

 

[Bruce Stephens]

You'll have to experiment on each finger and see what happens

Values will vary even if you get drops of blood from the same finger since these things aren't that accurate. Below 5.6 mmol/l I think the values reported are allowed to be 0.83 mmol/l either way (and rarely they're allowed to be outside that), and above that it's 15% either way (most of the time).

So there's no value in worrying about 4.5 vs 5.0, say. 5.0 and 16.0 is (most likely) a real difference. But 5.4 and 5.6 may well not be (and surely doesn't mean anything even if they happen to be accurate: BG naturally varies a bit).

 

[Leadinglights]

An answer from Quora by a medical doctor is it makes no difference as capillary blood is the same from wherever, any finger, toe, earlobe.
Sampling sites are suggested as being the least painful and easy to clean.

 

[Ralph-YK]

If using all fingers, then using the sides of your fingers gives 16 times before repeating a spot. Over 8 times if using finger pads.
Could also be less pain. Also, the pads are more sensative; long time pricking of them long term could thicken the skin and make them give you less feeling.

 

[Annette&Bert]

I am now on a quest for perfection LoL

 

[Annette&Bert]

Peeps. This week I purchased a new Blood Glucose monitor from Amazon.

GlucoNavii Blood Sugar Meter (mmol/L) Glucose Monitor Starter Kit - VAT Free​

Upgraded meter from SD Biosensor, the makers of the top-selling SD Codefree Blood Glucose Meter. This new meter has all the benefits of the Codefree but boasts greater accuracy due to a wider haematocrit (HCT) range of 0-70%.

Do any of you have this? It comes with 10 free test strips and you can buy 100 test strips very cheaply so I did. OMG I am not lacking in the brains department but I have already
used the free strips and still not got a reading?

 

[Leadinglights]

Peeps. This week I purchased a new Blood Glucose monitor from Amazon.

GlucoNavii Blood Sugar Meter (mmol/L) Glucose Monitor Starter Kit - VAT Free​

Upgraded meter from SD Biosensor, the makers of the top-selling SD Codefree Blood Glucose Meter. This new meter has all the benefits of the Codefree but boasts greater accuracy due to a wider haematocrit (HCT) range of 0-70%.

Do any of you have this? It comes with 10 free test strips and you can buy 100 test strips very cheaply so I did. OMG I am not lacking in the brains department but I have already
used the free strips and still not got a reading?

This might sound like a stupid question but have you put the battery in or taken out the protective strip. I've known many an academic who said something was not working and they hadn't switched it on.