DancingStar
Active Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 3c
If you dont have a Continuous Glucose Monitor and you rely on finger pricking to check your blood glucose, how many times per day do you routinely test?
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If you don't have a CGM
- Thread starter DancingStar
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rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
When I have a break from Libre for a few days as I do occasionally, just to prove to myself I can manage without it, probably about 8-10 times a day but I have by chance been scanning Libre an average of 35 times a day for the past 5 years so I do find I have to restrain myself quite a bit on the first day I am without Libre. Before I got Libre there were times when I was testing 16 times a day when I was trying to sort out prebolus times, particularly for breakfast, but routinely I would say about 8 times a day is what I would settle for.
I am going to be controversial and say the number of times is irrelevant.
It is what you do with the data that is important. You could prick and scan 35 or more times a day but if you do nothing with the results, it is irrelevant.
When I was finger pricking, I would test
- before every meal to use as a baseline for my meal time bolus
- before driving because it is a legal requirement
- before exercise so I could check my BG did not need a "glucose nudge" as most exercise causes my BG to fall
- whenever I felt "off" to confirm a hypo or a hyper and then afterwards to check recovery
- before going to bed to make sure I was within my required "night time range) and adjust accordingly.
- and when making adjustments to my insulin regime (e.g. prere-bolus time or basal testing), I would test more often.
Some days, I would finger prick 12+ times. Some days it was only 3.
It is what you do with the data that is important. You could prick and scan 35 or more times a day but if you do nothing with the results, it is irrelevant.
When I was finger pricking, I would test
- before every meal to use as a baseline for my meal time bolus
- before driving because it is a legal requirement
- before exercise so I could check my BG did not need a "glucose nudge" as most exercise causes my BG to fall
- whenever I felt "off" to confirm a hypo or a hyper and then afterwards to check recovery
- before going to bed to make sure I was within my required "night time range) and adjust accordingly.
- and when making adjustments to my insulin regime (e.g. prere-bolus time or basal testing), I would test more often.
Some days, I would finger prick 12+ times. Some days it was only 3.
Last edited:
Proud to be erratic
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 3c
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Hello @DancingStar, I'm surprised (amazed really) that you don't have CGM. Has it been offered and you've declined this?
Since you are in a basal / bolus regime you should be treated as if T1 and your care team (Hospital or GP) should be encouraged, cajoled, or shamed into providing you with CGM. Are you in an obscure part of UK? You ought routinely to be under a Hospital care arrangement - particularly since your diagnosis came from a Whipples Procedure and total pancreatectomy (if I'm remembering correctly). Have your treatment arrangements changed since late 2019? Do you get the mandatory 8 annual diabetes checks? These checks ought to include a review and someone saying why don't you have CGM!
At first sight it looks as though the system has badly let you down - bu perhaps there is more to this than I'm seeing?
Since you are in a basal / bolus regime you should be treated as if T1 and your care team (Hospital or GP) should be encouraged, cajoled, or shamed into providing you with CGM. Are you in an obscure part of UK? You ought routinely to be under a Hospital care arrangement - particularly since your diagnosis came from a Whipples Procedure and total pancreatectomy (if I'm remembering correctly). Have your treatment arrangements changed since late 2019? Do you get the mandatory 8 annual diabetes checks? These checks ought to include a review and someone saying why don't you have CGM!
At first sight it looks as though the system has badly let you down - bu perhaps there is more to this than I'm seeing?
HayleyR
Forum Host
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi @DancingStar , I've been using a CGM and certainly for me it's a game changer; wouldn't want to go back to finger-pricking. You can get a free trial sensor from Abbott if you wanted to try it out.....
www.freestyle.abbott
FreeStyle Libre Continuous Glucose Monitoring | FreeStyle Libre US
Get real-time glucose readings without fingersticks with FreeStyle Libre. Explore our newest sensor, the FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus, and see if you qualify for a free sensor.
www.freestyle.abbott
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yes absolutely!
CGM for me is very helpful, but my access to it is a very recent addition to my diabetes management toolbox.
For people with T1 the data suggests that checking 4-10(+) times is more cost effective than checking fewer tha. 4x a day (because of the impact of not being so aware of levels).
A basic routine might involve:
4x a day (once before each meal and before bed)
Plus
Checking before any driven journey, and every 2hrs during longer drives
Plus
Checking if you feel you may be hypo
Plus
Checking to confirm recovery after a hypo
Plus
Extra checks around illness or exercise etc
So I’ve always thought that 4-8x a day is pretty standard, with a few days being more intensive than that at maybe 8-12x
In the early years (35+ years ago) the advice I had was breakfast & eve meal one day, and lunchtime & bedtime the following day - so 4 checks over 2 days. But that would never be recommended these days, and 4x a day really is a minimum.
I used fingersticks alone to manage my diabetes from 1991 until 2014. So it’s only really a little over a decade where I’ve had any substantial level of access to CGM. Initially self-funded on a shoestring, but now funded by the NHS (for which I am hugely grateful.
CGM for me is very helpful, but my access to it is a very recent addition to my diabetes management toolbox.
For people with T1 the data suggests that checking 4-10(+) times is more cost effective than checking fewer tha. 4x a day (because of the impact of not being so aware of levels).
A basic routine might involve:
4x a day (once before each meal and before bed)
Plus
Checking before any driven journey, and every 2hrs during longer drives
Plus
Checking if you feel you may be hypo
Plus
Checking to confirm recovery after a hypo
Plus
Extra checks around illness or exercise etc
So I’ve always thought that 4-8x a day is pretty standard, with a few days being more intensive than that at maybe 8-12x
In the early years (35+ years ago) the advice I had was breakfast & eve meal one day, and lunchtime & bedtime the following day - so 4 checks over 2 days. But that would never be recommended these days, and 4x a day really is a minimum.
I used fingersticks alone to manage my diabetes from 1991 until 2014. So it’s only really a little over a decade where I’ve had any substantial level of access to CGM. Initially self-funded on a shoestring, but now funded by the NHS (for which I am hugely grateful.
Pre-CGM I'd average between 10 and 12 a day (depending what I was doing) - I knew and still know if I'm low or high so would tend to check before eating and/or doing something that required glucose or time (exercise/driving/etc)
With CGM I still do 2 a day (calibration checks) though if the cal is off that might be more like 5.
With CGM I still do 2 a day (calibration checks) though if the cal is off that might be more like 5.
Bruce Stephens
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
I think Abbott had some research showing that scanning significantly more often than that was correlated with better results.