Prick and test for how long

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Rodgearing

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Diagnosed with T2D 6 weeks ago and religously been pricking and testing twice a day as instructed.
Readings have gone down fom 20 to between 9 & 10 but need to drop a couple more points.
My next blood test is in 6 weeks or so so I shall carry on pricking and testing till then at least.
What are the frequency of pricking & testing for most people.
I was thinking of reducing to once a day after the next blood test.
 
I stopped home testing when I was comfortable that I knew what I could eat and what I couldn't, for the best part of a year I suppose. I still test occasionally when I'm eating something new, or something I know is quite carb heavy, but I no longer test on a daily basis.
As with everything diabetes, it will vary from person to person. I have very simple diabetes which is well controlled by diet and medication. Other T2s may have more complex presentations and may need to test all their lives.
Well done on getting your levels from 20 to 9 or 10! 🙂
 
For me it's now once per month 2hrs after dinner.
Before I was in remission it was 2x however many meals I had per day (so 6 times at first dropping to 4 times during week and twice on Sat and Sunday when I do OMAD).

That is because my route to remission was Low Carb way of eating, so all that mattered was that the carb load from each meal (no snacks) was low enough for my body to cope well with it.
Criteria I used for that was: test just before a meal and then 2hrs after first bite. If the BG rise was 2.0 mmol or less then the meal was probably OK for me.
 
I think it depends on how much detail you want to see, and what action you want to be able to take / what information you want to be able to draw from the checks you are making.

If you are interested in a general overview, and ‘direction of travel’ then once a day, once a week or whatever may be sufficient.

But if you want to examine specific questions along the lines of:

Am I OK eating potatoes?
Is there a breakfast cereal that works for me?
What brand of bread is gentlest on my BGs
Can I eat rice OK, and if so, how much?
Which fruits disrupt my glucose levels the least?

etc etc

Then pairs of BG checks, one just before eating, and a follow-up 2hrs after the first bite can provide information that you can immediately use. By aiming to tweak types of carbs and portion sizes to give a “meal rise” of 2-3mmol/L or less you can begin to tailor your menu towards more stable glucose outcomes.

You might also find some happy discoveries - unexpected treats that you can have occasionally (which you might have avoided by reputation) whuch your body and metabolism copes well with.

Rather than just knowing that “my menu is OK, but needs some improvement“ you can systematically work through the things you like to eat to discover the most BG-friendly options 🙂
 
Why test? A good answer would be to provide information. Two tests, one before a meal and one four hours after that meal will provide more information than two test on different days. You can see how you respond to various foods. A day with two followed by a day off.

How often you do this is largely up to you. You need to test mote often when out of range, as now, and take action as you are doing now, You need to test only when you need to know or to check that what you do know is so.

Well done so far.
 
There are a number of reasons for testing but it is important that you are testing for a purpose and that might be: testing in the morning to give you a fasting level to check your progress day to day, week to week etc, test before and after meals to see if the meal / food has been tolerated, or testing if you feel unwell as it may be due to high glucose level.
By adopting a sensible regime you will be able to make better food choices.
Many people don't test the same meal once they feel they can tolerate it unless something changes.
 
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