The Significance of a waking test

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Kopiert

Kopiert

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Type 2
Hi all

I have decided to start more regular blood testing. I moved a few months ago and lost my meter, so I have bought a new one off Amazon - a GlucoNavii one (just can't afford accucheck mobile cassette prices!).

I wondered if someone could explain or send me somewhere to understand the significance of the waking test. Is it just for interest, or is there a real significance of testing just after you wake up?

Thanks
 
The waking test is fairly meaningless due to the body dumping glucose into the blood stream to 'get you ready for the day'. It's much more useful to test just before a meal or 2 hours afterwards
 
DaveB said:
The waking test is fairly meaningless due to the body dumping glucose into the blood stream to 'get you ready for the day'. It's much more useful to test just before a meal or 2 hours afterwards
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Thank you. I did wonder. I love the waking average thread, I just wanted to check I wasn't missing something
 
The idea behind measuring the waking BG is that slowly as BG during the day comes b is kept down for month or years, the waking BG should also reduce. But usually it's the last one to go back to more normal levels. Having said that, I personally don't bother testing it because even non-diabetics often get a 'Dawn Phenomenon' or a 'Foot On The Floor' glucose dump from their liver but they don't know because they don't test for it.
 
DaveB said:
The waking test is fairly meaningless due to the body dumping glucose into the blood stream to 'get you ready for the day'. It's much more useful to test just before a meal or 2 hours afterwards
Click to expand...
Many T1 would disagree with you on it being “fairly meaningless”. I’m T2 and it’s a useful indicator of what’s going on for me and yes it impacts what I eat during the day.
It’s also just a good habit to get into and normalises testing.
 
I suspect that it depends on where you are in your progress - starting out, the before and after meal readings provide much needed information about what to eat.
Later just testing after the meal with most carbs can show progress if, like me, your metabolism is recovering and showing a reduction week by week.
Later still the first thing in the morning test might reveal a continuing improvement in glucose management.
 
Early in my diabetes years it was suggested to me that as a single reading, it often reflects roughly the average of your other results through the day.

Seems to be not far off from my CGM averages
 
It depends on what diet you have.
For me, it was very meaningful.
Others disagree.
 
It's the most meaningful measure for me, now, as a surveillance check every couple of months.

If my waking levels were to rise it would probably mean that I was adding fat to my liver again => liver insulin resistance increasing => more glucose production overnight from the liver, via gluconeogenesis.
 
I’m type 1 and test every single morning as soon as I’m up putting the kettle on.
why is it so important for me?

A: I leave for work and need to know what my levels are to carry out the first hours work before breakfast &

B: it’s a legal requirement to drive
 
Thank you all for your great answers.

I used to take my waking numbers, alongside the normal meal and post meal times. As I am about to start some level of metering again I thought I should find out more about the first reading of the day and how folks use and interpret it. Mine were pretty much always between 5.5 an 6.5 - sometimes lower in to the fours. The only time they really rose was if I had eaten an overly carby meal the night before. Because they were so consistent and if they rose I knew the reason I couldn't really see the point. However, I think the idea of a rough average, or a warning / red light that I need to be careful with what I eat that day is really useful
 
Kopiert said:
Thank you all for your great answers.

I used to take my waking numbers, alongside the normal meal and post meal times. As I am about to start some level of metering again I thought I should find out more about the first reading of the day and how folks use and interpret it. Mine were pretty much always between 5.5 an 6.5 - sometimes lower in to the fours. The only time they really rose was if I had eaten an overly carby meal the night before. Because they were so consistent and if they rose I knew the reason I couldn't really see the point. However, I think the idea of a rough average, or a warning / red light that I need to be careful with what I eat that day is really useful
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What do you go to sleep on?
I test right before bed and make my
Levels on 7 or 8 as a minimum, then after injecting background I always seem to wake up on 7.5 ish
Like you say sometimes after eating a late meal they can be higher when going to bed but that’s cool and they drop by the morning obviously
 
Also - I wouldn’t be happy waking up on 4’s or 5’s
I’d want them higher personally
 
I think what levels you are happy with either at bed time or in the morning will largely depend on whether you are taking insulin or other meds as Type 1 or Type 2 or any other or whether dietary managed.
 
Jimmy2202 said:
Also - I wouldn’t be happyTh waking up on 4’s or 5’s
I’d want them higher personally
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That's one of the differences between those on insulin (and meds such as glicazide that can result in hypos) and those on meds like metformin or diet only. The latter need not worry about being "too low" before bed or first thing (when a lowish reading for the former may suggest overnight hypos might have occurred.)
 
@Jimmy2202 I only really test around meal times. I am a type 2 who (so far) has managed to control through diet only. I will give you an example (now I have a new meter again). Last night around 9.30pm I tested at 13.5, two hours after a carby meal (unusual for me nowadays). This morning at 6 am I tested at 5.5.

To be honest I do worry a little when I drop below 4.5, but I a really not sure what I can do with the information.
 
Kopiert said:
To be honest I do worry a little when I drop below 4.5, but I a really not sure what I can do with the information.
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There is no need to worry if you are not taking any meds which can drop your levels dangerously low. Many non diabetic people drop below 4. The body is able to rectify that by the liver releasing glucose. The only reasons that those of us on insulin and gliclazide have to worry about it is
a) that these powerful medications can quickly drop us too low before the liver has time to save us or we lose consciousness
b) the longer we spend below 4 the more our body gets used to those low levels, so we risk losing our hypo awareness which we need to warn us that our levels are going low, before they get dangerously low (under 3)

If you are not using these medications, your body is quite capable of adjusting the balance to whatever it wants and mid 4s or even high 3s are fine.
 
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