To test or not to test, that is the question

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Jenny65

Jenny65

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Ok, so this may make me sound like an ostrich with his head in the sand but is it wrong for me to be pleased my Glucose Meters battery has died? I have just tested positive for COVID and feel pretty tired and snuffly but not terrible (may be early days but my daughter said from what she can see is that I have it very mildly compared to how unwell her boyfriend is with it, I guess that may be because I have had all 4 vaccines (the most recent one on 30th September)

It is basically like a mild cold, i have lost my taste and smell though which has made me lose a desire to eat, which isnt such a bad thing and I lost 4 pounds overnight! Anyway...i know being unwell can cause sugar spikes and knowing there is nothing I can do about it, is there any point me checking at the moment anyway? I wonder if my batteries dying is a blessing and fate has taken a hand.

So does it matter if I dont test for a few days while I am unwell?
 
My rule for testing is:

If the result will change your actions in some way (eg food, exercise, insulin dose, seeking medical help) then test. If your actions won’t change based on the result then there’s no point wasting the test strip.
 
Only trouble is, what if your BG goes dangerously high, and stays there Jen? Plus when folk have Covid (they discovered this early on in the pandemic so no idea if the latest version of Covid also has this effect) they can get very high levels of ketones at a very much lower BG level than ever known before - BGs under 10.0!

Get some batteries and simply don't test as often, I should.
 
trophywench said:
Only trouble is, what if your BG goes dangerously high, and stays there Jen? Plus when folk have Covid (they discovered this early on in the pandemic so no idea if the latest version of Covid also has this effect) they can get very high levels of ketones at a very much lower BG level than ever known before - BGs under 10.0!

Get some batteries and simply don't test as often, I should.
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I don’t think a T2 on diet only would have access to ketone testing strips anyway though
 
trophywench said:
Only trouble is, what if your BG goes dangerously high, and stays there Jen? Plus when folk have Covid (they discovered this early on in the pandemic so no idea if the latest version of Covid also has this effect) they can get very high levels of ketones at a very much lower BG level than ever known before - BGs under 10.0!

Get some batteries and simply don't test as often, I should.
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Thats interesting and could be why I lost 4 pounds overnight, need to update my signature but I am 11 stone today 🙂
 
Jenny65 said:
Thats interesting and could be why I lost 4 pounds overnight, need to update my signature but I am 11 stone today 🙂
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If you lost 4 pounds overnight then most of it's probably water, I'd say. Keep hydrated!
 
I'd sort the battery personally for piece of mind but remember if results are higher than normal, no beating yourself up over you body having a response to virus 😉

My bg went up in the run up to testing positive, then dropped low then ramped up again and took me about 8 weeks to get back to normal again (I was still unwell and was still symptomatic).

Hope you muddle through without issues x
 
You've done a great job so far.
It's unlikely covid is going to start you off on the Mars Bars and donuts, so personally, I'd take it easy, not worry about BG, and recover without the extra stress.
 
I can totally understand what you are saying and even without the Covid, a break from testing can be important and sometimes you need a release from the intensity from it and if you are unwell you don't need that extra strain....if you don't need it... unlike us insulin dependents who have to keep our eye very closely on the ball when we are ill, because things can go seriously wrong if we don't. I like to have a break from my Libre every now and then when I get sick of it "looking over my shoulder and spying on me" all the time. I always come back to it really appreciative of what it does and refreshed, so I think a break from testing can probably bring similar relief and remotivation and since you can't do anything about your levels being raised other than drink plenty of water, I can see a benefit in turning your back on it for a few days.

I don't think you need to be concerned about ketones with being Type 2. Yes I know they can develop in rare circumstances and I believe @Lucyr has experience of that, but I am thinking that you are switched on enough to know that if you felt really unwell you would get medical support and you could certainly decide to test your BG if you felt really unwell. If you want total peace of mind you could get some Ketostix but bear in mind that you may have starvation or low carb (ketosis) ketones anyway, so could frighten yourself unnecessarily when it is just normal levels.

Ultimately it is your choice. Your diabetes is really well managed at the moment and I am certain that there are plenty of Type 2s with much poorer control than you who never test and get through Covid just fine without testing. Sometimes I think, here on the forum, we may get a little too hung up on testing and maybe that is partly because many of us are insulin dependent where testing when we are ill is so much more important.
 
rebrascora said:
I can totally understand what you are saying and even without the Covid, a break from testing can be important and sometimes you need a release from the intensity from it and if you are unwell you don't need that extra strain....if you don't need it... unlike us insulin dependents who have to keep our eye very closely on the ball when we are ill, because things can go seriously wrong if we don't. I like to have a break from my Libre every now and then when I get sick of it "looking over my shoulder and spying on me" all the time. I always come back to it really appreciative of what it does and refreshed, so I think a break from testing can probably bring similar relief and remotivation and since you can't do anything about your levels being raised other than drink plenty of water, I can see a benefit in turning your back on it for a few days.

I don't think you need to be concerned about ketones with being Type 2. Yes I know they can develop in rare circumstances and I believe @Lucyr has experience of that, but I am thinking that you are switched on enough to know that if you felt really unwell you would get medical support and you could certainly decide to test your BG if you felt really unwell. If you want total peace of mind you could get some Ketostix but bear in mind that you may have starvation or low carb (ketosis) ketones anyway, so could frighten yourself unnecessarily when it is just normal levels.

Ultimately it is your choice. Your diabetes is really well managed at the moment and I am certain that there are plenty of Type 2s with much poorer control than you who never test and get through Covid just fine without testing. Sometimes I think, here on the forum, we may get a little too hung up on testing and maybe that is partly because many of us are insulin dependent where testing when we are ill is so much more important.
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Thank you for taking the time to respond so informatively and supportively, you seem to understand exactly where I am coming from as does @travellor @gll @Lucyr @Eddy Edson I have just got a head full of cotton woll, and want to sleep until I am better so testing would get in the way of that. I am assuming I won't be ill for longer than a few days and then will go back to testing.

@trophywench thank you for your response, and I do understand your concerns but as a type 2 I hope keytones wont be an issue, I would like to say I would be aware of symptoms if my levels got dangerously high but as I am a;lso having symptoms of covid they could be missed. In June I was blissfully unaware of my diabetes and now with the weight loss and giving up smoking and lower carbs I am in a better place to fight this horrible virus, and I really grateful to all of you for the advice and support, encouragement. I couldnt have done it without you all xx
 
Sorry to hear you have tested positive for Covid, it is very hard to avoid if others in the house have it.
Hopefully you will have minimal symptoms. I was hardly unwell at all but still tested positive for 8 days.
 
Ugh, poor you! I hope you feel better soon. I’ve just had it, it was just like a nasty cold that dragged on for a week, and my blood glucose did go up a bit, but only for a couple of days, and not dramatically so, so hope yours behaves! I was about to have my booster! I’d got the appointment booked for the day after I tested positive and had to cancel it!
 
rebrascora said:
I can totally understand what you are saying and even without the Covid, a break from testing can be important and sometimes you need a release from the intensity from it and if you are unwell you don't need that extra strain....if you don't need it... unlike us insulin dependents who have to keep our eye very closely on the ball when we are ill, because things can go seriously wrong if we don't. I like to have a break from my Libre every now and then when I get sick of it "looking over my shoulder and spying on me" all the time. I always come back to it really appreciative of what it does and refreshed, so I think a break from testing can probably bring similar relief and remotivation and since you can't do anything about your levels being raised other than drink plenty of water, I can see a benefit in turning your back on it for a few days.

I don't think you need to be concerned about ketones with being Type 2. Yes I know they can develop in rare circumstances and I believe @Lucyr has experience of that, but I am thinking that you are switched on enough to know that if you felt really unwell you would get medical support and you could certainly decide to test your BG if you felt really unwell. If you want total peace of mind you could get some Ketostix but bear in mind that you may have starvation or low carb (ketosis) ketones anyway, so could frighten yourself unnecessarily when it is just normal levels.

Ultimately it is your choice. Your diabetes is really well managed at the moment and I am certain that there are plenty of Type 2s with much poorer control than you who never test and get through Covid just fine without testing. Sometimes I think, here on the forum, we may get a little too hung up on testing and maybe that is partly because many of us are insulin dependent where testing when we are ill is so much more important.
Click to expand...

Sometimes testing takes over from being diabetic.
 
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