When do you test?

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Steff

Steff

Little Miss Chatterbox
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
This may have been discussed elsewhere but just wanted to know whatever your type when do you test? I test 3 times a day but i do not test before bed, do people think i should??

Thanks
 
Lots of people do test before bed, especially if they have had a lot of night time hypos.
 
I know it's been dealt with before, but it's always worth a review every now and then for the new forum members.

When I was first diagnosed, I tested once a day, every day for the first few months. I tested at different times each day and built up a picture over time regarding which food to avoid and what portions worked for me. It also informed my decision about when and how to exercise.

I think this approach works very well if the bg levels are generally well controlled. It's not so great if you're constantly running high levels when it might be better to do before and after meal readings.

Now that I'm happy with how things have progressed I test only once a week and sometimes only once a fortnight.

Andy
 
Andy HB said:
I know it's been dealt with before, but it's always worth a review every now and then for the new forum members.

When I was first diagnosed, I tested once a day, every day for the first few months. I tested at different times each day and built up a picture over time regarding which food to avoid and what portions worked for me. It also informed my decision about when and how to exercise.

I think this approach works very well if the bg levels are generally well controlled. It's not so great if you're constantly running high levels when it might be better to do before and after meal readings.

Now that I'm happy with how things have progressed I test only once a week and sometimes only once a fortnight.

Andy
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I hope I get to the position you are in one day Andy
 
type 1 on mdi so I test all the time, the main meal times, brekky, lunch, dinner, bed...........and when working, I test every hour between lunch, purely just to see what happening..........

I can have the same thing to eat every day and my reading are totally different between lunch and dinner..........its mental...........

before and after booze too........again, just out of curiosity........
 
Under instruction from dsn i test 4 times a day before meals and bed time,if i feel i need to i might do the odd test if i feel a bit out of sorts.
 
t1 on mdi...

I test when I wake up - I like to try and start off the right way so I can adjust before I start eating anything....then I'll test when I get into work, mid-morning, before lunch, mid afternoon, before dinner and before bed. this is an extreme though as I'm just starting to try and re-educate myself on it all...and it's easier during the week at work as it's a routine - Saturday for eg I forgot to test all day 😱
 
Type 1 on MDI.

Before each meal (to know what level I am starting from)
After a meal if in doubt of its absorption profile vs insulin
When testing basal levels
Before bed
Before driving (and during if on a long trip)
When feeling hypo
When checking hypo recovery

Basically all the time 😛

At the moment it's usually between 6 and 10 times a day.

In the past it's been as few as a couple of times a day, but it's crept up this year as I've tried (and more or less succeeded) to tighten control.
 
Thanks for the replies so far, i feel theres no need for me personally to test as i dont hypo and after my evening meal my levels are seldom over 8..
 
Hi Steffie. When starting the old spit I was told to test twice a day at different times to build up a picture. In addition they told me to do extra tests if I felt hypo. Now because my BG is always very good I test about 3 days a week but then do before and after each meal and at bedtime. Now and again I do a bit of intensive testing to try and spot if any particular carby foods give me spikes at either 1,2 or 3 hours. So far so good and no spectacular spikes with anything I eat.
I have only been down to 3.9 once and my lows are usually 4.2 so I don't need to worry about that too much. I have an appointment with the consultant soon and am going to ask if she thinks it appropriate to ditch the gliclazide now so I will go back to daily testing then to check that I'm not going too high.
 
Lizzie53 said:
Hi Steffie. When starting the old spit I was told to test twice a day at different times to build up a picture. In addition they told me to do extra tests if I felt hypo. Now because my BG is always very good I test about 3 days a week but then do before and after each meal and at bedtime. Now and again I do a bit of intensive testing to try and spot if any particular carby foods give me spikes at either 1,2 or 3 hours. So far so good and no spectacular spikes with anything I eat.
I have only been down to 3.9 once and my lows are usually 4.2 so I don't need to worry about that too much. I have an appointment with the consultant soon and am going to ask if she thinks it appropriate to ditch the gliclazide now so I will go back to daily testing then to check that I'm not going too high.
Click to expand...

Weirdly i was never told to change my testing when i went over to byetta.Recently on a morning i have been waking close to 10 which is higher then i would ideally want so i was thinking why, i certainly dont eat in bed, it must be all the dreams of cream cakes and crisps i have they cause me to go high lol..
 
I test 4-6 times per day usually, before meals and before bed, before driving. when exercising I test more as I become very insulin sensitive. Occasionally I miss the prelunch reading when at work as I am very rarely high at that time.
 
I use an insulin pump..

So everyday, bedtime, when I get up, before and after eating, if long period between eating, then a couple durning that time to keep an eye on things, before driving, the if I think I'm hypo/high.. on adverage about 10 times a day..

Then I do fasting tests about one sector, once a month (unless a reason for doing the complete lot) this means an hourly BG over the fasting period...

Times have changed, back 20+ years ago when I was first diabetic on the rather strict carb exchange 2 injections a day regime, it was once a week, before and after meals, and when necessary for hypo's, illness etc😱
 
I dont know if you should test before bed?

its important for type 1s to test because of the effects of insulin, for example if i tested and was 4, i would need a snack before bed, if i was 8 i would need a correction.

On average i test around 10 times a day but can be more, all the usual times plus when i change set/canula, if i feel hi/lo, if unwell, before i drive, before and after exercise, before an evening out (incase i need a snack if drinking), when i do basal testing, all the time really 😱
 
Thank you for all your replies, just stick to what im doing at the moment is the best thing for me i guess x
 
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