When to test?

[Shannonsnail]

When you test after a meal, let's say at one hour or two hours - is that after the time you begin to eat or finish eating?

Thanks!

[butterflykisses]

I was told after your first bite.

[Ronin]

Hi Shannon!

I've heard both versions of the "two-hour-rule" -- one is from the first bite, the other from the last bite. Given the way most people eat the difference in time will rarely be more than about 15 minutes.

What is more important to understand is that the wait time is to allow your body to both digest the glucose consumed as well as respond to that glucose. Test too soon and your body may not have responded in full to the glucose load, wait too long and the reaction may have completed too long ago to be relevant.

Given that test strips are expensive, you might want to alternate times following meals and see where you spike and where you drop off. At this point in the process you are in learning mode trying to decipher how your body reacts to specific glucose loads.

Dealing with BG levles is more of an art-form than an exact science. You should strive to learn what works for you.

[Shel_B]

I've always understood, and tested, two hours after the last bite.

Shel

[Larry H.]

This is an endless debate. I was very surprised to find that our local hospital goes by the "Last Bite" test time. Many here say its the "First Bite". When I called One Touch about some other issue I ask them and was surprised to find that they also prescribed to the "Last Bite" theory. When I ask why they used that timing, the woman said that they felt that left enough time for any quick spike to pass and that you got more of a feel for what the real after effects were. That explanation seemed contrary to what I hear here about knowing what your "Highest" glucose level is rather than a more general one. I don't know which is best, I tend after being around for a bit now to test on the "First Bite" method.

Oh and one other thing I do know, the reading generally will be lower on the Last Bite test, what ever that means.

[Shannonsnail]

Wow! Who knew this issue was so complex that even the experts differ in their opinion!? I have been doing it based on first bite and frankly, I eat too fast, so I doubt there is that much difference from first to last. And, yes, strips are expensive. I am buying my own supplies since insurance does not cover costs for pre-D (a topic I could discuss on my soapbox for hours but will spare you) and I used up more than half a 50 strip container last week 'experimenting'. Yikes!

[Granny Shanny]

I am self-pay also, and I used up four strips in five minutes this morning when I tested 143 before I'd ever even eaten anything! I was 117 FBG, whereupon I took my morning meds (metformin, fluoxetine & levothyroxine). Then I got busy because we had a noon appointment I had to be ready for, and I didn't eat. That 143 set me on my ear, so I retested with the same blood & got 138. Still dumbfounded, I poked the other hand & came up with 86. Holy catfish! This is getting bizarre. So one last poke got me a 132. Is this what a liver dump looks like?

[genie86333]

Granny Shanny, it's probably a liver dump...a 117, followed by meds & not eating breakfast is enough to cause one sometimes.

Of course, there was that 86 in there with the other hand - could you have had something on your hands that artificially raised the other readings?

[Granny Shanny]

The 86 spooked me too, and there coulda been something I guess. If I haven't just washed my hands, I use an alcohol swab, and I think I was using a swab yesterday. Maybe it wasn't quite dry enough when I poked.

At any rate, things have settled down today. I showed a loss of two more pounds this morning & I have a batch of flax bars to sustain me. Life is good!

[karen maguire]

hi, i usually wait 2 hours after eating my meal, im type one and i cant believe ye all have to pay for your meds, in ireland no diabetic has to pay for their insulin or test strips etc.. if i had to pay i would barely check my BG as id try and save test strips lol! not a good idea!! best of luck on getting in control of your BG.

[GayleM]

Well, I guess what your goal is should be your guide. If you want to control your eating to produce BG levels within the normal range, you need to find your peak time first and then test at that time.

If you just want to see if your numbers return to normal, use the 2 hours.

The 2 hour thing is what docs use to see if you are coming back down. That really does nothing to help you control your spikes. An endo will typically set a goal of (at the highest end) 145 or less at your SPIKE. GP's are great for sore throats, but they don't know enough about the intricacies of diabetes and that is why they don't explain the testing time differences to us, or what "PRE" really means.

Most of us who are successfully (so far, after all, this is a progressive disease and needs adjustments) managing to keep our peaks and averages in a normal range test to find our peak. Test at 45 min, 1 hour and 90 minutes after your first bite. Do that for 3 days, all meals, and you will quickly see a pattern and your peak time will become evident. THAT is when you need to test and your goal should be <145 at least. My goal is to keep any spike =<115. Over 145 you begin to do damage to your beta cells.

My peak was 45 minutes for a long time. I recently re-checked and I am now peaking at 1 hour, so that is when I test. This is a fluid disease and things change :mad:

I self-pay for my strips and get them at WalMart where they are $39 for 100. I test 4 times a day, every day. But, to conserve costs, once you find your peak you can do your fasting test, then pick one meal to do all week. The next week chose a different meal and so forth. We are all different and I am most consistent in my dinner numbers. Breakfast and lunch my body doesn't like to have any carbs at all, so those I am more careful with.

I won't go into my schpeel on being "pre" has no meaning :) Since you appear to be so diligent about testing & controlling your eating I think you already "get it" :)

Take care!

[GayleM]

Larry, that "real after effects" statement is interesting, but sadly a common one unless you are dealing with an endo specializing in diabetes. Sadly, damage can be done even though we may fall back into a normal range. I tend to listen to the folks who have managed this disease for many years using conservative approaches and have therefore avoided neuropathy, vision loss, etc. Nothing says YES to me like success :)