really lazy about things

sweetcheeks · #1 (**permalink**) 04-29-2007, 08:24 PM

Ok, lately ive been really lazy about testing.... I might test once a day or twice a day, but there have been days I dont test at all.

3 reason for this are

1. My numbers are still good
2. I'm still watching what I eat as far as calorie intake (generally if im at my calorie intake, my carbs are in check also, this is something I've noticed, so thats why i dont count carbs as much as i used to, plus ive also gotten pretty good at guessing my carbs)
3. trying to not use as many strips in the event of losing insurance.

I got my 3 months supply of my strips of 200 a month equaling 600 strips on April third. And I still have 575 strips left lol almost a month later.

Am I a horrible diabetic now? Im starting to feel guilty if I dont test.

xMenace · #2 (**permalink**) 04-29-2007, 08:42 PM

Much of testing is simple statistical sampling trying to answer the question "are my sugars ok?" For most type 2's not on insulin, your variability is not all that big. 1 to 4 tests a day is fine if your control is stable. Get that critical morning one and maybe one or two others during the day - change the times. If you find big numbers, then swing into touble-mode.

Funnygrl · #3 (**permalink**) 04-29-2007, 09:16 PM

I'm with Menace here. You don't really need to be testing more than 3-4x a day. It had huge benefits when you were first diagnosed, but now that you have more of a handle on things, there's no need to feel guilty about not keeping that up.

Emm · #4 (**permalink**) 04-29-2007, 09:48 PM

what they've said. No need to feel guilty - so long as you know things are ok, a break is GOOD! If there's any doubt, grab that tester out. Keep it on hand, but as a well controlled type 2 you really have nothing to worry about if you miss tests here & there.

slipperyelm · #5 (**permalink**) 05-01-2007, 07:49 AM

So are you saying you've only tested 25 times in a month?

Well, just so long as you stay focused, that is probably still okay. But if you suspect that you are letting yourself get away with some bad stuff since you might be skipping seeing the bad numbers, then get back to testing more.

Personally for me, the more I test, the better my control has been. This has held true for years. Everytime I have slacked off on testing, I shortly after slacked off on my lifestyle efforts. But you have been testing more than me anyway if you had been using 200 a month. About 150 a month has been optimal for me. Some days I used more than average if something weird was going on--this happened especially when I was on Glipizide which was forever taking me too low.

xMenace recommends testing at least in the morings. For me, that is the test that I am most likely to skip. That is because my morning numbers are always good. (Lucky me, huh?) 12- 14 hours after eating a low carb meal and having low activity level and I am well balanced for the fasting BG. Again, it is all so individual.

Just keep doing all your good stuff, right sweetcheeks? And be confident that if the day comes when you cannot afford strips that at least you _know_ now how to keep your BG down. It is good that you have already had a period of success and available strips so that you could learn how to keep BGs down.