[lyadberrios]

How do you know when blood sugar has reached its peak after a meal? Measuring after one hour, two, etc.? I have read both in this forum and other places that the rule of thumb to know where you are is two hours. By two hours blood sugar should have come down somewhat and it depends on the food eaten and each individual but I am still unsure about this.

Trying to get a handle on blood/sugar spikes.

Thanks.

[princesslinda]

I have read that the reasoning behind 2 hr readings is that at 2hrs, your blood sugar should have returned close to the pre-meal #s, and having elevated post-prandial readings are usually the first indicator for diabetes (though most of us aren't diagnosed until are fastings become elevated).

I do notice that some foods (esp. pizza) can be higher AFTER the 2 hr reading, probably due to the fat content slowing the blood sugar rise.

[georgepds]

It depends on what you eat.. google glycemic response curve

This citation in wikipedia will get you started

Glycemic index - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Also David Mendosa has some references on glycemic index

[xMenace]

I find I behave differently throughout the day. I spike very quickly in the morning and it seems to take forever to get down. I almost always bolus 20-30 minutes early then. DInner is similar but not as bad. I'm usually good at lunch unless I eat high GI.

[dbc]

Originally Posted by lyadberrios

How do you know when blood sugar has reached its peak after a meal? Measuring after one hour, two, etc.? I have read both in this forum and other places that the rule of thumb to know where you are is two hours. By two hours blood sugar should have come down somewhat and it depends on the food eaten and each individual but I am still unsure about this.

Depends what you want to know - the 2 hr PP test only tells you your BS is/isn't within the acceptable range after the meal, not how high it went. If you can stand the testing, check before you eat & every 15 minutes for 2 hours after a meal . But that will only tell you what happened for that particular meal - and can not necessarily be assumed to be representative of what happens every time - one of the delights of diabetes! You'd have to repeat the test a few times and average the readings to achieve a respresentative result.

I think that although this is interesting, it doesn't tell you much of importance. (besides the discomfort of so many holes in your fingertips!!!) As I understand it, what is important is that however high the BS spike, at 2 hrs the level should have returned to at least under 8mmol/L, if not lower (there's some controversy about that).

For us T1s, that means getting the dosage & action profile of bolus insulin to match the blood glucose profile after a meal - not the easiest thing to accomplish. For T2s not on insulin, it means selecting foods/food combinations that avoid excessive BS spikes.

[lyadberrios]

Thank you all for your responses. It is most helpful.