When To Test
| Author: Judy Kohn, RN, BSN, CDE |
| Last Updated: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 |
Q: "I am a new Type 2 diabetic. When are the best times to test my blood glucose with the FreeStyle System? My 14 day average is 140. I am only controlling my blood sugar with diet and exercise. Is it ok to test once a day?"
A: There is no standard best time or frequency for blood glucose monitoring. These decisions are best agreed upon by you and your healthcare team.
Things to Consider Before Talking to Your Diabetes Team:
- You may be fine first thing in the morning, but if you don't test during the day, you may be missing that perhaps your glucose is too high after meals.
- You could actually be even lower during the day and perhaps the fasting glucose is higher than at other times of the day.
- You must consider your A1C level when deciding on the frequency of testing.
Common Testing Times:
- Before each meal (tells you if your diabetes is in control after the previous meal has cleared)
- 2 hours after the start of the meal (lets you see the effect of certain kinds and amounts of foods)
- As soon as you wake up (tells you if you make adequate insulin to suppress the release of glucose from the liver that occurs in the early morning hours)
- Before bed
- Before and after exercise
- When you are sick, having a medical procedure, or are under stress
- When you change your exercise or meal plan
Checking at various times can be valuable, as each test will tell you something about your diabetes management. For people with Type 2 diabetes who are not on diabetes medication, it is common to check 1-2 times/day, but vary the time of the tests. Some people check 2-4 times/day when they are learning about their blood glucose levels. Regardless, be sure to write in your log book the results, date, time, and designate if it is pre-meal or post-meal, along with appropriate notes explaining such variations as illness, unusual stress, larger or smaller meal, or exercise. All of these factors might affect your blood glucose.
I hope you learned from this answer that your glucose can vary throughout the day, and can be affected by food, activity, illness, medication, and stress. Testing at various times of the day, along with getting a periodic A1C test will help to verify that you are maintaining optimum diabetes control. Please discuss this with your healthcare team so together you can decide what your glucose goals are and what the ideal testing frequency and testing times are for you.
Related Questions
Postprandial (Post-Meal) Glucose
Q:
"I have type 2 diabetes. In class much emphasis was put on the blood sugar
2 hours after I stop eating. Why is this so crucial?"
Why test if not on diabetes medication?
Q:
"I have Type 2 and am getting high numbers when I test. A type 1 can take
insulin if high. What can I do to lower my number? Almost seems senseless to
test if I cannot take action to remedy the results..."
Glucose is higher in the morning
Q:
"I have been controlling my carb intake and have lost 40 lbs. Why do I have
a surge in my blood glucose level between bedtime and my first morning reading,
from 126 to 155? How can this happen ..."
Glucose Goals
Q:
"What is a good blood glucose reading?"
Related Links
American Diabetes Association (ADA)
http://www.diabetes.org
Important Notice: The responses provided by the team of Diabetes Educators are based on their personal experiences and expertise as practicing diabetes healthcare professionals, and are not to be considered diabetes management advice from Abbott Laboratories. Remember that information provided by the team of Diabetes Educators is for general background purposes and is not intended as a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment by a trained professional. You should always consult your physician about any healthcare questions you may have, especially before trying a new medication, diet, fitness program, or approach to healthcare issues.
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