When to test blood?

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  • posted by Jerseyphilip
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    Hi

    I am a type 2 diabetic and having read Dr Mosley’s latest book (8 week sugar diet) he recommended buying a blood self testing kit, which I have done. I started losing weight using the 5:2 method and now use 4:3 as recommended by Dr Varady.

    The instructions for the kit recommend testing 2 hours before a meal and 2 hours after.

    May I ask other members who use these kits do you test this way, or perhaps before and after a fasting day or something else?

    Thanks for any help.

    Regards

    Philip

  • posted by captainlynne
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    Hi Philip.

    I used to test first thing in the morning (on waking) and last thing at night.

    To see how different foods affect you, test immediately before eating, then one and two hours afterwards. That will give an indication of how that meal has affected your blood sugar. I originally tested a great deal, to work out which foods had least effect on my bloods, then reduced until just morning and night.

    My problem was always getting the waking reading down.

    Since the BSD all my blood tests have been down in the normal range, so I only do occasional random tests. If I’m unsure about a new food I’ll test that, to be on the safe side.

    Hope this helps.

  • posted by Jerseyphilip
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    Hi,

    Thanks for your response, that’s really helpful.

    Philip

  • posted by captainlynne
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    You are welcome.

    Any other questions, just ask. Someone is usually around to help.

  • posted by sunshine-girl
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    Hi Phillip like Lynne I test first thing in the morning before food or drink. I then check again just before I have dinner, usually 7pm as besides a small snack I will have gone without food for about 6 or 7 hours. The second check is because I used to have a biggish snack in the afternoon but now do not need it but my BG can go a bit low. I also check if I have done a lot of exercise or if I am feeling symptoms of a hypo coming on. This is a lot of testing but by BG has gone down so much since BSD that I prefer to keep a very careful eye on it. Anyway, normally twice a day, I am on insulin so it can be a good idea to be careful and check.

  • posted by Jerseyphilip
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    Many thanks Sunshinegirl, that’s really interesting seeing the different ways of looking at this.

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