I'm an idiot (GD Question)

marianj79 · April 2012

So I just had my consult with a dietician today. She gave me the blood test machine, but I have a separate appointment on Saturday to learn when and how to use it. Well, I didn't wait. Like a big fat impatient child I tested my blood sugar randomly just to see how it felt. I told myself that I wouldn't worry about the results, and while I'm not worried at all, I am curious if anyone else tests randomly. I ate lunch at about 12:15, had a snack at 4:45, and tested at 5:00. Just wondering if there is a normal range I should be in? My number was 71, btw. Thanks for hunting me, and don't be afraid to tell me I'm dumb and should just wait to test until after my appointment sat!!

juliane2004 · April 2012

Fayga:
If your number was 71 after 15 minutes after eating something no bad at all but, you should test 2 hours after a meal. Then it should be 120 or lower and morning fasting (pre breakfast) should be 95 or lower.

This. You should either test right before you eat and/or two hours after. 15 minutes later is a waste of a test.

marianj79 · April 2012

Thanks guys! I ended up running outside to play with DD since its so nice. Sorry for the post and run! Yeah I knew it was a waste of a test, I just wanted to see what the whole process was like. Then I started wondering about the number, which seemed decent (at least it wasn't super high, you know?). I'm dying to test for my after dinner number, which probably makes me a geek : )

liztothemax · April 2012

Well, I have regular type 2 diabetes as opposed to GD, but I just wanted to say I have to somewhat disagree with the other people who posted. Maybe GD is treated differently than type 2, but I'm pretty well versed in blood testing so I thought I'd weigh in.

Testing after a snack is completely useless (unless you ate something outrageous for a snack like a piece of cake lol). You need to test after meals - an hour after is ideal. Your blood sugar level after eating a meal doesn't peak at an hour, it's on the rise after an hour, so if it's high after an hour it's going to likely be really high after 2 hours.

Having a blood sugar of 71 after eating snack is totally reasonable as far as my diabetes goes, but I acknowledge it could be different if you're strictly GD. "Fasting blood sugar", that is the number after 2 hours of not eating anything, for me is supposed to be 89 or under, if it gets lower than 74 I tend to know it because I feel sick/light headed. It's not dangerous for it to go below 74 for me or anything, my body just doesn't like it. I was 68 this morning when I woke up, for example, and I felt achey all over.

Once you learn the proper levels and stuff you'll become an old pro really quick. And don't stress about your numbers too much! When I first started having to be treated for diabetes (I found out I was diabetic when I found out I was pregnant, it was WONDERFUL *sarcasm*) I felt like a failure and really beat myself up whenever my numbers were bad but I felt like I'd done everything right as far as what I ate. It wasn't healthy to be so hard on myself, but I didn't think of it that way at the time.

L8kissie · April 2012

Kaiser is having me do a fasting (first thing in the morning), and one hour after each meal. I'm supposed to be between 60 and 89 mg/dl for fasting and between 60 and 130 mg/dl after one hour. We're allowed to do two hours after eating (60 to 120), but they'd prefer us not to do that one often. My paper says that before lunch, dinner, and bedtime should be at 60 to 100 if they ask you to test them.