When to test blood sugar

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-07-2006
When to test blood sugar
9
Thu, 04-10-2008 - 4:41pm

I am currently 25 weeks pregnant.  I have been having difficulty with my blood sugar being too low.  I did have some hypoglycemia episodes before I was pregnant.  I have been monitoring my blood the past several days & I have a question on when you measure your blood after eating.  I know some do 1 hour after eating.  My question is, is that one hour after your first bite or one hour after your last bite?  I finally got a decent rating today of 97, one hour after my first bite though probably 30-45 minutes after finishing.  Yesterday one hour after my last bite was 75.  My waking blood sugar this morning was 64.  I have been really trying to get it higher, but I just can't.  My doctor wants me to eat every 2 hours & to eat more protein, but it is just not getting very high.


 


Thank you for your help!

Kristen


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Kristen

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Avatar for cl_maryfrances40
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Thu, 04-10-2008 - 8:40pm

Hi and welcome to the board,


Normally you test 2 hours after your last bite. That is when your blood sugar is supposed to be no more than 40 points higher than before you ate. I am not very good at giving advise about eating and pregnancy. But it wounds like you do need to eat more for yourself and your growing daughter. Are you on insulin? Avocados and olive oil are two things which are suggested to help diabetics with good fats. Have you had a visit with a dietitian? I know when my step daughter was pregnant the dietitian was very helpful for her. There are several others here on the board who are pregnant and perhaps they will have some additional ideas for you.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Fri, 04-11-2008 - 12:28pm

Wow! And here I've been testing 2 hrs after my first bite for the last year. I just never got a straight answer on the subject though I tried to dig out the information on several websites (including ADA).

--Deb

Avatar for cl_coldfingers
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Fri, 04-11-2008 - 12:49pm

I read somewhere 2 hours after the first bite...


iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Fri, 04-11-2008 - 4:12pm

I was figuring it based on the fact that within a few minutes of starting to eat, stuff is digesting and blood sugar is beginning to rise...kind of similar to counting the time between feedings when you're nursing is from beginning to beginning or couting days in a menstrual cycle is first day to first day. I'll bet if I measure two hours after I finish eating I get lots of lower readings (yippee!)

This is probably my biggest confusion and there's nothing I've seen (not from the ADA or anyone else) that gives anything definite as to when to start timing (lots of info on making sure to test 2 hrs after a meal but not when to start the timer).

--Deb

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-18-2008
Fri, 04-18-2008 - 12:41am
I have always read or heard to test 90 minutes or 2 hours from your FIRST bite of food.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Mon, 04-21-2008 - 12:29pm

You might want to talk with your dr and see about getting "a little extra" on the test strips. It can be really helpful to do "paired" testing (before and after a given meal) so you can see whether that reading of 160 afterward is a jump of 60 points or a jump of 10 points because you were so high before eating. When I let my endo know that I was *occasionally* testing twice per day, sometimes 3 times IF I got a weird reading, she rewrote the Rx so that she's prescribing that I test twice per day (so insurance covers it since it's 'officially' required) but she's still only expecting me to test once per day - that way I have 'extras' to use at will.

--Deb

Avatar for cl_coldfingers
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Mon, 04-21-2008 - 1:28pm

Some drs' however won't do this.


iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2003
Mon, 04-21-2008 - 7:29pm

You know there is a certain irony in providers trying to tighten the belt on how often you SHOULD test!!


I agree with you.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2001
Mon, 04-28-2008 - 9:30am

Hi...not sure if your dr told you 1 hr after a meal