Fasting am testing - when exactly should I test?

StacieH · 07-29-2006, 06:40 PM

I was just recently diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. I know this is a board for Type II, but I was hoping for some insight from those of you familiar with daily blood glucose monitoring. My dr's office is closed today and I can't reach anyone until Monday, so I was hoping you might have some ideas.

The instructions given to me were a little unclear as to when I should test my fasting AM before breakfast, and I've run into a few questions:

Do I test immediately upon waking?
Do I test after I've been up for a while?
Do I test immediately before I eat my breakfast (by that time, I've usually been up a while, showered and am almost ready for work)?

And, if you know the answer to this, that would be great - if I were to get up, get moving and ready, maybe go for a short little walk around the neighborhood first thing in the morning, would that lower my BGL and keep it lowered? Or, would exercise at night help to keep my am BGL lower?

The reason I ask all of this is because my BGL have been elevated the last two mornings in a row (I just started monitoring). The first morning was right at the top of the range I was given, and this morning it was 2pts over. One more time of it being elevated above my given range, and I may end up on medication or insulin for the duration of the pg - something I would like to avoid. Especially since the only numbers that have been at the top of the range or elevated have been my am fasting - everything else has been really good.

Other than being pg and having PCOS and IR, I can't figure out why my am fasting levels are consistently 20 points higher than my three other daily levels.

Should my pre-bedtime snack be eaten at a certain time (ie 2hrs before bed, etc)?
Is there a good snack you would recommend for my pre-bedtime snack?
Should I always combine carbs w/protein at snacks? (I do for meals).
Is there anything else you would recommend to help my am fasting level stay lower/within normal range?

Thank you!

terilynn112 · 07-30-2006, 12:58 PM

Ok first off, I"m gonna encourage you, insulin or medication isn't horrible, as long as you get a healthy baby.

secondly, I test as soon as I get up. I did thru the pregnancy too. If I forget and get busy and don't test until an hour after I'm up, it's higher than my normal fasting. So try that.

My next thought is, for a bedtime snack, I'd do a low carb protein snack... such as I had good luck with 3 or 4 ritz crackers and peanut butter. That helped with my morning bs.

I hope and pray all turns out good for you, and you're able to stay off insulin/meds. But if you don't... it's not the end of the world.

Teri

nobimbo · 07-30-2006, 02:31 PM

Many people (diabetic or not) have higher fasting blood sugar; it's known as the "Dawn Phenomenon". The best way to get it down quickly is to eat breakfast soon after waking up (I know, sounds counterintuitive, but it's true). You can read more about it here:

http://www.diabetic-talk.org/dp.htm

You should test right when waking up for a true fasting blood sugar reading (like Terri does).

Maybe your doc would let you take Metformin instead of insulin if you need to get your bs down? I know there is debate about taking Met during pregnancy, but all the research seems to be on the side of taking it (also helps to prevent miscarriages). Taking Met before bed can help lower morning blood sugars.

Linda