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  #16   ^
Old Sun, Dec-28-14, 20:52
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
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Squeeze and rub your finger toward the tip of your finger first.

I bought a meter and some strips. Without a prescription the name brand were $180. I bought the CVS Pharmacy store brand and they were $15.
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  #17   ^
Old Mon, Dec-29-14, 12:14
bike2work bike2work is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 4,536
 
Plan: Fung-inspired fasting
Stats: 336/000/160 Female 5' 9"
BF:
Progress: 191%
Location: Seattle metro area
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Thanks Deirdra and Liz!
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  #18   ^
Old Mon, Dec-29-14, 12:18
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,830
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by coachjeff
She uses One-Touch Ultra Blue strips, per the advice of her endocrinologist. They have some kind of capillary like action which literally sucks the blood sample up, so you can get a reading with even a tiny amount of blood.

I'm already finding out that I'm not much of a bleeder, so getting enough blood out of a finger prick can be a challenge.

Most strips do have that these days. I've been using the Relion Confirm. Just need a tiny dot of blood.
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  #19   ^
Old Mon, Dec-29-14, 12:25
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
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Yes, The cheapoo generic ones I have draw up the tiny spot of blood like a magnet.
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  #20   ^
Old Tue, Dec-30-14, 10:28
coachjeff's Avatar
coachjeff coachjeff is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 635
 
Plan: Very Low Carb
Stats: 211/212/210 Male 72
BF:
Progress: -100%
Location: Shreveport, LA
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Good to hear that the cheaper generic strips work as well for "sucking up" blood into the strip, as more expensive ones.
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  #21   ^
Old Tue, Dec-30-14, 13:13
khrussva's Avatar
khrussva khrussva is offline
Say NO to Diabetes!
Posts: 8,671
 
Plan: My own - < 30 net carbs
Stats: 440/228/210 Male 5' 11"
BF:Energy Unleashed
Progress: 92%
Location: Central Virginia - USA
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I use a cheap meter & strips that my mom gave me. She got them as a 'free trial' and was not using them. Since I started testing a few months ago, I have not stopped. The strips cost me just .14 cents each when I bought a bulk purchase of 5 x 50 count boxes. I have not compared the results to a quality meter & strips, but it appears to be accurate enough for my purposes. When I test the same sample (i.e. squeeze out a little more blood and test again) I get results within 2 or 4 points of the previous reading moments earlier.

I am (or was) a diabetic - but was never prescribed a meter and strips. Now that I've tried it, I wish I had been. I find it extremely helpful in figuring out how to optimize how I eat. I've found that some LC foods can cause me carb cravings and leave me hungry before the next meal. With testing, I've figured out how to eat and keep the BG within a normal range following a meal. When I do that, I'm good to go for making it to the next meal hunger free.

I test AM fasting BG almost everyday. I also do pre-dinner and then several post dinner readings daily. On weekends, I often test before and after lunch. I've gone through 12 strips on some days. I love data and I find this information fascinating. I need to start tracking it in a spreadsheet or something.

BTW: I did find that for me, the Intermittent Fast worked as advertised for lowering my fasting and average BG level. The first month I got the meter, my fasting BG was in the 105 to 112 range almost every day. After adding 1 or 2 IFs to my weekly routine, I got an instant 20 point drop in my fasting BG eating pretty much the same food ratios every day. For the past several weeks, my fasting BG has ranged from 85 to 93.

Since I am controlling my diabetes through diet, perhaps I can get my doctor to prescribe testing supplies. It is worth a shot.

Last edited by khrussva : Tue, Dec-30-14 at 15:02.
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  #22   ^
Old Tue, Dec-30-14, 13:49
Bonnie OFS Bonnie OFS is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,573
 
Plan: Dr. Bernstein
Stats: 188/150/135 Female 5 ft 4 inches
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: NE WA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by khrussva
I use a cheap meter & strips that my mom gave me.


What brand?
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  #23   ^
Old Tue, Dec-30-14, 14:51
khrussva's Avatar
khrussva khrussva is offline
Say NO to Diabetes!
Posts: 8,671
 
Plan: My own - < 30 net carbs
Stats: 440/228/210 Male 5' 11"
BF:Energy Unleashed
Progress: 92%
Location: Central Virginia - USA
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It was this one...

Advocate Redi Code Plus

This one allows you to categorize your tests by 3 different categories... Pre-meal, post-meal, and general/misc. You can then get 7/14/30/60 day averages for each category of tests. That is enough info for my purposes.

And here are the testing strips (I just ordered another batch today)

Redi Code BG Testing Strips

I told you they were cheap. I do have a name brand meter that my wife picked up - but I just can't bring myself to spring for the $50 price tag for 50 strips. I can't do what I'm doing at that price. Perhaps I'll do it just once to make sure that what I am using isn't so inaccurate as to be not worth using.

Last edited by khrussva : Tue, Dec-30-14 at 14:59.
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  #24   ^
Old Tue, Dec-30-14, 16:34
coachjeff's Avatar
coachjeff coachjeff is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 635
 
Plan: Very Low Carb
Stats: 211/212/210 Male 72
BF:
Progress: -100%
Location: Shreveport, LA
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Thanks for sharing khrussva.

Since you've been testing awhile, what foods seem to cause you the biggest BG spikes after a meal?

I'd also love if others shared that info as well.
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  #25   ^
Old Tue, Dec-30-14, 16:36
coachjeff's Avatar
coachjeff coachjeff is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 635
 
Plan: Very Low Carb
Stats: 211/212/210 Male 72
BF:
Progress: -100%
Location: Shreveport, LA
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Found a great free app for i-pads, i-phones, etc. called Glucose Wiz. Even tells you your overall BG averages. And easy to enter your BG data. Very user friendly.
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  #26   ^
Old Tue, Dec-30-14, 17:33
Liz53's Avatar
Liz53 Liz53 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 6,140
 
Plan: Mostly Fung/IDM
Stats: 165/138.4/135 Female 63
BF:???/better/???
Progress: 89%
Location: Washington state
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Quote:
Originally Posted by coachjeff
Thanks for sharing khrussva.

Since you've been testing awhile, what foods seem to cause you the biggest BG spikes after a meal?



Yes, thanks, Ken for the recommendation on the meter. I'm paying 20 cents a strip now, down from 40, but am not impressed with consistency. I seem to have too many questionable readings. If these are cheap AND reliable, what's not to like?

I can count on readings in the 160-170 range with a piece bread. At Halloween I had 4 (6?) bite sized pieces of Hershey's dark chocolate with almonds (which frankly seemed like a reasonable choice) and BG shot to 190 (the highest I've ever seen). Once i saw the 160s with a 3-4 oz portion of turnips+ onions. I've long wondered if it was an erratic reading, though. Those strips were later recalled.
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  #27   ^
Old Tue, Dec-30-14, 20:50
khrussva's Avatar
khrussva khrussva is offline
Say NO to Diabetes!
Posts: 8,671
 
Plan: My own - < 30 net carbs
Stats: 440/228/210 Male 5' 11"
BF:Energy Unleashed
Progress: 92%
Location: Central Virginia - USA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz53
Jenny Ruhl has an excellent guide on how to test blood sugars and interpret the results:

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14046889.php


Thanks for posting this link, Liz53. I learned a lot - including what you call the condition that relates to my response to sugar and starch - reactive hypoglycemia. When I eat something that significantly affects BG, I get an immediate BG spike and crash. Then my BG remains below normal for more than an hour. When this happens, I am craving carbs the whole time. I would not have figured this out without testing my BG following meals. It does not take too many carbs to knock my system out of wack, so I don't think I'll be testing my BG reaction to 75 carbs (as discussed on that web site) any time soon.

Jeff -- I am one of those people who just 'wings it' most of the time doing LC. I rarely measure anything. But I've spent so many years (throughout the years) doing low carb that I know what I can eat and I pretty much know the carb count for what I eat. The main difference between this time around and all the other failed diets is that I don't cheat and I've truly made LCHF the way I eat now. So although I do wing it, I do stay below 30 carbs per day 99% of the time. In the past 11 months, I've accidently knocked myself out of ketosis twice - accompanied by the tell-tale 5 or 6 pound water weight gain for a few days. No more LC wraps for me -- they are not LC enough.

About what sets off my BG... Probably the biggest thing I've learned is that I have to eat my carbs in the right ratios of fat and protein. I've even found that the order that I eat my food makes a difference. I normally eat < 3 carbs for breakfast, < 7 carbs for lunch, and < 12 carbs for dinner. If a meal has the carbs but is low in fat and/or protein - I can get a major BS spike (225+) and crash (below 65) within an hour of eating the meal. One day I had a dinner of homemade mushroom soup (made with pureed sauteed onions and mushrooms in chicken stock) followed by a tossed salad. The meal was less than 10 carbs, but also low in fat and protein. That dinner gave me the results I mentioned above. I had mild carb cravings from it for over an hour following this meal. The next time I ate that mushroom soup, I started the meal off with protein and some raw veggies, then ate the soup. My BG peaked at about 140 and slowly fell back to 105 by 2 hours following the meal. No cravings. With all my BG testing, I find that having overcooked or pureed veggies (like many of my LC soups have) in my meals send my BG the highest. Over-cooked onions and carrots are the main culprits. When I eat the same serving of veggies raw or lightly steamed (along with fat & protein), my BG reaction is minimal (< 120 peak). I've found the same true for things like fresh strawberries or cantaloupe. Even a 3 or 4 carb serving will spike my BG if eaten apart from fat and protein. If I make it a desert for a meal, the BG impact is minimal.

One other thing that will set me off is even a small amount of sugar in things like catsup and stir-fry sauce. It does not really seem to matter that I keep within my carb limits and eat these sauces with fat and protein. Even a few carbs of sugar in a sauce seems to jump straight into my blood stream and spike my BG. These days, I stick with sauces that are less than 1 carb per serving (or make my own).

I learned from my Atkins book about what happens to carbs when eaten within 1 hour of a workout... they end up rebuilding your glycogen stores and keep your BG lower. With testing, I've found this to be true. A dinner that will normally peak my BG between 130-140 will have almost no impact on my BG if I eat it within an hour of a nice brisk walk or a few sets of lifting weights. Amazing stuff.

When I eat right, I will enjoy a nice meal in the right portion size for losing weight, I will get full, and I won't be hungry until the next meal. The perfect day is 3 meals and no need to fill the gaps with snacks. Testing my BG has helped me learn how to eat right.

Last edited by khrussva : Wed, Dec-31-14 at 08:25.
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  #28   ^
Old Tue, Dec-30-14, 21:12
khrussva's Avatar
khrussva khrussva is offline
Say NO to Diabetes!
Posts: 8,671
 
Plan: My own - < 30 net carbs
Stats: 440/228/210 Male 5' 11"
BF:Energy Unleashed
Progress: 92%
Location: Central Virginia - USA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz53
Yes, thanks, Ken for the recommendation on the meter. I'm paying 20 cents a strip now, down from 40, but am not impressed with consistency. I seem to have too many questionable readings. If these are cheap AND reliable, what's not to like?


I have had a couple of problem readings with these strips - mostly early on while I was still learning how to do it properly. Some of it was probably due to insufficient blood. Plus, I've found that if I wipe away the first drop of blood and test from the 2nd squeeze -- I get more reliable results. Still, I have had 2 or 3 readings that were way off track from what I expected. When I tested again, I got the correct results. So they are not perfect. But for what I pay, they are good enough.
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  #29   ^
Old Wed, Dec-31-14, 08:06
Liz53's Avatar
Liz53 Liz53 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 6,140
 
Plan: Mostly Fung/IDM
Stats: 165/138.4/135 Female 63
BF:???/better/???
Progress: 89%
Location: Washington state
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Quote:
Originally Posted by khrussva
I have had a couple of problem readings with these strips - mostly early on while I was still learning how to do it properly. Some of it was probably due to insufficient blood. Plus, I've found that if I wipe away the first drop of blood and test from the 2nd squeeze -- I get more reliable results. Still, I have had 2 or 3 readings that were way off track from what I expected. When I tested again, I got the correct results. So they are not perfect. But for what I pay, they are good enough.


I use the same procedure as you, wiping away the first drop, but with my new meter I'm getting about 10-20% wonky readings.. a quick recheck gives me something more expected and could be anywhere from 20% lower to 100% higher. I feel like I'm wasting strips.

Thanks for the insights you've gained by testing glucose. Another great post.
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  #30   ^
Old Wed, Dec-31-14, 10:53
coachjeff's Avatar
coachjeff coachjeff is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 635
 
Plan: Very Low Carb
Stats: 211/212/210 Male 72
BF:
Progress: -100%
Location: Shreveport, LA
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We'll my wife just got her lab results back from her endo. She is officially a t2 diabetic now. At the low end of it, but still there. I would describe her usual diet as high carb and high fat SAD. The endo is telling her to NOT do low carb, but rather slow carbs, and to somewhat limit fat intake. Also wants her to eat 6 meals a day. Of course I am skeptical of that approach, to say the least. But when my wife sees me struggling with high BG levels after over 7 years on LC, she is of course more inclined to follower her endo's advice. Time will tell how it works for her, if she is even able to comply with it. At least it will be lots better than her current SAD diet.
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