It may or may not surprise you to know that lots of people with diabetes don’t really know how to use their glucose meters. By that I mean they were never given a good explanation of when test to test or why. Naturally this refers mostly to folks not on insulin (because taking insulin generally makes testing a do-or-die affair).
But there are a shocking number of Type 2 diabetics out there who were truly were never told how the numbers on their glucose meter can be used to actually impact their health. And if you don’t understand it, where’s the motivation to keep poking yourself?!
Based on that unalienable truth, I was intrigued to discover this booklet, in draft form, taking shape from the Roche Accu-Chek product team:
It’s called “Testing in Pairs,” a concept apparently masterminded by Dr. William Polonsky (man, that guy is everywhere in this disease!). The idea is to encourage PWDs to focus on “before and after” testing: before and after meals, before and after exercise, before and after sleeping, etc., etc. This at least gives the person a sense of cause-and-effect — and a pattern to the otherwise seemingly “random” affair of testing your own blood throughout the day (not something anyone really enjoys — so it better darn well have a purpose.)
This booklet is in fact a “learning tool” rather than a typical logbook full of endless empty columns to fill in for days and weeks on end. Instead, the pages here sport a clean and simple two-by-seven table on each little page, which is meant to be used for a full week, concentrating on one activity at a time. So if you wanted to focus on what breakfast does to your BG level, for example, you’d fill in the top of one page with the word “Breakfast,” and keep before and after readings of that meal for a full week, including notes on what you ate, of course. At the end of the week, you can look back and get a pretty good idea of which breakfast choices gave you more desirable BG outcomes.
On the inside cover, there’s a motivational photo of a woman lifting weights, with the tagline: “I’m not aiming for perfection, I’m aiming for good control.” I like that message.
And on the inside flap, some advice for health professionals –
“When you talk to the patient:
* Congratulate his or her effort, not the numbers
* Provide a simple and clear summary of the results
* Provide guidance to help promote a plan of action”
Gotta love that, too. I wish they all worked that way. Especially since I hear every day from people confused about glucose testing:
- I was wondering if you have low blood sugar should you also have a meter to check your levels?– Louisa
- What is the danger of not testing your blood 2x’s a day like advised? – PT
- They say to check BG two hours after a meal — I’m confused, is that from the start of the meal or at the end? – Catey
Ugh! “Testing in Pairs” may not end the knowledge gap here, but I like their thinking, for sure. The Accu-Chek team tells me these booklets should be available from providers very soon. I’ll let’cha know when. Promise.
*** UPDATE 4/17/09 ***
The Accu-Chek marketing team has just informed me that the Testing In Pairs page is now live at www.accu-chek.com/testinginpairs — where you can download this tool for free.
When I was first diagnosed, I got the then-current entry-level Accu-Chek model, the Accu-Chek Active, and registered on the site. There was a lot of information on “tight control”, which seemed to me at least in part a way to encourage the purchase of testing supplies (the description required at least 8 tests per day — more if one exercised, grazed instead of eating normal meals, felt “off”, etc.). (Keep in mind I’m a Type 2, and nobody I knew except my Other Half had ever been told anything about glucometers and blood glucose testing.) On the other hand, the description given suggested that one needed to maintain tight control in order to not almost-immediately end up with life-threatening complications of diabetes.
The description given of “tight control” required testing upon rising, before eating ANYTHING, 2 hours after eating ANYTHING, and before retiring. (If nothing else, strictly following this procedure keeps one from eating anything between meals and postprandial checks.) It also suggested modifying meals and medicine to keep within blood glucose guidelines (I forgot which set of guidelines they used at the time).
This sounds like a new take on “tight control”, with fewer supplies (as in, just about what the insurance companies will pay for), with some provider-side encouragement added in.
I really admire Dr. Polonsky and all that he is doing.
Kudos to Accu-Chek and Dr. Polonsky!!
Must have good food and good health as this can have a better performance and efficiency, this is good information to websites like dietas-efectivas.com where there are different ways to improve your health …
It’s about time!
Excellent. I’m a caregiver and I explained the importance of testing before and after to my mother-in-law,not her dr. He says “If I can only get a fasting from you, than so be it.” Because she don’t want to stick herself. She don’t realize the importance of this, and her Dr. does’t explain it to her. Just because you need to.This is sad but true of many Drs.
This is similar to what my diabetes educator asked me to do. She also gave me a chart for pair testing.
Being Type 1 testing, as Amy said, was do or die. I test – before I eat, 2 hours after I eat (3 meals x 2 ) plus before going to bed and before driving. Infrequent testing can be dangerous to me and to others.
[...] It wasn’t until this past March, when Amy Tenderich (of DiabetesMine) posted an piece called “Glucose Testing in Pairs,” that I realized I fell into that category of people who “…were never given a good [...]
I have learned a while back, I can only test 1 time a day because I am a non insulin diabetic and have medicare . So my Doctor say’s to test one morning fasting one day, and test after my second meal, just before my last.