June 5, 2002
Daily Care, Type 2
Question from Marianna, Florida, USA:
I have type 2 diabetes, and my morning sugars are higher than the bedtime sugars (always have been, regardless of what medication/diet I’m using). My daily sugars range 90-250 mg/dl [5-13.9 mmol/L], I have not (since I first was diagnosed) measured a sugar higher than 190 mg/dl [10.6 mmol/L] one to two hours after meals.
If I wanted to do a home version of a glucose tolerance test, how would I do it? How much and what kind of glucose should I drink? I understand this is not definitive but I try to take sugar readings for several weeks with me when I got to the doctor. Usually about a week before I’ll do two or three days of testing every few hours while scrupulously recording eating, exercise, and activities.
Answer:
There is no reason or benefit at all to do a glucose tolerance test if you already have a diagnosis of diabetes. If you are trying to find out how you do after meals, testing one to two hours after meals (called postprandial testing) would be reasonable. If you are trying to determine insulin coverage for different types of foods and figure out some glycemic index for yourself, this would get done the same way.
You should do such detective work with some repetitive testing and keep as many other variables (exercise, doses) consistent to learn about food effects. If you discuss this with your diabetes team, they may also have some ideas for you to consider.
SB
