Yes it is. The collective experiences from folk in these groups show that a
lot of us peak early with certain foods - e.g. starches. First phase insulin
response, which most of us don't have anymore comes into play normally
within minutes of the first bit - as soon as a rise in bg is detected -
definitely within 10 minutes. So that tells you that food is entering the
bloodstream almost the minute you put it in your mouth. That is fact. So it
is not beyond the realms of possibility to find that you are missing your
peaks. 2 hours is "supposed" to be when a person's bg is back to normal -
not peak time. I don't like my bg to go up at all, so I like to check times
when I will catch a spike if there is one and deal with it by avoiding that
food or amount next time.

Of course the doc would look at the 2 hour reading and congratulate you but
it will be very doubtful if he/she would say that 2 hour great reading came
at the expense of your pancreas' long term health.

G'day Donna

I first wrote this here, then I made it a blog entry, so now
I'll return it to where it started.

When we first received our brand new blood glucose meter the
majority of us were told by our doctor or qualified diabetes
educators to test twice daily - before breakfast, also known
as "fasting" and before the evening meal. Some, not many, of
us were also told to test occasionally two hours after
meals.

The "us" I speak of are the thousands of newly diagnosed
type 2's I've met in cyberspace over the past few years.
Over that time, in three diabetes usenet newsgroups, eight
Yahoo diabetes newsgroups and a couple of others via the
web, I have yet to meet a single newby who was told by their
doctor to test one hour after every meal or snack. In fact
I've only recently met a few who were advised to test one
hour after any meal at all.

So, why do I recommend that we should? Well, I must admit -
it wasn't my idea; I learnt it from Jennifer and her
Test,test,test advice. I also learnt from Derek Paice and
his e-book Diabetes and Diet

Any test is wasted if it neither informs nor confirms some
information. The tests prescribed by your medics are
designed to help them analyse your progress, to assist in
their decisions for your treatment - but they do very little
to help you personally manage your diabetes. The doctor
wants to see your "static" numbers, not the ones that might
be very high or low as a result of the carbs you ate, or
ignored, at your last meal.

And that's why I add those one-hour post-prandial
(after-eating) tests - they help me directly. They are the
"dynamic" numbers that showed the direct effect of the food
I ate and the exercise I did. I call them one-hour, but the
real term should be "peak" or maximum "spike"; mine is
one-hour but you'll have to find your own.

I don't think the timing of the spike is as important as
it's peak level and duration.

Think about it logically. Why would a spike of 10(180)
affect you any differently if it occurred at 30, 60, 90 or
120 minutes? It's duration would be a factor - but
post-prandial timing of the actual peak should be
irrelevant. It still got to that peak, no matter when it
occurred.

So, I learned to find my peak. That is slightly different,
but reasonably predictable, with different foods and meal
mixtures. Drinks, like OJ, spike me very quickly within 30
minutes and drop just as quickly. Which is why some people
use them as hypo treatment. Starchy carbs, without much fat,
will spike me in 30-45 minutes. But add fat - and it's about
60 minutes. A normal meal combining moderate fat, protein
and low GI carbs leads to a peak at 45-75 minutes for me,
and so on. That's why I settled on using the 1hr
post-prandial test as my guide, but I occasionally do a 30
minute one if the food was low-fat and high-GI.

As to whether a brief spike causes damage - not enough
research has been done. There appears to also be a
possibility that spikes have a damaging effect at lower
thresholds for type 2 than type 1, partly from anecdotal
discussions I've followed over the past four years and
partly from the slight differences in results in studies
like the DCCT and UKPDS. Let's face it - only type 2 have
beta cells to lose anyway. Therefore I am swayed by the
reports here, on Jenny's excellent web-page; there is enough
evidence to convince me that staying under 8(140) is worth
the effort - no matter when it occurs: Research Connecting
Organ Damage with Blood Sugar Level

Of course, I tend to always aim a little tighter, so these
days I set the level at 7(126) for my one-hour post-prandial
maximum. What you do is up to you.

Cheers, Alan, T2, Australia.
--
Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter.
Blog http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com 
DLife column http://tinyurl.com/5v74xr
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com (The Taj Mahal)

;-)

It's so tempting with you, because you're so determined to manage your
health well.  Experience has taught us old timers how critical that 1
hr. number is.

It should prove enlightening, given how robust your second hour insulin
response is, like mine.

Susan

Yes, no matter how one decides to manage their bg
levels, getting those 1 hour numbers is information
we really should know.    We may decide that a 1
hour spike is OK if by 2 hours the bg readings are
acceptable .... or we may decide to approach the
problem thinking that any spike is damaging, no
matter how long it lasts.   But KNOWING the
numbers is the first step to making an informed
decision.

Jenny's info that Alan references was the very first
detailed information I found after diagnosis.  I
came home from the doc with the folder of the
standard paperwork (including the food pyramid
with a "healthy" dose of carbohydrates forming
the base) and being familiar with usenet I found
this group within a few hours of DX.

It was only after the fact that I've learned how much
bad information many folks get from "reliable"
sources ... doctors, ADA ... that focus on
medications with a cursory nod to "eat well
and exercise."

My doctor (gp) is a good one, but he is young
and did not have a whole lot of experience
dealing with proactive :-) type 2 diabetics.  I'll
never forget his shock and surprise when I
came in to my first appt after diagnosis with
a detailed log of what I'd eaten and the resulting
1 hour and 2 hour bg readings.  I've learned
a lot from him but I got the impression that,
on that particular day, he was the one getting
educated.

Anyways, test at 1 hour and go from there  :-)

cheers

Paul

I have been looking at he Wii; more for my wife than for myself,
though I think I might actually enjoy it. If I ever find it in stock,
I'll probably pick one up. It will likely be w whole lot better for
winter mornings than the treadmill. I get SO bored on that.

I also find walking to be boring, so I went out and spent a few
hundred (well, OK, 500) bucks on an electric bicycle. It's a Schwinn
IZip. The thing of it is that I find riding a bicycle to a destination
quite acceptable, and decidedly unboring. I think it's because I have
a destination that is the right distance for the method of getting
there. Were I to walk, the only destination feasible would be the
barn, and that's too close for sufficient exercise.

I also have a regular bike, but I don't like the idea of riding it 2.5
miles into town. There is a fairly deep coulee (ravine) close to my
place, and I doubt I could make the hill on the way back.

So, the electric is ideal. I can pedal, or use the motor, or pedal and
assist with the motor. Typically, I pedal almost all the way,
assisting when I get a little tired, and it takes me about 9 minutes
for the 2.5 mile trip. I end up in a medium sweat, and breathing
deeply, feeling that I've had a good workout.

To me, the bottom line is "The best exercise is the one that you will
keep doing."

Yeah, I'd agree - I don't think the Wii is a particularly serious
piece of fitness kit, but it IS fun, and I tend to use it when I
couldn't be bothered to do anything else.

Nicky (off for a walk, the kids have nicked the Wii, grrr : )
T2 dx 05/04 + underactive thyroid
D&E, 100ug thyroxine
Last A1c 5.4%  BMI 25

Skipping is good exercise