# Basal testing advice



## Claire91 (Feb 4, 2017)

Hi guys,

I was put on the omnipod pump a few weeks before Christmas. When I went to the Diabetes Clinic last week the doctor said the nurse should have made me basal test which I haven't done yet. I have a very active job and I have some half days this week which will make the fasting a bit easier with having to test every 2 hours. When you are fasting what type of things are you eating for lunch and evening meals because I can't eat salad without dressing  Thankyou


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## Radders (Feb 4, 2017)

Hi Claire, do you mean for the last meal before the fast or actually during the fast? 

Personally I don't eat anything during, and I wouldn't have thought a bit of salad dressing would matter if it's the last meal beforehand: the important thing here is to eat something that has finished digesting after four hours


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## Claire91 (Feb 4, 2017)

Radders said:


> Hi Claire, do you mean for the last meal before the fast or actually during the fast?
> 
> Personally I don't eat anything during, and I wouldn't have thought a bit of salad dressing would matter if it's the last meal beforehand: the important thing here is to eat something that has finished digesting after four hours


So when you are fasting do you not eat anything at all? Or can you have carb free food?


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## Pumper_Sue (Feb 4, 2017)

When basal testing it's no food at all, just drink water. It wont kill you and you wont fade away 

There's a sticky at the top of the page regarding basal testing perhaps have a read of it.


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## SB2015 (Feb 4, 2017)

Hi Claire

Like Sue I don't eat anything during a fasting test.  With the hassle of doing it I don't want my results muddled because of eating protein.  So I just aim to do a fast over about 6 hours, and eke it out a bit further if I can.

If you have a busy life you need your basal rate to match that life.  So I tend to do the test on any normal day.  I then eat a high GI meal 4 hours before the test, so that it will all have been processed by the time I start.  I then start testing and I choose to do it hourly. Again if I am going to do it I might as well get as much info as I can.  

I start with the overnight, and as I have a Libre I don't test I just look at the graph I get to see whether I am level.  I add in tests when I wake up at least once during the night (it is an age thing!!).  During the day I just set a reminder each hour to test.

In reality it is it is easiest to get the morning one sorted by just missing breakfast.  I continue to drink black coffee because whilst I know hat this can increase BG it is what I normally do and I want a basal rate that deals with normal life.

Having written all that it sounds simple, but I had planned to fast this morning and had to cancel as I woke with a hypo.  It can take me a month to get the full 24 hours sorted, but it is worth it, especially at the start of pumping.  I was surprised at the variation that I needed to match my body.  So I would encourage you to just do it, adjust basal rates as necessary, and then ideally err test again to see whether the change is effective.  

I focus on one of the basal rate profiles.  Once that is sorted I will then work out what I need for other profiles based on temporary increases and reduction for exercise, illness, ...

It is well worth the effort


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## Radders (Feb 4, 2017)

Claire91 said:


> So when you are fasting do you not eat anything at all? Or can you have carb free food?


I find that I have to avoid protein as well, and that leaves very little so I fast. I find it quite worrying that medical people don't seem to realise that protein affects blood sugar, but I have been told several times by my consultant and DSN that it's fine to eat protein when fasting when I know that it's not as I have to bolus for a protein only meal.


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## Claire91 (Feb 4, 2017)

Yes I got told I can still have milk, sauces and protein which affect my bloodsugar so thought I would check with other people that are actually in the same boat as me. Thankyou all for your advice.


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## Pumper_Sue (Feb 4, 2017)

Claire91 said:


> Yes I got told I can still have milk, sauces and protein which affect my bloodsugar so thought I would check with other people that are actually in the same boat as me. Thankyou all for your advice.


Considering as milk is carbs and protein can and does affect peoples blood sugars not sure what sauce you would want to eat or what it contains! then either you misheard or misunderstood what you were told.
Fasting is just that fasting 

Basal testing is part of being on a pump unfortunately.


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## Claire91 (Feb 4, 2017)

Pumper_Sue said:


> Considering as milk is carbs and protein can and does affect peoples blood sugars not sure what sauce you would want to eat or what it contains! then either you misheard or misunderstood what you were told.
> Fasting is just that fasting
> 
> Basal testing is part of being on a pump unfortunately.


They told me a low carb sauce below 10g of carbs.


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## trophywench (Feb 4, 2017)

I've always been told to 'Have an omelette if your hungry' - and it's rubbish for most folk, as per above.  Hence - I've always just eaten absolutely nowt.  I do however continue to drink which is usually tea or coffee always with a drop of milk, cos that's what I do frequently anyway, so it's 'normal'.  If I was desperately thirsty (I never am LOL) then I'd just hit the cold tap.

Again - 6 hour, give or take, chunks.  If at home in the daytime/evening I'd test every hour.  Overnight I don't do more than two tests a night, for the simple reason if I don't sleep 'properly' in between alarms or waking for another reason (again - the age thing LOL) the actual BG results won't be anything like what they'd be had I actually slept through.  Then I'd set the alarm for in between times on successive nights.   The daytime ones, I only ever do one time block at a time in any day, then have a day off and do the next the next day etc.  You ideally need 2 sets of results for each time block.  Takes a week, but I do adjust for each time block (ie from 2 hours before each glitch manifests itself) as soon as I have 2 matching test results for those 6 hours.

However, have to say these days, when I see a pattern of eg highs all at X o'clock-ish on 3 days out of 4 - I'd tweak it down at X o'clock minus 2 hours, by as near 5% as I can get - and just see if that helps.  My hourly basal rates are actually that small, that even 0.005u adjustment can make a really noticeable difference to my BG at X o'clock.   It was quite hard, when I first had a pump getting my head round this 'sudden' sensitivity to insulin, which I'd never seemed to have to consider before!  But, I'm more used to it now and it also all becomes a deal more instinctive, or it should do, anyway.

I am very very tempted to invest in a Libre myself, much more because of overnight basal testing.  I loathe basal testing anyway even in the day - I do SOOOO hate having to be that organised, dreadful admission to have to make, but it's true.  Spent my school years and working life being organised and at first actually hated retirement because it wasn't.  Now at least half the time I have to check my diary to find out what ruddy day it is!

However it's a necessity, so just grit yer teeth and gerron with it !


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## Pumper_Sue (Feb 4, 2017)

Claire91 said:


> They told me a low carb sauce below 10g of carbs.


Which is pretty daft as for most people 10 carbs would raise blood sugars by 3.
I suggest you read the link already mentioned and invest in the book pumping insulin, which can be found on Amazon.


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## Claire91 (Feb 4, 2017)

Pumper_Sue said:


> Which is pretty daft as for most people 10 carbs would raise blood sugars by 3.
> I suggest you read the link already mentioned and invest in the book pumping insulin, which can be found on Amazon.


Yes I've read the other post, was helpful. Who is the book by as a few have come up?


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## Pumper_Sue (Feb 4, 2017)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pumping-In...8&qid=1486242510&sr=1-2&keywords=insulin+pump


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