Total number of times you have seen a reading on your meter after a test.
Based on a very rough calculation...I took into account test strips:
prescription test strips per month [although that has changed a lot since diagnosis]
extras [had to buy]
the tests that I didn't get enough blood and had to test again
how many I have left in current vial
I'm not sure anyone else will understand my math magic, it made senes in my head while I was calculating.
21578
Anybody else?
lol almost easy for Riley
216 They tested her every hour at the hospital for 4 days and we have been home for 17 days now testing. I could be off by 10-20 tho because I am not sure if the first meter we used had 10 or 20 test strips that came with it.
Nevermind
Zemus, I agree - you can live without testing often. However, testing often and correcting early gives you the best chance to live complication-free longer.
Apparently, I haven't developed that sixth sense yet.
In a little over two years, I have probably tested around 6,000 times.
Nevermind
I figured I've probably given myself close to 19 000 injections in the course of 13 years so maybe add an extra thousand or so to that and maybe around 21 000 tests. Ballparked of course.
i wouldn't even know how to begin to calculate, because i got dx at 2 and im 14 now, so thats 12 years, and the amount i test changes a lot haha.
I'm sorry to disagree. No mater what age you are, if you are a T1D you need to do BG testing multiple times a day to manage your D. There are not if ands or buts about it!
To state that a T1D does not have to test is irresponsible and a kind of denial about T1D. As a T1D your pancreas is not working to detect BGs or produce insulin.
Since I started testing, back in the 1980s, I would guess I have looked at would be some where beyond 55000 times. It has saved my life and given me the freedom to do things I never could before. No more having insulin and food rule my life.
Thanks for letting me vent...it is kind of a hot spot for me. I started testing before the MD would give me a prescription for the strips or the meters.
Nevermind
Here's my diabetic math play. I have been t 1 for about a year and a half (dx'ed at 52). I doubled the amount of blood for test strip, I always have blood left over. LOL Testing about 5x a day = about 2 liters of blood per year. My number is 2740 so far.
I am def a believer in multiple testing... I dont have insurance at the moment and just switched to an old freestyle meter i got for free cause the test strips are about half as expensive as the one touch
there were times i tested 10+ times a day but i used 5 test strips x 365 x 23years and im at 41,975... so prob almost 50,000 wow lol
[quote user="Travis"]
Realistically, adults don't need to test everyday. As long as you have (1) a routine, (2) a good understanding of how your body works, (3) awareness of high and low symptoms, a (4) good insulin regimen, and (5) an understanding of how much a insulin you typically need following a meal, you will be ok most of the time. It's good to keep the meter around for those times you aren't sure or can't tell. It's like a sixth sense.
[/quote]
Travis, I've had t1 for a while and I honestly don't know what the heck you are talking about. IMO, the best you can do with the "guess method" is taking a bit too much insulin, waiting until you feel low, and then eat. There aren't many of us with a rigid enough schedule to be able to stay between 80 and 100 by routine aline. Out of morbid curiosity, I wonder what your a1c actually is - given 3 tests a week and the 6th sense? Then again, maybe you're a fluke and can achieve great control by guessing and feelings... however, many people find they cannot.
Testing wise I have no idea I vary day to day too much to give an accurate total but for shots (when I was on them) I can tell you there was a time that I was keeping those little caps on the top of the plungers for syringes and I had thousands of them...I just went through a drawer to see if I still had one and I still have a "pillow's" worth of them...thats a lot of holes I've poked in my legs, arms, and stomach. I should count them sometime haha
My last A1c was 6.6. I deleted my previous comments because I am tired of defending a position that I had no real intention of defending.
As for the total # of tests, I would say something like 25000+
Alot...lol
I test on everage 5X a day
I have almost been a Type 1 for 20 years (diagnosed at 14)
365x20 = 7300 x 5 = 36,500 I would throw in another 3500+ in wasted strips or spot testing so maybe 40,000 (My fingers show the damage;))
about 8500 for me i test 5x a day for 5 years (7,300) + 300 (wasted strips) + 900 (From the hospital they know me as the diabetic coma kid [dx'ed]) = 8500
[quote user="Travis"]
My last A1c was 6.6. I deleted my previous comments because I am tired of defending a position that I had no real intention of defending.
As for the total # of tests, I would say something like 25000+
[/quote]
Ack! This whole thread was waaaay too confusing for me to follow until Joe quoted your deleted thread. I KNEW I was missing something!
Anyways, I agree that there's no way I could even begin to count, esp b/c it's increased from never to occasionally to all the time since I was diagnosed!
Since the start of 2010, it's been 5 days x about 8 times a day, so ... only 40 this year. YEA!
[quote user="Travis"]
My last A1c was 6.6. I deleted my previous comments because I am tired of defending a position that I had no real intention of defending.
[/quote]Travis, I didn't (and don't) want to seem confrontational. I think that a 6.6% is a fantastic hba1c and I think you are doing a great job. Most importantly, if your system works you have got to keep doing it. You don't have to defend a working system to anyone. I just gott ask, in the time you've spent here and on other boards, and in your experience talking to doctors and other people - do you think that your experience with testing and blood sugar control results are very common to folks with t1, or do you think you are just a bit atypical? also - because I am so jealous, did you ever have a c-peptide test?
cheers and keep up the great work
I've been poked and prodded so many ways, I don't remember all the specific tests. I do know that my lab work has looked good since I've been on the same insulin regimen (Lantus/Novalog) for the last 5 or so years.
I've never been to another T1 board, so I can't really say anything from prior experience about that. I guess I might be atypical, but I really don't know. I really think that there are different kinds of people. Currently, there are 4x the number of guests than members here online, meaning a lot of people may want to read and know about this stuff, but don't want to commit to joining. Some follow the doctor's advice to the T and are healthier for it. Some get down on themselves and ignore the advice/orders/medication/diet/routine, worsening their condition. I guess I was suggesting that for those people, there can be a middle-ground with respect to BG monitoring.