After an encouraging phone message from my doctor (“Good for you for going for it!” she said), I decided to keep doing this crazy self-testing thing.
On the up side, there is a top to the learning curve. As of dinner last night, I can now get my test done with only one lancet and one test strip. And I’ve discovered that I can get an even more generous drop of blood from my thumb.
Also on the up side, I faxed my first-day’s numbers to my OB and so far I’m in normal range.
On the down side, my doula has asked that I add two more testing times to my day. In addition to the wake-up, and one hour after each meal, I am also doing a test two-hours after lunch, and one right before dinner. My thumb hurts, a little.
Also on the down side, I’m a little worried that I might not have done the calibration test on this stupid little machine properly. So will redo that to reassure myself sometime today.
Ending on an up note: It is FASCINATING to see how what I eat affects my blood sugar. I almost feel like everyone should try this, pregnant or not. The more refined sugar and flour, or other simple carbohydrates, the bigger the spike. More complex carbs and proteins, the blood sugar stays more even. It’s logical, and who doesn’t know that already, but somehow seeing the actual numbers is deep.