HOWTO measure Blood Sugar to Carbohydrate ratio. by: Michael A. Robinton, Michael@bzs.org v1.02, Feb 4, 1998 This document describes a method to measure Blood Sugar to Carbohy- drate ratio by carefully measuring your body's response to the inges- tion of 1 or 2 glucose tablets. ______________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1.1 Blood Sugar to Carbohydrate ratio DEFINED. 1.2 Disclaimer 1.3 Other Blood Sugar related HOWTO's 2. Measuring Blood Sugar to Carbohydrate ratio. 2.1 Preparation before testing your BG/Carb ratio 2.2 Repeatability of the BG/Carb test 2.3 BG/Carb test procedure 3. Copyright Notice ______________________________________________________________________ 1. Introduction 1.1. Blood Sugar to Carbohydrate ratio DEFINED. The BG/Carb ratio is the blood sugar point rise for each gram of carbohydrate (glucose) ingested. An accurate measure of Blood Sugar to Carbohydrate ratio ( BG/Carb ) is necessary to maintain good overall control of blood sugar levels. An estimate of BG/Carb can be made using the 450 rule to estimate the Carbo/Insulin ratio and dividing the Blood Sugar to Insulin ratio (see HOWTO measure Blood Sugar to Insulin ratio ) by the Carbo/Insulin ratio. For some people, such an estimate may result in large errors. This straight-forward procedure provides an easy and accurate check of Blood Sugar to Carbohydrate ratio ( BG/Carb ). 1.2. Disclaimer The information and procedures contained in this document are provided in the hope that you may find them useful. No guarantee or warranty of accuracy is given, or suitability for use implied by making this information available. Use of the information and procedures is AT YOUR OWN RISK. You should consult with your physician and health care team when making changes to your insulin regimen. 1.3. Other Blood Sugar related HOWTO's o HOWTO profile your BASAL RATES Check and adjust your Basal Rates o HOWTO estimate new Basal Rates Graphically estimate your basal rates on-line. o HOWTO measure Blood Sugar to Insulin ratio Check your Blood Sugar to Insulin ratio. o HOWTO check your RATIOS Check that your Blood Sugar to Insulin, Carbo to Insulin, and Blood Sugar to Carbo ratios are correct. 2. Measuring Blood Sugar to Carbohydrate ratio. 2.1. Preparation before testing your BG/Carb ratio Test your Blood Sugar to Carbohydrate ratio on a day which follows a vanilla day. That is, the previous day should have no insulin reactions, unusual highs or lows, or out of the ordinary physical activity. Prior to and during the testing period, you should not participate in any activites which are out of the ordinary. Do the things you normally do every day. In order for this procedure to work correctly, blood sugar levels must remain stable and constant during the test period. 2.2. Repeatability of the BG/Carb test The Blood Sugar to Carbohydrate ratio measurement should be repeated two or more times on different days to make sure the results are accurate and repeatable. Make changes to basal rates and boluses only after successfully repeating the test results. It can be expected that there will be some minor variation in readings from day to day. Repeatable test results indicate a true pattern which can then be used to maintain correct blood sugar levels. 2.3. BG/Carb test procedure Measure your BG/Carb ratio by checking your body's response to the ingestion of 4 to 10 grams of carbohydrate in the form of glucose tablets. If you anticipate your blood sugar rise to be less than 25 points, then use two glucose tablets instead of one. 1. Fast for 4-5 hours prior to beginning the test. 2. With blood sugar between 80 and 100, eat one or two glucose tablets. 3. Wait 20 to 30 minutes and check your blood sugar, record the difference from the original reading. 4. Divide the difference in the blood sugar readings from the beginning to the end of the test by the number of grams of carbohydrate ingested in the glucose tablets. This is the Blood Sugar to Carbohydrate ratio. 3. Copyright Notice Copyright (C) 1998, Michael A. Robinton and Insulin Pumpers Permission to use, copy, distribute this document for any purpose is hereby granted, provided that the author's / edi- tor's name and this notice appear in all copies and/or sup- porting documents; and that an unmodified version of this document is made freely available. This document is dis- tributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, either expressed or implied. While every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information documented herein, the author / editor / maintainer assumes NO RESPONSIBILITY for any errors, or for any damages, direct or consequential, as a result of the use of the information documented herein.