Since December 2024, I’ve been waking up with high glucose numbers ranging between a low of 160 (all-time RECENT low = 94) and (an all-time RECENT) high of 245). Web MD says that for a 67 year-old-man, it should be less than 100 after fasting (does that include or NOT include SLEEPING?); and less than 140 after eating.
Now, I’m gonna go off on a tangent here after I answer this: my blood glucose should be less than 140 AFTER eating. To be perfectly frank with you, I DON’T take my blood glucose two or three times a day for the simple reason that my prescription only gives me 90 test strips for a 3 month period. After THAT, I would have to buy more. While the dang things are basically two layers of plastic stuck together with a channel between them. 100 of them cost $139.00 at my friendly neighborhood CVS.
That is, in case you didn’t do the math, that’s 71 cents per test strip.
So, sounds… like the test strips are complicated. I guess if you’re a normal person, that sounds complicated.
As I’ve mentioned before, I have a bachelor’s degree in biology – and I’m a BIG fan of science, too, so I love keeping up with biological developments. Mostly because I’m a geek, but it also helps me understand what the doctor has said to my parents (may they rest in peace), my kids (both of whom are long grown and in the midst of highly successful, highly educated careers), and my wife and myself.
So, given that, here’s what I found out: “The test strips work by producing a color-change reaction that scales linearly with the concentration of glucose in the blood. The color change is the result of the reaction between glucose, glucose oxidase (GOX), horseradish peroxidase (HRP), and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS).” (I PERSONALLY like to think that one of these chemicals is manufactured from HORSERADISH!, cause I like horseradish!)
PHYSICALLY speaking, “Test strips are comprised of several layers that include inside hydrophilic, adhesive, and electrode layers, as well as an outside layer that provides stability. Let's Face It. Similar to skin, the face of the test strip is responsible for sealing and protecting the inside layers from the outside world.”
OK – to summarize:
Layers of plastic are stuck together with a glue. Some of the plastic sucks up water, and some has a salt solution in it, and it’s all wrapped up in a rigid plastic that protects it. They can “go bad” (calling for an expiration date), because they suck up water just from the air. The salt water conducts electricity, acting like the +/- poles of a battery or a heart resuscitator (you know, “Three! Two! One! Clear!” and everyone steps back as they heart is “zapped” back to life)
At the best of times and when everything is working well, I touch the little notch between two clear layers of plastic to a drop of blood, which the . The monitor itself shines a light through the resulting flood of blood, which the hydrophilic layer sucks up, causing a chemical reaction, and a light inside the tester lights up, shining through the now-colored drop of blood, and “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!”, the reading comes out showing how much sugar is in my blood.
Now, we all know our diets affect our blood sugars (duh…), but WHY did my blood sugars stay “good for so long, then changed”?
My wife mentioned how hormones can affect blood sugars; also “Low blood sugar, also called hypoglycemia, happens when your body doesn’t have enough glucose to use for energy.
“People with diabetes mellitus may have low blood sugar in the morning due to too much long-acting insulin, also called background insulin and basal insulin. Insulin helps to manage blood sugar by allowing glucose to enter your cells, where it can be turned into energy…Some noninsulin medications to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus can cause hypoglycemia also.”
I’m probably not going to change what I’m doing at this point, because it’s only happened recently and was pretty minor – as in “they were down in the 120s!!!” Which, based on what they’re SUPPOSED to be, isn’t really something to worry about...
Source: https://www.healthline.com/health/low-blood-sugar-in-the-mornings#:~:text=Low%20blood%20sugar%2C%20also%20called,background%20insulin%20and%20basal%20insulin. ;
Author’s Note: Did you know that supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is ACTUALLY in the spell checker! I had the x and p switched around and IT CORRECTED IT!
Image: https://www.hcd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/living-well-with-diabetes.jpg
So, sounds… like the test strips are complicated. I guess if you’re a normal person, that sounds complicated.
As I’ve mentioned before, I have a bachelor’s degree in biology – and I’m a BIG fan of science, too, so I love keeping up with biological developments. Mostly because I’m a geek, but it also helps me understand what the doctor has said to my parents (may they rest in peace), my kids (both of whom are long grown and in the midst of highly successful, highly educated careers), and my wife and myself.
So, given that, here’s what I found out: “The test strips work by producing a color-change reaction that scales linearly with the concentration of glucose in the blood. The color change is the result of the reaction between glucose, glucose oxidase (GOX), horseradish peroxidase (HRP), and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS).” (I PERSONALLY like to think that one of these chemicals is manufactured from HORSERADISH!, cause I like horseradish!)
PHYSICALLY speaking, “Test strips are comprised of several layers that include inside hydrophilic, adhesive, and electrode layers, as well as an outside layer that provides stability. Let's Face It. Similar to skin, the face of the test strip is responsible for sealing and protecting the inside layers from the outside world.”
OK – to summarize:
Layers of plastic are stuck together with a glue. Some of the plastic sucks up water, and some has a salt solution in it, and it’s all wrapped up in a rigid plastic that protects it. They can “go bad” (calling for an expiration date), because they suck up water just from the air. The salt water conducts electricity, acting like the +/- poles of a battery or a heart resuscitator (you know, “Three! Two! One! Clear!” and everyone steps back as they heart is “zapped” back to life)
At the best of times and when everything is working well, I touch the little notch between two clear layers of plastic to a drop of blood, which the . The monitor itself shines a light through the resulting flood of blood, which the hydrophilic layer sucks up, causing a chemical reaction, and a light inside the tester lights up, shining through the now-colored drop of blood, and “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!”, the reading comes out showing how much sugar is in my blood.
Now, we all know our diets affect our blood sugars (duh…), but WHY did my blood sugars stay “good for so long, then changed”?
My wife mentioned how hormones can affect blood sugars; also “Low blood sugar, also called hypoglycemia, happens when your body doesn’t have enough glucose to use for energy.
“People with diabetes mellitus may have low blood sugar in the morning due to too much long-acting insulin, also called background insulin and basal insulin. Insulin helps to manage blood sugar by allowing glucose to enter your cells, where it can be turned into energy…Some noninsulin medications to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus can cause hypoglycemia also.”
I’m probably not going to change what I’m doing at this point, because it’s only happened recently and was pretty minor – as in “they were down in the 120s!!!” Which, based on what they’re SUPPOSED to be, isn’t really something to worry about...
Source: https://www.healthline.com/health/low-blood-sugar-in-the-mornings#:~:text=Low%20blood%20sugar%2C%20also%20called,background%20insulin%20and%20basal%20insulin. ;
Author’s Note: Did you know that supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is ACTUALLY in the spell checker! I had the x and p switched around and IT CORRECTED IT!
Image: https://www.hcd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/living-well-with-diabetes.jpg
