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Well if you need to talk about type two, i can help you with that. I got diagnosed with Type two almost a year and half ago. i was nervous and scared, when i first thought i might have it. i hate needles but also was fearful of dying or losing a limb even more. My paternal grandmother had type one, my dad got diagnosed two months after me, so i was not surprised. Overweight, African American with family history. Three strikes and bang.

i didn't have to change my diet that much and actually i had to eat more and more often to keep my sugar level balance. i take medicine twice a day with food and im not suppose to drink alcohol.

Now about testing. I must admit my fear of needles and pain made it insanely difficult but i have become accustomed to it. I actually cried the first few days, not because of any pain but do to the fear. It actually rarely hurts, like maybe 3 times in all the time i had to test. I test twice a day, i aim for one in the morning and once in the evening. preferably around a meal.

Within three months of diagnoses i was able to get my diabetes under control and lose like 10lbs. Being home, has sadly set me back a little, i get little support from my mother, so its hard to keep it under control when i lack funds to even buy food.

So to answer you question, It will depend on what your doctor tells you. You might have to test after each meal or once a day or 5 times a day. It really depends.

Wow, I'm really late to this, but I thought i'd reply anyway to give anyone else around where who may be on this road a little more insight.

It's a good thing you realize that it's not the end of the world if you get Type II, because in terms of maintenance, Type II is definitely the lesser of two evils. Unlike Type I where the pancreas is pretty much broken, Type II means it may only be overloaded, or impared for some reason: such as you developing insulin resistance, or you being too overweight for your body to keep things under control and things like that. It's not impossible that with the right exercise, medication regimen, diet, and weight loss that a person might be able to go back to a life that was almost before it happened, with minimal testing.

Because you're not type I, you wont have to be anally checking your glucose levels, but you will have to check them regularly somewhat. This depends on how your doctor feels you have controlled the levels. Really good control maybe means only once a day, while out of control might mean 4-8 times a day. But I'd say the average would probably be 3 times a day, near mealtimes.

Testing is nowhere near as bad as it might seem to be, as long as you have a good quality lancet pen, like the ones that come in the OneTouch UltraMini meter (that's like 17 bucks), it makes the work a lot easier, as long as you always use a fresh sharp lancet, set the right pressure setting on the pen and don't smash your finger against the pen before pulling the trigger, you'll barely feel it. And it's always good to rotate your testing fingers so they'll get a break and not get sore.

Even under good control you will always have to test in some capacity for the rest of your life as a matter of safety and good habit, but a good quality of life is a situation where you don't need to test every X hours, just when you need to.

Also note that you will have to go to the doctor's more often as it's a very good idea to have the A1C Hemoglobin/Lipid panels tests done every four months or so. The A1C is to give a more accurate representation of the average blood glucose level over those past 4 months, and the lipids are a measure of your cholestorol and general heart health.

But yeah, in a nutshell the rate of how often you test is set by your doctor based on your history, A1C tests, and your medications. Some medications such as Insulin can make you crash, so you have to be careful with that and test and adjust dosing accordingly, again that'll be instructed by your doc.

Speaking of insulin, if you're perscribed it, don't feel like it's the end of the world either, it doesn't mean you're stuck with it or that your pancreas is dead, but rather it's to help you along and stabilize your blood sugars if they're consistently too high, used in combination with metformin and other anti-diabetic drugs like Avandia/Actos/Glipizide/Gluberyde etc, it can really make a dramatic improvement. Ideally, you're eventually meant to be weaned off of it when you get under control and start a proper diet and exercise schedule.

If you've got any questions about the whole diabetes thing feel free to PM me, i'd be glad to help.

Hm, i'm possibly thinking of making a megathread about this somewhere.

Grr. I wish somebody would hurry up and cure diabetes. >_< It's an annoying medical problem for fat people and skinny people alike that messes with digestion, causes comas and s**t, weakens the economy, and ruins a lotta fatgirl fantasies.

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*looks at the Medical Community*

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*taps foot*

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Well, I'm waiting. >_O

I have a test tomorrow because it's common in my family.