Paired testing

What is paired testing?

Paired testing is a structured approach to checking your blood sugar. It involves checking at specific times - such as before and after meals or exercising.

This gives you a pair of blood sugar results. By continually comparing the two results, you can see how things like food impact your blood sugar levels.

Why use paired testing?

It’s one of the most powerful tools you have! Knowledge is power. Paired testing shows how your blood sugar responds to things like meals, activity, stress, and more.

Paired testing is about being curious and actively involved in managing your diabetes. By applying what you learn, you can make healthier choices.

• Food and drink - how does a certain food or alcohol affect your blood sugar?
• Exercise - how do certain activities affect you?
• Daily life - if you try to reduce stress, do you notice a difference?
• Think about simple steps you can take, such as changing serving sizes, having a walk after dinner etc.

Paired testing with our mySugr app

Download and setup the mySugr app.

Use the following features of the mySugr app to make paired testing as simple as possible:

• Data collection - In addition to blood sugar, mySugr allows you to record your exercise activity, as well as capture meal photos, free text descriptions of meals or exercises, and before- or after-meal test designations. In mySugr, click on your blood sugar result and select edit. This will allow you to use the free text meal or activity description to record the specific food(s) eaten during your paired test or your specific exercise and its duration. This will help make your paired test experience searchable in the future.
• Test reminders - While you are editing information in your blood sugar result, be sure to set test reminders for your paired test. Check with your healthcare provider about the best times to set reminders.
• Search function - Want to know how different foods or activities have impacted your blood sugar? Search your archive of paired testing experiences to revisit and remember how eating pepperoni pizza or going for a walk impacted your blood sugar.

Paired testing using a paper-based tool

If you prefer a paper tool, you can use the Accu-Chek Testing in Pairs tool to analyse meals, activity, stress and other events.

How it works

1. Start with a simple question and log your blood sugar results to see what is happening for you.
2. Each day, check your blood sugar before the meal or activity, and write the number in the 'Before' column. Check it again at a specific time after the meal or activity, and write it in the 'After' column.
3. In the 'Change' column, note the difference in your blood sugar.
4. Talk to your Healthcare Professional about any queries you have as a result of using the tool- it can be a great basis to discuss your diabetes therapy.

Questions you could ask your healthcare professional

1. How long should I wait before checking post-meal blood sugar?
2. What’s my target blood sugar after eating?
3. How often should I do paired testing?
4. How will my healthcare team use paired testing results?
5. When can I review results with my healthcare team?