Hi Jerry.

>>"Can you tell me about the test?"

Yep, it's the standard test used to diagnose diabetics. You start with a fasting sugar, then you chug a really sugary drink. Then, blood is taken every hour for three hours (sometimes five) and your blood sugar are measured. If your doctor is looking for IR, s/he'd order insulin levels as well. If your sugar is normal but your insulin levels are high, that's the indication of insulin resistance. It means your body has to pump out an abnormally high amount of insulin to get it to do its job. The test is quite reliable.

Theoretically, if you ignored the problem and kept on eating carbs, that test down the road would probably have abnormal insulin *and* abnormal sugar, and you're a type II diabetic.

I'm not sure about the success rate of glucophage and insulin resistance, because the majority of doctors wait until you're a full-blown diabetic to start giving it to you. Here's a link: http://www.drmirkin.com/diabetes/9899.html . Dr Mirkin specializes in sports medicine as well as diabetes and he has an interesting national radio show. I don't agree with 100% of his ideas, but at least he backs up what he says with journal references.

>>"I would assume my level is low, that is only to be expected, right?"

Nope. Actually, it should be within a normal range. But who knows: maybe your body just isn't as good as someone else's body at keeping your levels up. I, for example, feel fantastic at 20 g carbs, and my sugar is perfectly normal all day. But perhaps yours just tends to run on the 'low' end of normal, and you can feel it, so you need that apple's worth of carbs here and there throughout the day.

As for when to test yourself, I'd do it on occasion when you suspect it's too low, ie when you get that brain fog. I'm only an 'expert' on my own sugar levels because I'm a lab tech, and any time I'd feel the symptoms while at work, I'd say, "hey Irma, look at me, I'm shaking and sweaty. Run my sugar."

Ouch, look at the time. Gotta get to work. If I forgot to answer any of your questions, reply and I'll get back to you later. Have a good day!