Have you been told not to test your blood sugars?

[HSSS]

GP's telling diabetics not to test seems to be a UK thing. In Canada and I'm sure it's the same in the States, you are advised to test twice a day.

my GP told me not to bother monitoring as it wasn’t really useful but didn’t explain why that was.

To be fair a random once or twice a day and without education is just as almost pointless as not monitoring at all. In both cases it’s because many drs don’t have a clue how to use testing for anything other than hypo avoidance or insulin dosing.

To be useful you need to be able to take the data, understand why you have the reading you do and be able to do something about it. Just a list of numbers is just that. This is why we advise people to take before and after readings. (Usually 2 hrs apart for meal testing) That way you know what that meal (or event or activity etc) did to you. You can choose to repeat, alter or avoid next time. You can see how it compares to a non diabetic reading (ultimately we aim to mimic this as best possible). Take enough readings across the highs and lows a day enough times and you’ll get a decent estimate of your hba1c.

The best a (twice) daily reading will do is tell you very very broadly how you’re doing over all. But considering how much readings can fluctuate during the day it could give a totally different picture taken at a different point of the day.

 

[Melgar]

Actually @HSSS I'm very impressed with my diabetes care from my Drs. They are knowledgeable and switched on around carb reduction and diabetes. One of my Drs even advocates for very low carb diets. I see my Dr every 3 months. I feel confident with their care.
I would much rather be over subscribed test strips than be told not to test at all. And I pay a fraction of the cost for my test strips.

Telling people not to test as far as I'm concerned is shocking. Of course, just because we are told to test twice a day doesn't mean we have to test twice a day. They are not meds. I 100% agree that just randomly testing your blood sugars through the day is a waste of time, but nobody is suggesting testing randomly throughout the day. We get the standard advice to test before a meal and 2 hours after a meal.

 

[HSSS]

Actually @HSSS I'm very impressed with my diabetes care from my Drs. They are knowledgeable and switched on around carb reduction and diabetes. One of my Drs even advocates for very low carb diets. I see my Dr every 3 months. I feel confident with their care.
I would much rather be over subscribed test strips than be told not to test at all. And I pay a fraction of the cost for my test strips.

Telling people not to test as far as I'm concerned is shocking. Of course, just because we are told to test twice a day doesn't mean we have to test twice a day. They are not meds. I 100% agree that just randomly testing your blood sugars through the day is a waste of time, but nobody is suggesting testing randomly throughout the day. We get the standard advice to test before a meal and 2 hours after a meal.

I wasn’t suggesting you shouldn’t be impressed overall, nor that getting a couple of strips a day isn’t an improvement on none. I certainly didn’t mention anything about carb reduction, the rest of their care or how you should feel about it so I’m not sure where that came from in all honesty.

I did make the assumption about timing of the (unspecified) tests you mentioned based on the fact it is frequently advised to just take a morning reading and maybe a bedtime too. My bad. I’m very pleased to hear you were given more structured advice. Sadly not everyone is, and these posts will be read by some of them so hopefully it helps them as much as your drs are helping you.

 

[Melgar]

I do not wish to derail this thread @HSSS. Very briefly, mentioning my Drs advice on low carbs was to demonstrate my trust in my Drs advice. Nothing more.

 

[HSSS]

And briefly, I never questioned that.

My post was intended to explain how testing can be more effective (or less effective) and better than no testing and wasn’t aimed at you personally Just the type of regime it “appeared” you were describing and frequently is advised. I’ll leave is there

 

[AnnieWales]

.I was told that I didn't need to test by one of my GPs as there was nothing they could do if my readings were high. That's fine if you are getting the occasional low teens but not when you have readings in the 20s. I hadn't tested for a while thinking the tablets were doing their job until I tested when not feeling well. BM of 20 to 22 and can't seem to get it down. If I had tested on a regular basis I could I possibly noticed an upward trend

 

[MrsA2]

I hadn't tested for a while thinking the tablets were doing their job until I tested when not feeling well. BM of 20 to 22 and can't seem to get it down.

Please also test for ketones and if they are high go to hospital.
If you can't or they aren't and numbers remain high and feeling ill then at least ring 111 or go to hospital.
And let us know how it goes.

 

[HSSS]

.I was told that I didn't need to test by one of my GPs as there was nothing they could do if my readings were high.

perhaps not there and then. What you can do is realise why they were so high and try to avoid repeating the cause - often the food you’ve chosen to eat - and having high levels repeatedly.

 

[surfzz]

This sounds completely insane to me!
My strips are covered here in Canada, but I'm ****** off that a CGM is not covered unless you are on insulin. I periodically pay out of pocket for a CGM.

 

[Melgar]

This sounds completely insane to me!
My strips are covered here in Canada, but I'm ****** off that a CGM is not covered unless you are on insulin. I periodically pay out of pocket for a CGM.

I think we will be waiting a very long time before cgms are covered. We are lucky. In the UK basic test strips are not even covered by the NHS, hence the advice not to test is frequently given by GPs.

 

[fumanchu]

NHS Scotland here are great, we've always had test strips and lancets.

 

[Pinza9007]

Yes, I was told testing is unnecessary for type 2's not on insulin by my nurse.

Yes, I was told testing is unnecessary for type 2's not on insulin by my nurse.

Me too, and I was kinda relieved coz I wasn't particularly enjoying finger-pricking once or more a day and it seemed a bit pointless as it varied so much compared to the baseline data I'd acquired (4WIW I have a background in stats/bioscience so I have some idea of what I'm talking about). The practice explained that 3-monthly HbA1C is a better marker over time, so I'm good with that.

 

[MissMuffett]

I only test mine first thing in the morning 2-3 times a week or if I suspect certain foods I’ve eaten have spiked my BG. A 3 monthly hba1c won’t give me that information.

 

[debs248]

I only test mine first thing in the morning 2-3 times a week or if I suspect certain foods I’ve eaten have spiked my BG. A 3 monthly hba1c won’t give me that information.

Yes. I know it's not strictly "necessary" but I find it useful. I test first thing every day and before and after some meals, especially new or carby ones.

3 months is too long an interval for me, but then I am newly diagnosed and my BG is still rather crazy. Perhaps once (if!) I get to stable HbA1c results like my mum (who has never tested) I won't feel the need to test daily/ weekly?

 

[Pinza9007]

Yes. I know it's not strictly "necessary" but I find it useful. I test first thing every day and before and after some meals, especially new or carby ones.

3 months is too long an interval for me, but then I am newly diagnosed and my BG is still rather crazy. Perhaps once (if!) I get to stable HbA1c results like my mum (who has never tested) I won't feel the need to test daily/ weekly?

Proof, if needed, that everyone's circs (and to an extent, received advice) differs : -))

 

[debs248]

I have now been told by a nurse at my GP surgery that "I don't need to test because I'm no longer taking Gliclazide and won't go hypo".

Sad that the so-called professionals don't understand the importance of finding out which foods one can tolerate. After all, we have to eat every day for the rest of our lives!

Surely test strips are cheaper than a course of Mounjaro, which was her suggestion for my next medication?

 

[debs248]

Oh and I've just checked my nhs app and the arrogant cow* has already removed test strips and lancets from my repeat prescriptions. I don't have the energy right now to fight but I'm fuming.

*It took a doctor to approve the prescription but seemingly only a nurse to cancel it. Feels like pure spite because she didn't like it when I deviated from her script and asked questions about aspects of diabetes that were concerning me.

 

[ianf0ster]

Many/most of us T2's, who aren't on Insulin or Glic, self fund Test Strips and Lancets.
Since all BG meters sold in the UK have to meet minimum standards, we tend to buy BG meters which have the cheapest test strips, because it's the cost of the strips which is almost always the biggest cost. Lancets cost almost nothing since if it is only you using them then they can be re-used until they get too blunt/painful.

Personally, I use a Tee2+ meter (the same one for over 6yrs now), but the SD Gluco Navii test strips and meter are around the same price.

 

[debs248]

Many/most of us T2's, who aren't on Insulin or Glic, self fund Test Strips and Lancets.

Ikr. It's not so much that I resent paying for supplies, although I do, because I already got free prescriptions on the grounds of low income before diabetes and I'd rather spend my limited money on things like good food.

It's the short-sightedness and hypocrisy. My diabetes team would apparently prefer me not to test my BG, carry on eating any old thing whether my body can tolerate the carbs or not, and prescribe me Mounjaro, a very expensive medication with unpleasant side-effects, therefore decreasing my quality of life while costing the NHS more.

 

[KennyA]

To complete the picture - the suggested target blood glucose level for T2s under the NICE guidelines is 48mmol/l, with 53 mmol/l for anyone on medication that might possibly induce hypos. Obviously these are not in any way "normal" blood glucose levels.

The guidelines are very concerned about hypos, and this is probably the reason for setting the target level so high. It follows that from the guidelines' point of view, if the only purpose of testing is to avoid hypos, then if you're not on a glucose-lowering med you don't need to test. So you won't get a machine or strips.

There's nothing in the guidelines at all that would encourage anyone to test around food, or even suggest that testing around food is a possibility, but that to me is the single most important benefit from fingerprick testing as it allows the individual to use the information to start to take control of the condition.

The real issue is that once official guidelines are in place, it takes a huge amount of effort and negotiation to change them, and the world of T2 has moved on substantially since 2015 in a way simply not currently recognised. Given that by 2035 we are likely to be spending >17% of the entire NHS budget on treating mainly the long-term vascular complications of diabetes (with about 90% of this cost arising from untreated T2) you'd think that given the current state of the economy the government and health service would be more energised about doing something to stop that progression.