• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Losing faith

Well , the cost of those machines is prohibitively expensive and given how my practice is I doubt I will get anything from them , I will keep trying to lose some pounds and hope that helps ,would be nice to find out what food is best for me , the one that creates the most suger , but think it will be trial and error , perhaps the finger blood test might be better , any idea .
 
John 2 said:
... perhaps the finger blood test might be better, any idea
Click to expand...
@Rachox has links to models and suppliers of blood glucose meters and strips.

Remember, it's not the spike that counts, so test just before eating, and two hours later. The rise should be around 2 mmol/L higher or less than the previous test. That would be a good start.
 
Hi @John 2 , here’s some info with links for UK meters, and to be clear I have no commercial connections with any of the companies mentioned.



HOME HEALTH have the Gluco Navii, which is a fairly new model and seems to be getting good reviews.

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-produ...ose-meter-test-strips-choose-mmol-l-or-mg-dl/



Links to the strips for future orders:

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/glucose-navii-blood-glucose-test-strips-50-strip-pack/



Then they sell the older SD Code Free, details to be found here!

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose-monitoring-system-mmoll-or-mgdl/





SPIRIT HEALTHCARE have a meter called the Tee2 + which is quite popular:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...e2-blood-glucose-meter?variant=19264017268793



The strips are to be found here:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...py-of-tee2-test-strips?variant=19264017367097



If there is a choice of units of measurement then ‘mmol/L’ are the standard units in the UK, ‘mg/dl’ in the US, other countries may vary.



Don’t forget to check the box if you have diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)



Abbott usually offer a free 15 day trial of the Freestyle LIBRE 2 plus:

Sampling | Diabetes Care | Abbott



Dexcom also offer a free trial of their Dexcom one + here

The Dexcom ONE+ CGM (Continuous Glucose Montoring) system | Dexcom
 
Rachox said:
Hi @John 2 , here’s some info with links for UK meters, and to be clear I have no commercial connections with any of the companies mentioned.



HOME HEALTH have the Gluco Navii, which is a fairly new model and seems to be getting good reviews.

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-produ...ose-meter-test-strips-choose-mmol-l-or-mg-dl/



Links to the strips for future orders:

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/glucose-navii-blood-glucose-test-strips-50-strip-pack/



Then they sell the older SD Code Free, details to be found here!

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose-monitoring-system-mmoll-or-mgdl/





SPIRIT HEALTHCARE have a meter called the Tee2 + which is quite popular:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...e2-blood-glucose-meter?variant=19264017268793



The strips are to be found here:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...py-of-tee2-test-strips?variant=19264017367097



If there is a choice of units of measurement then ‘mmol/L’ are the standard units in the UK, ‘mg/dl’ in the US, other countries may vary.



Don’t forget to check the box if you have diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)



Abbott usually offer a free 15 day trial of the Freestyle LIBRE 2 plus:

Sampling | Diabetes Care | Abbott



Dexcom also offer a free trial of their Dexcom one + here

The Dexcom ONE+ CGM (Continuous Glucose Montoring) system | Dexcom
Click to expand...
Many thanks for that
 
I have put in a request to my GP surgery , doubt I will get one , but if you do not ask , wonder how much the pills cost as opposed to helping to find out which foods for you in person are the worst , having read so much on here I cannot help but think some people might be penalising themselves more than they have to and to be honest , it might well go against them , I have been told several times by nurses that you can treat yourself every so often , but if I had more info , that would be more help as to what , hope that makes sense .
 
John 2 said:
I have put in a request to my GP surgery, doubt I will get one, but if you do not ask, wonder how much the pills cost as opposed to helping to find out which foods for you in person are the worst
Click to expand...
It seems to be a bit hit and miss as to whether they'll prescribe one. Good luck. Let us know how you get on. If they won't they are quite cheap to buy. I got mine for about £15 with a supply of strips and lancets. But you're right, the cost of pills will certainly outweigh the cost of a meter.
 
IanBish said:
It seems to be a bit hit and miss as to whether they'll prescribe one. Good luck. Let us know how you get on. If they won't they are quite cheap to buy. I got mine for about £15 with a supply of strips and lancets. But you're right, the cost of pills will certainly outweigh the cost of a meter.
Click to expand...
Your right , not expensive to buy Ian , can I ask if you found yours useful.
 
I did at first, but found I had to set a reminder for two hours later, or else I'd forget to test after the meal. I then bought a few CGMs. I don't use it now, though.
 
John 2 said:
So I assume from your reply that it’s ok , I have tried some of the others and am not keen Kenny
Click to expand...
You really need to establish what the blood glucose impact of any food is on you rather than on someone else. If you don't like the taste, that's a different issue.

As I've said, sweeteners have zero impact on my BG. I know that because repeat blood testing over more than five years confirms it. I currently cope well with things like pulses and legumes but it would be incorrect to assume that because that's my experience everyone will have the same response.

Best of luck
 
So , this is interesting , had to go and see a consultant at our local hospital about another problem ( getting old is full of issues ), however , one of his questions was are you a diabetic , so I said yes , what meds are you on , I said none , are you on insulin he asks , I said no , he said you are not a diabetic until you take medication for it , you are pre diabetic with a smile ,I asked him to tell my G P surgery , he just smiled .

Any comments on that please , one other thing , my wife cooked something new for me today ,a cauliflour soup , it was lovely .
 
I think I can understand. For the 4 years I took metformin I always use to get asked ironically by medics - are you controlled by diet & exercise. It always seemed a bizzare thing to say until I met a surgeon on dealing with skin/wound problems who made it clear they do not believe in remission.

I have no idea if I become a diabetic in January 2026 whether the gp surgery will follow guidelines from then or when they first said I was a diabetic in December 2019.
 
Outlier said:
The medics dealing with me during my recent hospital stay were not au fait with diet control, and gave some seriously bad "advice"
Click to expand...
Requested a blood tester last week , got a call from doctors this morning saying nurse was going to ring me about my request to discuss it , I was also told needed to book a blood test , I said why , then they realised I had one on the 18 of this month , not certain what is going on with my practice ,will be interesting to see what nurse wants to discuss.
 
John 2 said:
Requested a blood tester last week , got a call from doctors this morning saying nurse was going to ring me about my request to discuss it , I was also told needed to book a blood test , I said why , then they realised I had one on the 18 of this month , not certain what is going on with my practice ,will be interesting to see what nurse wants to discuss.
Click to expand...
have had simular there any many blood tests possible. depending on results may then lead to other more specific test required which otherwise would be costly to do in first instance when may not be necessary. can also be a few other things such as in my case lipids were exceptionally high when initially was diagnosed so made the test they wanted not possible to get result that they were looking for. wouldnt worry about it anyhow can be for several reasons such as needing to be carried out within certain timespans (eg c-peptide). hope u get on with the nurse :)
 
grantg said:
have had simular there any many blood tests possible. depending on results may then lead to other more specific test required which otherwise would be costly to do in first instance when may not be necessary. can also be a few other things such as in my case lipids were exceptionally high when initially was diagnosed so made the test they wanted not possible to get result that they were looking for. wouldnt worry about it anyhow can be for several reasons such as needing to be carried out within certain timespans (eg c-peptide). hope u get on with the nurse :)
Click to expand...
Ha ha , I never fall out with nurses
 
The idea behind what I am try to do is to try and find out how my food that I eat is really effecting my blood sugar , so I always have shredded wheat on a morning , so will test myself beforehand and then a couple of hours later , if I find it spikes a lot , then I will go with something else , maybe an omelette as was suggested and so on until I have a rough idea what effects me personally , but I will still have my bloods done every so often at the doc’s as and when they call me in .
 
John 2 said:
The idea behind what I am try to do is to try and find out how my food that I eat is really effecting my blood sugar
Click to expand...
https://dexcom.com/en-GB/dexcom-one-plus-sample with type2 if you haven't had already can get trial 10 days. you could experiment a little with some of your favourite foods & exercise using it. think simular was suggested prior in the thread. @Rachox has a list of price comparisons of blood glucose testers (inclusive of costs for strips) incase the surgery won't prescribe machine (cheaper than cgm for longterm) abbotts have recently (sometime in the last week) restarted their trial sensor which lasts for 15 days https://www.freestyle.abbott/uk-en/getting-started/sampling.html 25 days of data (between those) to compare which should give pretty good insight to how various foods types effect you. would mark in exercise if wishing to go down cgm route have found shortish walks after meals helped to reduce glucose levels too. write up a 'loose' meal plan note down what worked well for you and what didn't with that could make 3 lists "worked well" 'ok on occassion" and an "avoid list".

i've fallen out with a few medical personell usually relating to bloods (due to needlephobia) and if given contradictory advice by the same DSN in the SAME week.
 
grantg said:
https://dexcom.com/en-GB/dexcom-one-plus-sample with type2 if you haven't had already can get trial 10 days. you could experiment a little with some of your favourite foods & exercise using it. think simular was suggested prior in the thread. @Rachox has a list of price comparisons of blood glucose testers (inclusive of costs for strips) incase the surgery won't prescribe machine (cheaper than cgm for longterm) abbotts have recently (sometime in the last week) restarted their trial sensor which lasts for 15 days https://www.freestyle.abbott/uk-en/getting-started/sampling.html 25 days of data (between those) to compare which should give pretty good insight to how various foods types effect you. would mark in exercise if wishing to go down cgm route have found shortish walks after meals helped to reduce glucose levels too. write up a 'loose' meal plan note down what worked well for you and what didn't with that could make 3 lists "worked well" 'ok on occassion" and an "avoid list".

i've fallen out with a few medical personell usually relating to bloods (due to needlephobia) and if given contradictory advice by the same DSN in the SAME week.
Click to expand...
That’s not good on the needle phobia front for you , thanks for the info as well , the one thing that really does annoy me is the different attitude and knowledge in the profession , it all seems to be about trying to give you a pill that will cost the N H S loads over the years .
 
Back
Top