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

Advised against Blood glucose meter

M

mrpaulbradley

Member
Messages
21
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi newly diagnosed on with T2.
Saw my practise nurse today and she was very helpful and gave me a load of material to read. Have appointment with dietician on Friday.

I asked her about a meter to let me see what's going on. She told me that the advice given out in the Glasgow NHS area is not to get one. She added that as I'm not using any drugs, just diet, there's no point in me knowing what my blood glucose level is as I can't do anything to change it.

Any thoughts? I'm wondering if it's got more to do with budgets than medical reasons?

I see on here that some folk use one to see what diet/meal plans works for them.

I'm happy to buy one and pay for the tests etc. would it do more harm than good?

Any experiences would be very useful.

Thanks in advance.
 
Without a meter you can't tell if your food is helping your blood sugar or not. You don't need one to avoid a hypo but you do need one if you want to know what might spike your blood sugar and what foods you can freely eat. Most people here use the code free meter - someone will have a link - as the strips are the cheapest. It can't do you any harm unless you are the sort of person who might panic when seeing the odd high reading. But if you want to know what's going on and learn about how to keep blood sugars stable then it's an invaluable tool. It's not true that you can't do anything to change blood sugar levels using diet only because of course with a meter you can see what foods affect it (carbs usually like bread, pasta, potatoes etc) and what foods don't. Also you can see the effects of exercise on blood sugar. personally I find if I have eaten anythgin that spikes my blood sugars then about 15 mins of walking gets it dow real fast. I only know this through testing with a meter.
 
What stupid NHS advice. How would you know if your blood sugar had suddenly got worse like mine did because I was a LADA not T2 as the NHS had assumed. You need to be in control and test
 
That's what I thought! Glad you all agree.
I'm not going to panic if it's high, but take on board what it has taught me.

Also, great advice about the bit of exercise to get it down. That just didn't occur!!

Thank you all most kindly.
 
As a newbie pre-Diabetic, I bought a meter two weeks ago and have a rhythm of testing which, together with altering my diet to low carbs higher fats, is really helping me to take control in an informed (but not overly obsessive) way. There may be a tendency with some medics that ' too much knowledge is dangerous' but I think you will find that being better informed of the impact of food intake will help. I too, was encouraged by the mention of exercise. Its important to look at overall picture
 
Sorry to be late to the party, but here's my pennyworth
Your method of control is DIET & EXERCISE
You need to examine the effect of foods on your BG so you need to check your BG with a meter!
If they will not give you strips to help you understand the effects of your diet on your BG then I would suggest the "codefree" meter.
Good luck!
 
Here are the discount codes for the meter at the above link:
5 packs 264086
10 packs 975833
 
Having a meter will empower you! You will be able to control your blood sugars despite what the nurse said. Knowledge is power - as someone famous once said☺ best of luck Steve!
 
Most important thing you can have!

Fortunately my doctor agreed, and my numbers are down to non diabetic levels.
'Can't do anything to change it' - utter rubbish, I would suggest speaking t the doctor first, telling them you plan to alter your diet, and need a meter to test the effects that different foods have on you.

I must admit, the HCP's do see a lot of people that don't want to make changes, and either simply record the same number day to day, or even sell the strips on ebay. It did take a few minutes to convince them I would use it to my benefit, and I got the first prescription on a trial basis.
 
mrpaulbradley said:
Ah!! I ordered already!! But thanks.
Was that just for the meter starter pack, or can I use it to order more strips?
Click to expand...
I think the starter pack only has 10 strips, so you will need to order more.
 
I was advised the same when I was diagnosed....diet and metformin only and you don't need to check your BG.. After 12 months I decided to buy code free and have been using it sometimes not daily if eating my normal LCHF but if I eat something I am not sure of then I test. I never seem to go above 6.5 in a normal day which suits me.
 
On one of my telephone confrontation sorry consultation with my GP he said I didn't need to test and it was the medication and I took that controlled my BGs and not the food that I ate so I asked if I ate scotch pies and deep fried mars bars would it not affect my BG levels !! I still didn't get any strips
CAROL
 
That's a shame Carol. I'm getting the impression that the strips on prescription issue is a major bone of contention.
 
Prevention is better than cure. By supplying you with a meter and a batch of strips now and again for free they might actually save the NHS money if you can stay healthy and check your dietary glucose response.
 
eddie1968 said:
Prevention is better than cure. By supplying you with a meter and a batch of strips now and again for free they might actually save the NHS money if you can stay healthy and check your dietary glucose response.
Click to expand...
Couldn't agree more Eddie. I have one winging its way to me.
 
mrpaulbradley said:
Couldn't agree more Eddie. I have one winging its way to me.
Click to expand...
By the way Paul I'm in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area. Even when I was on maximum doses of Metformin + Gliclazide for years my practice nurse and GP refused to issue me a meter and some strips (now and again). Only when I was referred to the Hospital Diabetes Clinic did the ball get rolling. Within 10 minutes of seeing my Consultant and DSN I got a shiny new meter, insulin and repeat prescriptions for 50 strips, lancets and needles.
 
I'm early days right enough. For the next three months it'll just be diet controlled but I'd still like to be able to see what's going on.

I'm glad they got you sorted out with a consultation etc Eddie.

It must be a budget related issue for them and wanting to prioritise their resources for those most in need.

I kinda get that, but you're bang on about preventative measures saving money in the long term.

I feel bad at being obese probably bringing it on myself, but my father wasn't obese and he was diagnosed at the same age.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…