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After Some Advice....

G

_Graham

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Hi,

Thanks for looking at my post, and I'm hoping that someone can help\advise. (Go easy on me, I'm a newbie)

I've just been diagnosed with Type 2 as my hba1c level is now over the threshold, and the doctor wants to try me on a "Lifestyle" change.

I have no problem with this, although I am curious to know is... should I have been given\advised to buy a meter to monitor my blood sugar?

Whilst I appreciate the doc has said "Lifestyle Change, 3 Months", I would like to know what I am doing is working, I wouldn't like to go back to the docs and find out I could have been doing something better.

Thanks

Graham
 
Diabetes is the inability to use carbohydrate, the sugar and starch in our diets.
By reducing them we can usually, if a plain ordinary type two, see our readings return to normal pretty swiftly.
In an ideal world we would be given a meter and better advice - such as not eating high carbohydrate foods. Unfortunately we have to deal with the status quo, which, as long as you know about it, is fine really.
 

Hi Graham and welcome to the forums.

I assume that you are in the UK. Whilst it's not unheard of, it's quite rare for a GP to prescribe a glucose meter and test strips to a T2 diabetic. Even advising you to buy one is tantamount to admitting that you need it and they should provide it, so that tends not to happen either.

I think most of us would recommend that you get yourself a meter. Look at the cost of test strips as this is a recurring charge that mounts up over time and there's a big difference in the amount you will pay out if self funding.

@bulkbiker and @Rachox can probably give you some information regarding meters.

What advice has your doctor given you about 'lifestyle changes'?
 
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Hello and welcome,

The usual approach from doctors is not to recommend that type 2s do regular testing. As a type 2 I absolutely do not agree with this advice. Your reasoning is sound without testing how do you know whether what you are doing is right and enough.

I test regularly- I eat very low carb but I am confident that once you start testing and see the results in meals with less carbs you will see that type 2 really need to reduce their carbs if they want to put their levels into the normal range.

Get a meter and start testing. Read around the forum until you get the meter. You will see a lot of positive stories here and I always find it helpful to read good news stories.

Good luck and welcome.
 
Yes, get yourself a meter. Cost of the meter is secondary to the cost of the strips - I found in the beginning that I was going through a tub of 50 strips in about 10 days - so you need to factor that cost. Usage has dropped off over time with increasing experience. Using a meter as opposed to the HbA1C is like having a satnav in comparison to a map - both are useful but looking at a map every couple of hours isn't the same as being told immediately you just took the wrong road.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.
 
Hi @_Graham and welcome to the forum!

Here’s some info on UK meters, and to be clear I have no commercial connections with any of the companies mentioned.

Spirit Healthcare have a meter with cheap strips, the Tee2 + found here:

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-plus-blood-glucose-meter/

with the strips found here:

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-testing-strips/

Some members have got a free Tee2+ by phoning up to order, with a large order of strips they often throw the meter in for free:

Phone number 0800 8815423


With more expensive strips is their Caresens Dual which I currently use, this one has the advantage of glucose and ketone testing in one machine, it’s to be found here:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/collections/caresens-dual




Home Health have recently bought out this one, but I haven’t heard any reviews yet, links to strips and the meter:

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


There are also discount codes for when you come to buy more strips - "navii5" and "navii10" will give you 20% off purchases of 5 packs of strips and 25% off 10 packs of strips respectively (these are printed on a business card supplied with the meter).


And to be totally transparent I used to use the SD Code Free from Home Health which has the cheapest strips available if bought in quantities of 5 or 10 pots with the codes below. However I found it to be becoming less and less reliable. Here it is for anyone wanting to give it a go, just bear in mind it seems they are replacing it with the Navii, details above.

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


and here for the extra strips

http://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/sd-codefree-test-strips-to-be-used-only-with-the-sd-monitor/

There are discount codes if you buy in bulk.

5 packs 264086

10 packs 975833


Disclaimer, I haven’t used any of the discount codes that I have quoted recently so I don’t know if they are still current.


Don’t forget to check the box if you have pre diabetes or diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)
 
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Thanks everyone for getting back to me about this, it’s helped me understand alot more and the links you gave are useful, looks like from everyone’s comments that I’m off to get a monitor.

I did kind of get the feeling from the Local Surgery, that this is a situation that you have to educate and manage yourself, although they did recommend that I join this forum and visit the British Heart Foundation website.

+Urbanracer

The “lifestyle” advice I was given was: -

Only have brown bread, brown pasta and brown rice.
Only eat "above ground" vegetables except sweetcorn.
And get some exercise.
 
Hmmm....this is a bit Eatwell, isn't it? The brown rice/brown bread/brown pasta would be no good for me - still got a lot of carbs in each of those. I guess the veg advice is OK - although I personally have no problem with sweetcorn at all ( I wonder if it's the name they object to?). Test and see. Exercise is something I personally haven't spent much time on....
 
 

Hi graham

went hug for the mislead, of brown everything.
whatever colour, pasta rice bread all worth avoiding early days, if possible.

the veggie advice good.
Diet doctor does a great Visual that helped me make better choices.

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/visual-guides
i like corn but just to note.
Peas, corn, beans, lentils and quinoa are relatively high in carbs, and so are not good options on a keto low-carb diet.
Click to expand...

and hands up here,
the bread thing WAS hard

i tried baking etc, poor results and way too much effort.
Sainsburys do a low carb bread 5 g per slice, most others are 11+carbs per slice
https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/wholemeal-brown-bread/hi-lo-loaf
do note this was hard to find pre covid, so if i see it i buy a few and freeze the spare ones

in the beginning i went with a ryrvita 5g per slice to accompany breakfast, instead of toast.
just missed the crunch, and it went ok with egg & bacon .

Good luck it's a life long journey,
but the road deffo gets easier.
 

a very valid point.
 

yep the early days they are like confetti

Do like that analogy
and it is a journey afetr all.

mine was a speedometer

i imagine dashing from London to Newcastle

With speedo can keep to limits ...(ok not get caught so easily )
But no speedo...

both damaging, one to wallet & other to health

Only benefit of NO meter is for those who LIKE surprises
and surgery budgets, of course.

Sadly NHS picks up the slack of the No meter policy later, as many pass through it
 
_Graham said:
The “lifestyle” advice I was given was: -

Only have brown bread, brown pasta and brown rice.
Only eat "above ground" vegetables except sweetcorn.
And get some exercise.
Click to expand...

Carbs are the problem, so the bread/pasta/rice advice, while not bad, is not great either. This should raise your fibre, which will help a little but you'll see a better result reducing carbs instead. Where you are just over the threshold, maybe a small change is all you need for now. The less carb you eat the more quickly and dramatically you can expect lifestyle to set your readings right.
 
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