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Back from the doctors

fionamarie

Well-Known Member
Messages
123
Location
North West England
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Just got back from doctors,had my diabetic new patient check. Was given flu jab while i was there, put on Diabetic Register, will be contacted for appointments for DESMOND, Retinopathy, Podiatry and Diet. Booked for Hba1c Level in 8 weeks, given a couple of leaflets to read. No mention of Glucose monitor or testing. Put on 500mg Metformin daily, to be increased to 1000mg then 1500mg over the next 3 weeks and 40mg Atorvastatin. Got my medical exemption certificate form to send off, and advised to inform my car insurance company that i am diabetic. Got appointment on Friday with my own doctor, who I think will put me on rampril. Will ask about glucose montor & strips (should I be given them?) and is there anything else I need to ask?
 
Hi again @fionamarie. Have another look at the information I posted for you on your other thread just to refresh your memory as I think this will prove to be very useful to you. Ask as many questions as you need to as there is always someone who will have an answer. You'll find some questions to ask if you need to in this info.
 
No you can't expect to be given a meter and strips although a few people are given them. My understanding is that you have to be on something stronger than Metformin to get a meter. This is because stronger stuff has the possibility of giving you a hypo. When I was put on Glimipiride I got a meter but when I got my Hba1c down the strips were stopped.

You can't take any of that as gospel though. Different surgeries behave differently.
 
Great news you are on the right care pathway as regards checks etc. You can now start to find a diet that suits you, but to do this you will need a meter. Don't rely on getting strips on prescription. Very few of us do.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Great news you are on the right care pathway as regards checks etc. You can now start to find a diet that suits you, but to do this you will need a meter. Don't rely on getting strips on prescription. Very few of us do.
Click to expand...

Already purchased the SD Codefree meter, but didn't know if it was worth asking at doctors to see if i could get one on prescription,
 
Didn't ask about LCHF diet, should I? I have high cholesterol and high blood pressure so not sure if its going to be anymore detrimental to my health,
 
fionamarie said:
Didn't ask about LCHF diet, should I? I have high cholesterol and high blood pressure so not sure if its going to be anymore detrimental to my health,
Click to expand...
Can i ask what your HBA1C reading was?
 
I have been diagnosed for about 18 months now and contacted my surgery this week to ask for a meter and strips. I was given them with no hesitation. I had cause to speak with my nurse at the surgery today who did say that the BMJ have issued a report to say there is no benefit in T2's having any other test done besides HBA1c. Apparently the view is that someone with T2 who tests daily had no greater control over their levels than someone who didn't.

If you test regularly you are keeping focused on your levels you must have some long term benefit surely!!
 

The NHS still hasn't grasped the concept of testing out meals/foods. They seem to think we just test to watch our levels aren't going up. When I told my nurse about testing foods and what some did to my levels she was amazed. It had never occurred to her that we can use meters this way.
 
I guess it depends on what you do with your testing. If you eat a plate of chips and a bread bun and it goes to say 14 you can either not eat them again or just say oh bread and chips make my level go up and keep eating them. I suspect a lot of people I met at my DESMOND course would do the second thing as they didn't want to rock their diet boat and were happy to hear the NHS message to keep troughing the carbs. With it that change in message, strips and meters probably won't make much change for many.
 
fionamarie said:
Didn't ask about LCHF diet, should I? I have high cholesterol and high blood pressure so not sure if its going to be anymore detrimental to my health,
Click to expand...

You can ask what you like, but I doubt you will get any encouragement from the NHS to eat high fat. You need to make your own mind up about a suitable diet and read as much as you can about it. You should find (or at least many of us do) that your cholesterol improves once you lower your carbs.
 

Exactly. The snotty DN on my DESMOND said we'd be given one and shown how to use it when it was appropriate- ie when we were on stronger meds or insulin. She also said what would we to if we got a high reading. Given I was already viewed with suspicion I didn't say I'd adapt my diet further, go for a cycle and drink loads of water!!!
 
fionamarie said:
Didn't ask about LCHF diet, should I? I have high cholesterol and high blood pressure so not sure if its going to be anymore detrimental to my health,
Click to expand...
It's highly unlikely that your doctor would approve of LCHF as it is contrary to current NHS dogma that diabetics should eat carbs with every meal and avoid saturated fats.

Like you I have high cholesterol, in my case because of an inherited condition.

Since adopting a more LCHF approach to my diet all my lipid counts have actually improved, particularly my triglycerides and HDL.

I would not describe myself as a full on advocate of LCHF, I am more of an "eat to your meter" supporter, but my meter has led me to experiment with LCHF.

So far I have not had any negative effects with both my sugars and lipids improving.

Pavlos
 
Jenks said:
Can i ask what your HBA1C reading was?
Click to expand...
I know this is bad but I was diagnosed 4 years ago, supposed to be diet controlled but still finding it hard to believe I am diabetic.
 
I don't think that you have to go mad on the fat element as fat is high in calories so a little replaces a lot of carbs. I have small portions of cheese but still use low fat milk and yogurt as I prefer taste ( I use lactofree milk and check my yogurts don't have added sugar) of them. It's all about finding a balance between ditching the carbs and replacing them. I know some have found they've put on weight as they've taken the free bit of eat freely too literally and snaffled cheese and nuts with gay abandon. Both are great but if you've weight to lose I'd recommend calorie counting as well as carb counting, certainly for the higher fat elements. 2oz cheese looks nothing but is 240 calories!! Also get your fat intake mainly from mono and unsaturated sources like olive oil, avocados etc rather than saturated ones.
 
Hello @fionamarie; by jove, you've ticked all their boxes nicely at the surgery and they're all no doubt pleased with themselves. However, it's not your diabetes the NHS deals with, or mine: to them it's a disease in a text book with treatment regulated by government policy. On this forum we're all finding out for ourselves and aiming to deal with it.
I don't want any T2 drugs and I'm beginning to think I should come off statins while working the LCHF diet and see what happens at my next set of tests. I might talk to my GP first (if she's still employed) since she put me on to Dr Briffa, so she might be a renegade.
My healthy sister-in-law has always had horribly high cholesterol readings without medication -- but she lives in Norway ...
 
I will ask my doc tomoz about a meter, being on Quinine and amitryptiline it says
  • If you have diabetes you may need to check your blood glucose more frequently. This is because amitriptyline can alter the levels of sugar in your blood. Your doctor will advise you about this.

  • If you have diabetes you may need to check your blood glucose more frequently, as these tablets may affect the levels of sugar in your blood. Your doctor will be able to advise you about this.
 
My blood pressure dropped significantly on low carbing. It was when I was on about 50g carbs a day. I have since felt even better on fewer carbs, but have not had my bp tested since.
 
I was diagnosed over a month ago and put on gliclazide 80mg tablets and 2.5mg tablets without even asking was given a meter and strips no questions asked so maybe I was just lucky but no harm in asking the GP again
 
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