BG Meter Recommendations

[Jaylee]

I am intersted and follow theT2 issues quite closely! Some of the differences are an eye opener as I always considered T2 to be easier to manage. However in certain aspects I can see it isn't

Hi,

I see the use of a meter like referencing the speedo driving a a car? It’s needed when attempting to not get caught by the “average speed check” which is the A1c..
further analogy. A sensor is closer to a “dash cam.” Speed & even what one was trending at the time with managing control of the “vehicle?” (In this case. BG response to diet..

 

[IanBish]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll be using it to see how my blood sugar reacts to various foods.

I'll speak to the local pharmacy to see what strips they stock or get, in case I can get them on prescription. But if not, it's no big deal. Like I said I'll only be using it to see how various food affects me. And once I know, I won't need to test after eating that particular food. And, realistically, there's not a huge number of different foods that I would normally eat.

Once I get the meter, no doubt I'll be back with more questions!

 

[Robbity]

Hello

Being T2 the meter won't help you as all you will see is peaks and troughs and be unable to do anything about them. Follow what you have been told about diet and exercise and buy a copy of the GI index so you can understand what you eat and how it may effect you.

As a T2 I was quite able to reduce my glucose to pre-diabetic levels within 3 month s of diagnosis essentially by choosing to ignore the usual Eatwell Plate dietary "advice" and instead cut right back down on high carbohydrate food, some of this time before I'd learned about using a meter. But I've discovered the benefits of this extremely useful tool and since then I've kept my T2 at mainly low end pre-diabetic and high normal levels for well over 9 years now , the last six or so of these without any need for diabetic medication.

I've never bothered with GI. amd in spite of being ancient aqnd more or less inactive now I:ve also managed to "accidentally" lose a much needed 30 kg or so of surplus weight. My meter allows me to set target ranges and for the majority of the time I can keep to fairly stable levels btetween 5 and 7.5 mmol/l - so that's hardly just seeing troughs and spikes I think! And I'm not the only T2 who's managed this, there are many of us here who have achieved better/lower glucose levels than mine.

 

[IanBish]

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

Thanks @Rachox, I have ordered this one.

 

[niblue]

Thats fair enough personal life experience counts for a lot, the thing that confuses me is if you have a BG of say 20 when you test what can you do about it.

It was a finger prick test in excess of 20 that made me realise the advice I had from the diabetes nurse (i.e. each lots of fruit etc.) wasn't helpful and set me on the path to going low carb which has helped (and it's now rare I see anything over 8, and even then only when I've been out for a run).

 

[Deleted member 574368]

Its good that you found food types that don't increase your BG but I still ask the question if you have a BG of say 20 when you test what can you do about it.

 

[Hopeful34]

If you do a pre meal test, and then test 2 hours after first bite, you see how much that particular food has increased your blood sugar. If your pre meal blood was 5.0 for example, and post meal was 20, you can avoid that food in the future.

 

[Lakeslover]

It’s good that you found food types that don't increase your BG but I still ask the question if you have a BG of say 20 when you test what can you do about it.

I’m sure different people have already answered this question but I’ll explain again.

You know that food isn’t good for you so you either don’t eat it again or reduce the amount and try again.

 

[Antje77]

Its good that you found food types that don't increase your BG but I still ask the question if you have a BG of say 20 when you test what can you do about it.

Nothing of course.
But that's not the point, a single reading of 20 is not what causes long term effects.
So if that single high reading makes you realise what food didn't agree with you, you can avoid it in the future, and avoid long term complications.

 

[ajbod]

If you were violently sick every time you ate a particular food, you would sensibly NOT eat that food again, that's what we do with any food that raises our blood sugar ( and we all react differently to various foods). The only thing that works for me to lower it a little, is to go for a walk. Unlike yourself Mark Armstrong, as type 2 s lack of insulin is not our problem, but rather way too much, due to insulin resistance. Most stronger drug treatments, tend to increase insulin levels, which exacerbates our problems, causing easy weight gain. If we don't try to be proactive, then our diabetes as the medical profession like to tell us, is progressive, with the associated, blindness, Kidney, amputations and vascular problems that await poor glucose control.

 

[Deleted member 574368]

Fair enough! I am trying to understand the difference because although it comes under the same banner its a totally different condition

 

[ajbod]

Yes they are totally different, unfortunately with the same name. I've found even many doctors, mainly the older variety, don't seem to grasp that.

 

[IanBish]

Thanks @Rachox, I have ordered this one.

Well I did my first test:

Mid-morning - no breakfast, only drinking black coffee (no sugar), my reading was 6.3.

Two hours after a SRSLY tuna mayonnaise sandwich, half a crustless quiche and a small cherry bio yoghurt, it was 7.4.

I rinsed the stabby thing with boiling water to sterilise it between tests.

I think the readings were okay, so my first go appears to have been a partial success I think.

 

[Roggg]

Its good that you found food types that don't increase your BG but I still ask the question if you have a BG of say 20 when you test what can you do about it.

I know some others have answered, but here's my take. If you are not trying to improve your glucose through lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, fasting etc) then I could agree that maybe there's not much point in checking your BG. Maybe checking for dangerous highs. However if you ARE trying to make changes in lifestyle, then this is how you get feedback. So what would I do about a 20? It depends. If I have been 23 or 24 regularly in the past, then maybe I keep doing what I'm doing. If that reading is high for me, then I figure out why, and I change it in the future.

So you don't necessarily do anything about it in the moment. But maybe you do something about it in the longer term and you stop getting 20s down the road.

 

[Sax]

I got a Gluco Navii recently: took a little more blood than the kinetic meter I’d used previously but decent and vastly cheaper on the strips, using the discount code on a bulk order.

 

[IanBish]

I got a Gluco Navii recently: took a little more blood than the kinetic meter I’d used previously but decent and vastly cheaper on the strips, using the discount code on a bulk order.

It's the first one I've had, but it seems quick and easy to use. Where do I get the discount code?

I'm taking ibuprofen and amoxicillin for a tooth abscess, and I've read some reports that they can affect readings, so I won't do any more tests this week.

 

[Sax]

It's the first one I've had, but it seems quick and easy to use. Where do I get the discount code?

I'm taking ibuprofen and amoxicillin for a tooth abscess, and I've read some reports that they can affect readings, so I won't do any more tests this week.

Its on a card that came with your meter if you got it from Home Health. "navii10" is a 25% discount if you buy 10 boxes of strips, "navii5" for 20% off 5 boxes.

You made a weird remark about sterilising something. The lancet (stabby thing) doesn't really need sterilised, the lancet needles it uses (actual needle with the twist off safety caps) are intended as one use and disposable. They bend easily and I don't recommend regular re-use. For infection prevention, I swab the point of injection with an alcohol wipe. If you are buying more strips, Home Health sell both the wipes and lancet needles cheap, the wipes under "medical accessories".

 

[Antje77]

For infection prevention, I swab the point of injection with an alcohol wipe.

From what I've been told and have read, this can affect readings.
It's not recommended to disinfect before doing a fingerprick test.

 

[Sax]

From what I've been told and have read, this can affect readings.
It's not recommended to disinfect before doing a fingerprick test.

I originally was told to wipe which was why I started. I've since heard suggestions not to for this reason, but I've not seen a difference on testing, perhaps because I don't wipe immediately prior to stabbing and give it time to dry. Its something that makes me more comfortable mentally with the process and become a part of my ritual blood lettings since I was told to when starting out. I wouldn't have mentioned it if not for the apparent concern on sterility on IanBish post.

 

[Antje77]

Its something that makes me more comfortable mentally with the process and become a part of my ritual blood lettings since I was told to when starting out. I wouldn't have mentioned it if not for the apparent concern on sterility on IanBish post.

Makes perfect sense to me, and whatever makes things better for us is a good thing!

I'm on the other end of the spectrum, no washing hands, using the same lancet for months on end, and injecting my insulin through my shirt. Nope, definitely not recommended but it does make diabetes easier to deal with for me, so again, a good thing.
There's no one size fits all with diabetes, and nothing wrong with that!