Diagnosed in 2015, still no wiser

[TriciaY1963]

I was told by my diabetes nurse, not to use a meter, only if your type 1

 

[TriciaY1963]

I still struggl with diet, never have known what blood sugar score is, doc wouldn't let me have a meter, said only type 1 need to use them, I only know once a year at check up, I now have tingling and pain in my index finger, it feels cold, and can't feel much with it, my feet hurt to

 

[lovinglife]

I was told by my diabetes nurse, not to use a meter, only if your type 1

Hi @TriciaY1963 & welcome to the forum

You’ve posted on a very old thread that hasn’t been posted on for 9 years, you may be best starting a new thread of your own with any questions you have

Unfortunately that’s the usual advice us T2 get from the NHS and it’s plain wrong. Most of the T2 members on the forum have to self fund testing. Having a meter is the best weapon in your arsenal- how else are you going to know if what your eating is affecting your BG? An analogy that we use often here is would you drive a car without a fuel gauge?

The best way to test if what you are eating is ok for you is to test at first bite then 2 hrs later - you are looking for a rise of no more than 2 - if it’s higher you may need to adjust your carbs in the meal down a bit. Lower than that then the meal has been ok for you.

I’m 14 years diagnosed diet only and I still test regularly, I eat a keto diet of less than 20g carb a day, you may be able to tolerate more than that but you won’t know without testing, my advice is to get yourself a meter and begin testing

 

[lovinglife]

I still struggl with diet, never have known what blood sugar score is, doc wouldn't let me have a meter, said only type 1 need to use them, I only know once a year at check up, I now have tingling and pain in my index finger, it feels cold, and can't feel much with it, my feet hurt to

I’ve replied to your other post on the old thread - mods can move your post from there and my reply if you would like to keep all your replies in one place

 

[TriciaY1963]

Thankyou for replieing I don't have a stove, so I mainly eat toast and tesco ready dinners that I micro wave, I can't afford a meter, nothing left after bills are paid

 

[TriciaY1963]

OK thank you

 

[Rachox]

If you really can’t afford to use a blood sugar meter (I know it’s expensive), it might be useful for you to find out what results have been over the years. Ask your surgery if you can have on line access to your results, you should be able to get that granted. Then insist on an HbA1c blood test every six months as recommended by the NICE guidelines for type 2s, not just yearly which is what a lot of us get.

 

[VashtiB]

Hi and welcome to the forums @TriciaY1963

That sounds really tough. I agree with @Rachox that getting access to previous results is a start. With those symptoms though I think you may want to go back to your doctor and tell him/her about the symptoms. I think they may want to organise more blood tests and then you know where you are now.
I'm in Australia so don't know the situation where you live but are there any charities that could help you fund a meter. It would at least give you an idea of what your levels are.

In terms of diet- not having access to a stove does have a challenge. The first house my husband and I bought also didn't have a stove or oven and we also were too poor to buy one. We eventually got a toaster oven which made a huge difference.

In terms of food, I am assuming you are not on any medication that lowers your blood sugars (I make that assumption as the haven't given you a meter) so you probably want to try to lower the amount of carbs you are eating. You may be able to start by eating more eggs for example. They can be microwaved. There are also other lower carb things that are microwaveable. Let us know if you want any more ideas.

Good luck and welcome

 

[TriciaY1963]

Thankyou for your reply, I am on metformin 2000mg a day, for last 2 years, I had a reminder to book my yearly check up, rang yesterday and they have no appointments till the 28th of Feb, I've not had any help with diet or anything else really from health professionals, there is no staff to help, the diabetes nurse I saw last year was nice, but she left due to overwork, just one nurse for the whole practice, it's awful here,

 

[TriciaY1963]

Hi and welcome to the forums @TriciaY1963

That sounds really tough. I agree with @Rachox that getting access to previous results is a start. With those symptoms though I think you may want to go back to your doctor and tell him/her about the symptoms. I think they may want to organise more blood tests and then you know where you are now.
I'm in Australia so don't know the situation where you live but are there any charities that could help you fund a meter. It would at least give you an idea of what your levels are.

In terms of diet- not having access to a stove does have a challenge. The first house my husband and I bought also didn't have a stove or oven and we also were too poor to buy one. We eventually got a toaster oven which made a huge difference.

In terms of food, I am assuming you are not on any medication that lowers your blood sugars (I make that assumption as the haven't given you a meter) so you probably want to try to lower the amount of carbs you are eating. You may be able to start by eating more eggs for example. They can be microwaved. There are also other lower carb things that are microwaveable. Let us know if you want any more ideas.

Good luck and welcome

Sorry I forgot to add, they won't give me a meter, only type 1 get meters, I keep getting told not to worry about testing, as I don't need to, there's no charities here that give them out

 

[TriciaY1963]

If you really can’t afford to use a blood sugar meter (I know it’s expensive), it might be useful for you to find out what results have been over the years. Ask your surgery if you can have on line access to your results, you should be able to get that granted. Then insist on an HbA1c blood test every six months as recommended by the NICE guidelines for type 2s, not just yearly which is what a lot of us get.

Thankyou for your message, I have a app with medical test results etc, but they only go back as far as 2023, you can't get a doc appointment, let alone a 6 monthly blood test, they can't get me in for my yearly check up till the 28th of February, it's hopeless here, there is no help available

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Sorry I forgot to add, they won't give me a meter, only type 1 get meters, I keep getting told not to worry about testing, as I don't need to, there's no charities here that give them out

If you think it might help: you can request a trial of the Freestyle Libre 2, it would give you 2 weeks of readings. You only get a freebie once, but maybe that's all you need for the moment, to get a clearer picture of where you are with your blood sugars. As for dietary advice, here's what I did, basically, to get blood glucose back in line: https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html

Hang in there!
Jo

 

[TriciaY1963]

Thankyou Jo, I'm finding this information very useful