Do I Need A Bgm Machine?

How do you know what effect the individual foods you are eating is having on your bg? We are all different so some can tolerate wheat flour, others can not. Occasional tests at the Drs give broad spectrum information but not in sufficient detail to be of use to you on a daily basis. Unfortunately if you are diet controlled you are not likely to get a meter on the NHS, until you are taking medication that may cause hypos. Most of us that use meters on here pay for them ourselves. What we can do is buy the strips online and not pay the VAT that is added on automatically on the High Street. Check out the price of the strips first and then buy the meter, the strips work out as being the most expensive part as time goes on.

Quick answer is that if you really want to control your bgs by diet only yes you do need to test both just before eating and two hours later. Check out this thread below it outlines best bg monitors for self funding which the majority of us are and discount codes for the code free too
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/bg-monitors.153126/

Hi @MonkstonDave welcome mate. I would suggest getting a meter so that you can track what foods spike your blood glucose. Do you need to loose weight? What eating regime are you following? Are you looking at Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) Sorry for all the questions but they will help give members an idea of what you are looking for. I have the Codefree meter off e-bay the strips are a good price and there is a discount for quantity, @Bluetit1802 has a link to meters I'm sure she will post it for you. You are in the right place for help, advice and support, so any questions ask away.

@MonkstonDave a blood glucose meter will show you what food cause a spike. You do a reading before your first bite then 2 hours after if a rise of more than to its prob to many carbs. Cut down on sugar, potatoes, rice, bread, pasta, underground veg etc there is a good link on diet doctor for what to eat under low carb section. I have lost almost 4 stone in 3 months on LCHF. Only exercise I do is walking the dog twice a day. Look at Dr Jason Fungs vids on LCHF plus fasting very interesting mate. There is also a thread on here regarding "Low Fat Diet" and "What have you eaten today?" to give you some ideas of food. Fasting is great if you can do it. I started with 18/6 no food after 20.00 till 14.00 next day with only black tea. coffee and water during fast. That works for me but we are all different.

MonkstonDave said:

If the answer is yes, which is the best one to buy or should I approach my GP for one?

If the answer is no, then thanks for letting me know!

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Yes you need a meter, how else would you know what foods are doing what to your blood glucose.

As to which one .............the only accurate one I ever found was the Freedom Freestyle Lite but the cost of test strips is eye watering. Two other candidates are the TEE2 and the SD codefree which have cheaper test strips but read a little high in my experience. They are still very useful and if future sums prove that they are indeed reading high then you can aim off.

The Libre is rich mans country and there are so many reports of failure in use that you have to have spare cash to indulge. I used it for a while and had many sensor failures. I reached a tipping point where I realised that the sensor cost £50 and quite often didn't work so I am having a holiday from that at the moment.

Here are some meters that are popular on the forum:

Taken from a post by @Bluetit1802 as she wrote it so nicely:


The most popular meters for self funding T2's are the Codefree and the Tee2 because the strips are much cheaper than other meters, and you need a lot of strips. You can't buy them in pharmacies.


Try here for the Codefree meter

http://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/blood-glucose-monitor/


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


The Tee2 is here

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


Don’t forget to check the box that you have diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for either meter)

Squire Fulwood said:

As to which one .............the only accurate one I ever found was the Freedom Freestyle Lite but the cost of test strips is eye watering.

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The strips for this meter cost $65.00 for 100, which makes it a sensible thing to join the NDSS to get them subsidised as a T2.

They cost me $1.30 with a concession card, or around $6.40 without the card.