Ive been given a monitor to keep a check on my levels a couple of times week, and was sent away to go bk in 3 months time! I have really been trying to cut back on carbs and sweets etc. It has taken me 2 weeks to get around to look and understand how the monitor works and after working it out had the biggest shock of my life when i took my first reading! It was 22.4 before lunch and i panicked and thought best get myself up the hospital right now lol. but left it until after lunch then it was 10.5 and since then its been in the 10 range every time. Can anyone tell me why my first reading was as high as it was and why all my other readings seem to be higher than the norm! many thanks
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Hi, i am newly diagnosed with type 2 diet controlled
- Thread starter cassy59
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sanguine
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Hi Cassy, welcome.
The common reason for odd high readings is not having clean fingers when testing. The smallest amount of dirt, grease, food will throw it out.
What were your diagnosis readings at the GP?
The common reason for odd high readings is not having clean fingers when testing. The smallest amount of dirt, grease, food will throw it out.
What were your diagnosis readings at the GP?
forge
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I think they actually measure electrical conductivity or similar and infer blood sugar, so the smallest amount of contaminant will send them whoopie.
10 is a worry tho. You need insulin or cut your carbs.
10 is a worry tho. You need insulin or cut your carbs.
Bluetit1802
Legend
Hi Cassy, and welcome.
We all get rogue readings at times. In future if you get a reading that is genuinely unexpected, whether it be high or low, just test again to confirm it. As for the advice to just test a couple of times a week, this is not good advice. How can you learn which foods to eat unless you test them out with your meter? The best way to learn is to test immediately before you eat, then again at 2 hours after your first bite, with nothing else to eat or drink in between. You can then see how much your sugar levels have risen because of that meal, and learn from this. If the 2 hour reading is high, then something in that meal caused it and may need reducing in portion size, or cutting out altogether in future. Don't worry or panic. It is all a learning curve, we are all learning, and initially it is baby steps all the way.
@forge Perhaps you shouldn't be prescribing insulin to a newbie Type 2 who is not on any medication? Metformin is the first line of defence, and her GP saw no reason to even prescribe that at the moment.
We all get rogue readings at times. In future if you get a reading that is genuinely unexpected, whether it be high or low, just test again to confirm it. As for the advice to just test a couple of times a week, this is not good advice. How can you learn which foods to eat unless you test them out with your meter? The best way to learn is to test immediately before you eat, then again at 2 hours after your first bite, with nothing else to eat or drink in between. You can then see how much your sugar levels have risen because of that meal, and learn from this. If the 2 hour reading is high, then something in that meal caused it and may need reducing in portion size, or cutting out altogether in future. Don't worry or panic. It is all a learning curve, we are all learning, and initially it is baby steps all the way.
@forge Perhaps you shouldn't be prescribing insulin to a newbie Type 2 who is not on any medication? Metformin is the first line of defence, and her GP saw no reason to even prescribe that at the moment.
forge
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I can't prescribe anything @Bluetit1802 but it sounds like a fun idea, what takes your fancy?
daisy1
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Hi Cassy and welcome to the forum 
You have already got some very good advice above. To add some more, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Keep on asking questions and someone will be able to help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.
A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 100,000 people who are demonstrating this.
On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.
The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.
If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.
The bad news
Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.
The good news
People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.
Controlling your carbs
The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
Reduce your carbohydrates
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.
The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.
Choosing better carbohydrates
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html
The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.
Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes
Eating what works for you
Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.
To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.
The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:
Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.
You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic
Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
You have already got some very good advice above. To add some more, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Keep on asking questions and someone will be able to help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.
A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 100,000 people who are demonstrating this.
On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.
The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.
If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.
The bad news
Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.
The good news
People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.
Controlling your carbs
The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
- Reduce your carbohydrate intake
- Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.
The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.
Choosing better carbohydrates
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html
The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.
Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes
Eating what works for you
Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.
To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.
The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:
Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
- structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
- self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education
Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.
You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic
Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
sanguine
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I think to say that to a newly diagnosed T2 on levels around 10 is actually quite irresponsible.
???
Hi Thanks everyone for your advice it has been very helpful, My diabetic nurse didnt seem too concerned with the first reading of 8.9, said it was a little high but was more concerned about having to give me a testing kit followed by telling me how much they cost and they dont give them out to everyone!!
When I did my first test at home i made sure everything was as sterile as it could be but to be fair as this is all new too me I am completely ignorant with all these readings etc. Im sure I will get there in the end.
nurse told me that it was ok for now to control it with diet and there was no need for any kind of medication.
If my readings stay around the 10 mark would any of you go back to the Doc? Or as my daughters friend has told me everyone is different and not to take too much notice of it being 10. what does everyone think?
When I did my first test at home i made sure everything was as sterile as it could be but to be fair as this is all new too me I am completely ignorant with all these readings etc. Im sure I will get there in the end.
nurse told me that it was ok for now to control it with diet and there was no need for any kind of medication.
If my readings stay around the 10 mark would any of you go back to the Doc? Or as my daughters friend has told me everyone is different and not to take too much notice of it being 10. what does everyone think?
Bluetit1802
Legend
Hi Cassy,
You can get those 10 levels down by testing your food and learning from the readings. Try testing your next meal - immediately before you eat and 2 hours after your first bite. Record exactly what you ate and drank, including portion sizes, then record your readings alongside. Do this religiously. Keeping a food diary and a record of your readings is essential at the beginning to help you learn which foods you can or can't cope with.
We all have different targets that we aim for, but here are the ones recommended by NICE and used by the NHS.
For type 2's. Fasting and before meals between 4 and 7
2 hours after eating under 8.5
These figures are a little outdated now, and many of us aim for under 6 before meals, and under 7.8 at 2 hours after. Others aim for even less.
You can get those 10 levels down by testing your food and learning from the readings. Try testing your next meal - immediately before you eat and 2 hours after your first bite. Record exactly what you ate and drank, including portion sizes, then record your readings alongside. Do this religiously. Keeping a food diary and a record of your readings is essential at the beginning to help you learn which foods you can or can't cope with.
We all have different targets that we aim for, but here are the ones recommended by NICE and used by the NHS.
For type 2's. Fasting and before meals between 4 and 7
2 hours after eating under 8.5
These figures are a little outdated now, and many of us aim for under 6 before meals, and under 7.8 at 2 hours after. Others aim for even less.
sanguine
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- 3,340
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The best way to get the levels down from 10 Cassie is to cut carbs - bread, potatoes, pasta, rice etc - significantly. These = sugar for a diabetic.
