I need a tester

RizlaUK said:

Diagnosed 2 weeks ago BS 21 put on metmorfin 500 twice a day. Blured vision and general fuzziness is still with me. Sweatting has now died down.

I guess at some point the Doc will advise me to get a BS tester but I think I need one now just to keep an eye on things, somy question is what is the best one to get and where from in the UK

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Boots is normally open in lots of places on a Sunday - if you are a smart phone user then there are a couple of ones that plug into your phone - I love the iBGStar which is about £24 from Boots now

There is a meter guide on this site:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care ... guide.html

If you think that you will get a meter from your GP at some point, have a look at the cheap SD Codefree meter. You can buy it ex vat but more important than it's initial price is the fact that the test strips are very cheap. You'll need a lot of strips and to test your reaction to many foods in the first instance. There is a review f it on this site:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/blood-glucose ... meter.html

You can probably buy them cheaper on ebay than amazon too. They read a little high but to begin with, you're just testing the difference between different foods, eg white rice and brown rice.

I favour the Glucomen XL which is the first meter I had as the lancer is easy to use.
If you go onto the following websites and request a meter ( There will be a link somewhere to do this on the home page)
In my experience they are usually free.....
All the companies are after the repeat prescriptions. I can't see how they can send out so many free meter kits but they do....

Glucomen.
Abbot.
Bayer.
Roche do the Accu-check. Freephone 0800 701 000. Ring them First thing Monday morning and with any luck you will get it on Tuesday.

They normally send then out pretty quick.
If you do this today you will get one by Tuesday morning.....

I was lucky in that when I first visited my Diabetic nurse I told her I had a Glucomen meter and in the Glucomen box is a note for your doctor so that the right strips and lancets are prescribed. She said she would have given me a meter anyway and I have a script in place for strips. I am 'allowed' a pack a month. That's 50 to last me 30 odd days. I was told it wasn't necessary to test at every meal and to test once a day at different times.Wanting to test more I bought some Glucomen strips from E Bay for £17 for 50. (Chemist charges £23 for the same pack)
Just make sure they haven't gone past their expiry date....

It's a bit of a postcode lottery to whether your doctor will give you a prescription. You won't know this until your first Diabetic Nurse appointment.

Good luck and keep us posted.

I have just switched to the SD Codefree meter, I purchased it off Ebay, you get the Blood Glucose meter, a lancing device some lancets and 10 free testing strips with the basic kit, I purchased an extra 2 boxes of 50 strips in all it cost £21, I believe the testing strips are £6.99 for 50. I am unsure about the lancets though as I still use my fastclix from accuchek. I cant see them being too expensive though. I got my meter within a few working days too.

I use my meter for testing my reaction to certain foods, and buying test strips for my old accuchek nano wasn't financially sustainable for me.

Hope this helps.

Mark

RizlaUK said:

Ouch!!
Been to the Docs today to have a n over all test on nerves ETC. You been ther. All ok.
Decided to up my Metformin 500 to double dose... 1000 am & pm
As I'm waiting for my meter to come he offered me a free one from them to which I took. Spent an hour reading info and did my FIRST test...

31.8 ****... Up on the 21 when diagnosed.... I'm getting worse not better. Explains why I'm feeling ****.... Sleeping all afternoon, awake at night, THIRST.... never known anything like it, thrush in my mouth and throat, blurred vision and legs don't belong to me.

I've not been eating for about 4 days now but having quiche and chips tonight coz it's all I fancy.

Am I on a downward slippery slope to injections?

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Those numbers certainly don't look too good ! However, they can only get better lol ! Cut down on carbs, quiche and chips not a great meal choice. Also, if you can take regular exercise, this will help too. You may well end up on injections but you can certainly delay things if you adjust diet and exercise. Good luck.

Hi rizlauk
Welcome to the forum
Wow that's high but like mo said if you change your diet and try and add some exercise it will make a massive difference
I had the thirst when I was diagnosed it was awful and the blurred vision for about a month that really stressed me out
Hope your feeling better soon
Try and drink more water
Good luck
Let us all know how you get on


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Rizla

With a reading at the level yours is you need to ring NHS Direct as you may need hospital treatment (insulin) to help you get it down quickly.

Take care

Doug


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